Lexcel Accreditation
Lexcel is the Law Society’s gold standard accreditation and something to be proud of. Yes, it takes a lot of hard work and commitment, but doesn’t everything worthwhile?
The more you put into it, the more benefit you’ll get out of it.
Every firm we’ve supported has achieved Lexcel accreditation first time, with no referrals.
Why should law firms become Lexcel accredited?
Used effectively, Lexcel creates a robust risk management framework which can transform your practice, unify the way everyone works, and provide the Compliance Officers and MLRO with powerful tools to identify, manage and mitigate risk.
What’s more, we’ll provide you with documentation that complies not only with the Lexcel v6.1 standard, but also with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, the Data Protection Act, the Bribery Act, the Equality Act and other relevant laws and regulation. How’s that for giving you peace of mind?
It’s also a great way to support team members who are resistant to change. This might be a painful process, but those people will have a choice to make, and we’d guarantee that they won’t want to be the one to let everyone else down.
If you and your team fully and enthusiastically embrace Lexcel, then client care and service standards will go up and complaints and claims will go down. The firm will be more attractive to PII insurers too, and it might just help reduce the premium (although we can’t guarantee that).
How do law firms become Lexcel accredited?
To become Lexcel compliant, your firm will need written plans, policies and procedures that comply with the Lexcel v6.1 standard.
That’s where we come in.
- Starting with a Teams meeting, we'll ask about your firm and its culture, and find out how you work.
- Next, we’ll draft a Lexcel manual tailored to your practice and send you drafts for your review and comment.
- The next step is for your firm to implement these policies and procedures. We’ll support you with this, talking you through the key procedures and speaking with your team needed. We’ll be available to answer questions by email, phone or Teams. We’ll also give you a list of the central registers you need to set up and maintain (e.g. high risk, complaints, undertakings) and a list of scheduled reviews.
How long does it take to become Lexcel accredited?
We’d recommend allowing five to six months from instructing us to the assessment date.
To be assessed you’ll need at least three months of evidence (in matter files and central registers) that the firm is complying with the Lexcel standard. You can choose your ‘go live date’, i.e. the date from which files and registers are available for assessment, as long as you have at least three months’ of evidence.
Drafting and agreeing the manual typically takes around a month, and it’s wise to leave a month or two before ‘going live’ to give your team time to get used to new procedures and to be sure that everyone is implementing them.
What's involved in Lexcel accreditation?
A week or two before assessment the independent assessor will send you a list of the team members they’ve selected for interview. You’ll also need to send the assessor your Lexcel manual (we’ll do a final review to check it’s in order) and a completed Lexcel self-assessment checklist (we’ll help with this). The checklist is effectively a guide for the assessor, confirming that you’ve met all the requirements and where they will find the evidence.
On Assessment Day, the assessor will hold an opening and closing meeting with the COLP. They will also:
- Interview the team members they’ve selected – they’ll be asked about how they implement Lexcel procedures in their role
- Review a selection of matter files
- Check the firm’s central registers
What's involved in Lexcel accreditation?
Following the assessment it’s important to keep following Lexcel disciplines. It’s helpful to have a Lexcel project manager or champion to keep everyone on track.
There’s an annual re-assessment: the first two years are a mini-reassessment (‘annual maintenance visit’) and in the third year there’ll be a full reassessment.
Are you ready to take the next step ?
Anne Austin is a Law Society Accredited Lexcel consultant, and she leads the consultancy on Lexcel. We have helped many law firms and in-house legal teams (including Wolverhampton City Council and London City Airport) achieve their Lexcel accreditation.
Complete the form below and Anne will be in touch.
