What is Lexcel and why should you become accredited?
01 May 2019
What is Lexcel?
The Lexcel Standard is the Law Society’s legal practice quality mark. This standard promotes quality management practices for customer service and how to run a legal practice efficiently.
The standard provides practices and in-house legal departments a framework to develop operational efficiencies, specifically looking at areas such as client services, reducing costs, increasing profitability and how to manage risk. This the solicitor’s standard it was written by solicitors for solicitors. Furthermore, on the Law Society website any Lexcel Standard accredited practice has the Lexcel logo by their name, which allows for a competitive advantage.
What are the benefits of the Lexcel Standard?
Any organisation, no matter if they are a legal practice or not, will be bombarded with standards, programmes and training courses designed to help them. Understanding which one, if any, to go for can be a daunting choice. Therefore, to make that choice you need to see the potential benefits that are on offer with Lexcel.
- Effective risk management which results in fewer complaints
- Increased client retention from better customer service
- Being Lexcel accredited provides a competitive advantage
- Potentially lowers insurance premiums or gains favourable treatment from insurers
- Increased profitability
- Lexcel helps with the new practice rules
- When a practice puts in a tender by having Lexcel it enables them to stand out from the crowd
- Lexcel helps to demonstrate best value compliance
Does gaining the Lexcel Standard make a positive difference?
Many quality standards claim to result in multiple benefits, but being able to prove that they have made a positive impact through actual statistics is more difficult.
This is not the case for Lexcel, as independent research conducted by Sir Stephen Lander, the former independent Commissioner to The Law Society of England and Wales, found that:
- 81% of Lexcel accredited firms had benefited from improved client care and client satisfaction
- 93% of firms with Lexcel describe the standard as ‘useful or very useful’
- 78% of firms identified Lexcel as an important risk management tool that had led to a reduction in complaints
- 75% of firms identified Lexcel as a useful business improvement tool
- 71% of firms indicated that Lexcel accreditation is beneficial in providing consistently high levels of service
Why work with IBP Legal?
Once you’ve decided to work with Lexcel standard, your next decision may be which licenced Lexcel body to appoint to conduct your assessment.
So why should you work with IBP Legal for your Lexcel?
We can give you three reasons:
- With IBP Legal you are able to spread the cost of your Lexcel assessment over 3 months
- With IBP Legal there is a special introductory rate for first time Lexcel clients and discounts for subsequent annual maintenance visits.
- IBP Legal offers free online customer feedback surveys for Lexcel clients, together with regular reporting of results.
Of course, you may also choose IBP because we have assessed hundreds of legal practices during the past 17 years and know the Lexcel Standard and the assessment process inside out!
To find out more about Lexcel with IBP visit our IBP Legal website
