Lexcel

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On the 27th August 2010 the Lexcel office published a new version of Lexcel - v4.1.

Although only incremental, there are a few significant changes.

According to the Lexcel office compliance with v4.1 is optional for already accredited practices. However, any new practices submitting applications after 1 January 2011 must be compliant with v4.1. Therefore, if you are part way through preparing for Lexcel accreditation, you must bear this important deadline in mind.

Most of our Lexcel consulting work will be set against the new standard as from 1st September 2010. In the case of client practices already part-prepared for assessment, we will continue to work against v4.

Clients using our QMS Hosting Service will receive advice on how to migrate to Lexcel v4.1 as part of the standard update service. Other clients should contact us for advice.

Benefits of Lexcel accreditation

If you operate in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, Lexcel helps you get a grip on your business or in-house practice - systematically managing the hundred and one things that expose it to risk and threaten the quality of its service.

Since April 2010, Legal Aid firms have been able to adopt Lexcel® as an approved quality standard for their contracts in place of the SQM - giving them control over all areas of the practice, not just publicly funded work.

The Lexcel quality mark assures your clients and prospects that you provide a quality service. So with Lexcel you can expect to gain and retain better clients who appreciate what you do for them and so improve your profitability.

With Lexcel you will more easily attract high calibre employees who will enhance the practice's reputation and earning power, because a new generation of solicitors and support staff expects the properly structured career development Lexcel supports.

Your practice increasingly risks losing prospective clients to Lexcel accredited competitors. Even If you are an in-house practice, outsourcing is an equivalent threat - especially now, with the Legal Services Act. Being Lexcel accredited raises your profile and strengthens your bargaining power.

Professional Indemnity insurers know Lexcel's risk management framework is effective because it reduces claims (by 40%, according to independent research). There is an obvious linkage between risk, PI premiums and your profit. When did you last see an application form that didn't ask if you have Lexcel?

The new SRA regime is bearing down hard on solicitors. They recommend Lexcel and acknowledge the strength of its support for regulatory compliance.

The rate of take-up of Lexcel is accelerating. More firms than ever are committing to Lexcel.

Without Lexcel your practice, however large or small, will be at an increasing disadvantage, especially in the turbulence stirred up by the Legal Services Act and increasingly strong competition.

Contact us to arrange a free, no obligation discussion with a Lexcel consultant.

You need practical help, not pedantry

It doesn't have to be difficult to get your practice Lexcel accredited. For example, although many firms take literally years to write their Lexcel compliant office manual and associated forms, we can normally do it (properly) for you within 10 working days. This means you start getting the benefits from Lexcel much earlier. Most of our clients choose our browser-based manual design - simple to publish on your server and much more user friendly.

But systems are not everything. As authorised external CPD training providers, we can train your managers and staff to work in and maintain a quality managed environment. Training needs vary from practice to practice, but can include topics like quality management familiarisation, team management and leadership, how to conduct appraisals, management accounts, web authoring and advanced Microsoft® Word.

Our Lexcel consultants understand the needs of the legal sector and, as qualified professionals in their own fields, are equipped to meet them.

Scores of firms have enlisted our help as they prepare for Lexcel assessment. You can benefit from all that Lexcel experience. Some of our clients are listed on our Client List Page and some of their feedback can be seen on our Client Feedback Page.

Few Lexcel consultants take their own medicine! We are ISO 9001:2008 certified. You benefit in two ways. Firstly you can be assured of high standards of service. Secondly, because we understand what it's like to operate a quality management system year in year out, we can help you design a Lexcel compliant system that, as well as being very effective, is also easy and cheap to maintain going forward.

Client feedback on our performance (solicited when we invoice) is consistently "very good" or "excellent".

Contact us to arrange a free, no obligation discussion with a Lexcel consultant.

You need to improve business performance, not constrain it

If you are concerned about growth and profitability, it's important to implement Lexcel in a way that serves your future business needs. As well as experienced Law Society registered Lexcel Consultants, we are business experts and have developed innovative ways of using Lexcel as a productivity tool.

Our lead Law Society registered Lexcel Consultant is also a Chartered Director - someone who knows about commercial realities, good governance, business performance and risk management.

Minimising the pain

You can achieve Lexcel accreditation relatively quickly and easily by adopting our simple three-phase approach.

This means you get Lexcel accredited quickly and start getting a return on your investment in Lexcel sooner.

Independent Research Provides Empirical Evidence of Lexcel's Real Business Benefits

Sir Stephen Lander, Independent Commissioner to the Law Society, conducted research into quality marks. He analysed responses from practices with one or more of the 4 key quality marks; SQM, ISO9000, Investors In People and Lexcel. The firms varied in size and geographical location. The results highlight some of the benefits of Lexcel.

Is Lexcel Useful?

93% of firms with Lexcel described the standard as 'useful or very useful'. This is a higher satisfaction rating than for any of the other quality marks surveyed. Those firms which described Lexcel as being "not at all useful" amounted to just over half of one percent.

What is the main benefit of Lexcel?

The research examined the range of benefits of Lexcel. According to the survey, the main benefit of Lexcel was as a 'business improvement tool', whilst others highlighted 'improved client care', 'lower insurance premiums' and 'effective risk management'.

Does Lexcel improve client care and risk management

Over 81% of Lexcel firms found Lexcel to be beneficial regarding client care, and 79% found Lexcel to be beneficial regarding risk management. This statistic reinforces the earlier finding from the Independent Commissioner that Lexcel firms generated 40% fewer complaints to the Law Society than other firms.

Does Lexcel reduce PI premiums?

69% of firms found that Lexcel helped them get lower insurance premiums.

Does Lexcel make firms more efficient?

The research also analysed the reasons why practices apply for quality marks: around 50% gave 'to improve practice efficiency', as their main reason for applying for Lexcel, whilst others gave 'to improve risk management' and 'to gain favourable insurance quotes'.

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