Helmsmen Business Consultants

What is Lexcel?

Lexcel is the quality mark awarded to legal practices and legal departments that are independently assessed as having achieved the core requirements of The Law Society's Practice Management Standards.

Practice Management Standards is the name given to the framework of requirements and recommendations designed to assist solicitors to manage all the essential aspects of a legal practice.

Lexcel Standards

Structures and Policies Legal Framework and Business Structure Risk Management Policy Quality Policy Non-discrimination and Equality Policy Money Laundering Procedures Mortgage Fraud Procedures Health and Safety Policy Community and Social Responsibility Policy	Financial Management Responsibility for Financial Management Financial Management Processes Time Recording
Strategy, the Provision of Services and Marketing Marketing and Business Plan Services Plan Business Continuity Plan	Information Management and Facilities Information Management ICT Plan Data Protection Policy Information Management Policy E-mail and Internet Policy Website Management Policy Facilities Adequate Office Facilities Legal Research Processes Office Manual
People Management Recruitment and Development Plan Job Roles and Competencies Recruitment Process Induction Training Annual Appraisal	Client Care Client Care Policy Procedures to comply with the Client Care Code Complaints' Handling Procedures Process to Monitor Client Satisfaction
Supervision and Operational Risk Management Management Structure Named Supervisor for each area of work Supervision of Casework Risk Management Procedures	File and Case Management Procedure for Client enquiries Procedure for accepting instructions Identifying Conflicts of Interest Procedure at the outset of the matter Index of Matters Cost information Monitoring system Use of Barristers and Experts Final Reporting to the Client

Two important principles support the Lexcel standards: -

The standard is designed to ensure that important stages in the processing of any legal matter are not missed or incorrectly carried out. This is achieved by a system of monitoring and review.

The matter and its file are considered to be the responsibility of the practice, not the individual fee earner. This is achieved by a comprehensive standard of file management that ensures that any fee earner's file can be picked up and progressed by any other fee earner (who has the requisite legal experience) without any briefing.