IIP & Lexcel

There are over 2,000 legal practices in England and Wales, together with legal departments attached to commercial organisations and local and other authorities. Of all these, only 113 have attained the LEXCEL quality standard. FitzPatricks attained the Standard at the first time of asking and was the 31st of all legal organisations in the country to do so, the 21st of all solicitors' practices and the first in West Sussex. FitzPatricks have recently had their first LEXCEL review – it was successful.

A LEXCEL PRACTICE…

…is one which, after an independent assessment, has satisfied the Assessor approved by the Law Society and appointed by Sussex Enterprise that it has committed itself to

  • Putting clients first;
  • Communicating regularly with its clients;
  • A satisfactory and documented case management procedure;
  • A satisfactory and documented practice management system;
  • The highest professional standards;
  • Carrying out instructions in a timely manner;
  • Agreeing action plans with clients for the work to be carried out;
  • Agreeing costs in advance and discussing with clients any variations before undertaking additional work;
  • Agreeing to send invoices at the regular frequency requested by the clients rather than at long and infrequent intervals;
  • Agreeing to send invoices at the regular frequency requested by the clients rather than at long and infrequent intervals;
  • Enabling the client to budget effectively for the cost of legal services;
  • A documented complaints handling procedure which, whenever needed, indicates ways of improving services;
  • Training all personnel to the levels needed to enable them to carry out their work quickly and efficiently;
  • A Business Plan which will ensure the firm's continuing growth and ability to deliver its services in the short and medium terms in readiness for the long term;
  • Not undertaking work which it lacks the experience and competence to do;
  • Continuous improvement.
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AN INVESTORS IN PEOPLE ORGANISATION…

is one which, after an independent assessment, has satisfied the Assessor appointed by the Government approved authority (in Sussex, Sussex Enterprise) that it has committed itself to

  • Placing the customer first;
  • Investing in its Personnel to ensure best employment practice and excellence in customer care;
  • Promoting a career path for its personnel;
  • Practising team building;
  • Respecting family values in its staff;
  • Promoting certainty in the roles undertaken by each individual and providing the proper elements of support, supervision and resources to enable each to function successfully;
  • Excellence in internal as well as external communications;
  • Correct project management procedures for activities such as marketing and Information Technology and training in the use of technology to achieve the maximum results;
  • Monitoring progress in all projects;
  • Continuous improvement;

FitzPatricks is one of the few legal firms in Sussex to have attained the Investors in People Standard. This was achieved first time and the firm has recently been reassessed – successfully. The Assessor, who recently re-assessed the firm both for LEXCEL and for Investors in People, described FitzPatricks as 'Exemplary'.

NOTE

FitzPatricks was also one of the very first firms in the country to achieve the LAFQAS (Legal Aid Franchisees' Quality Assurance) Standard. Unfortunately, the firm could not reach agreement with the then Legal Aid Board (now the Community Legal Service) for the supply of publicly funded services, as the Board would not answer simple questions about the Franchise Contract.

They said that these were political matters which they did not have to answer.

The Lord Chancellor's Department has let it be known that the reason for franchises not being taken up by enough solicitors is that few firms meet the standards of the Community Legal Service.

This statement is misleading.



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