Lexcel and CSE Accreditation 2023

We are delighted to announce that Adams Harrison has been re-accredited with Lexcel for the 24th year and Customer Service Excellence (CSE) for the 3rd year.

What are Lexcel and Customer Service Excellence (CSE)?

Lexcel is a Law Society Quality mark for law firms demonstrating legal excellence. The assessment process is independent and objective. The firm is assessed in areas of: Structure and Strategy, Financial Management, Information Management, People Management, Risk Management, Client Care and File and Case Management. You can find further information here: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/firm-accreditations/lexcel

Customer Service Excellence is an accreditation which was introduced by the Cabinet Office in 2007 and Adams Harrison gained accreditation in 2021. It offers businesses a practical tool for driving customer-focused change within their organisation. You can find further information here: https://www.customerserviceexcellence.uk.com/

Who has Lexcel and CSE?

Lexcel accreditation is not obligatory. It was introduced in 1998 by the Law Society for law firms and Adams Harrison was one of the first firms to achieve the accreditation.
CSE is open for any business in the UK to apply for this standard. Currently 322 organisations are accredited.

What happens during the annual re-assessments?

For Lexcel the auditor interviews staff and partners selected by him. He audits both open and closed files randomly selected by him. He reviews the firm’s practices and procedures, including policies and office manual. This year the auditor found no non-compliances.
For CSE the auditor reviews current policies and procedures which demonstrate that client care and maintaining high levels of service are at the forefront of everything we do. He also interviews a selection of clients for direct feedback on the experience.

Auditor’s comments for Lexcel

Despite the current difficulties and challenges, the Practice should again be very highly commended for sustaining an extremely high level of compliance against the Lexcel Standard. It remains very clear that compliance remains deeply embedded within the ethos and culture of the Practice. In Lexcel terms the Firm is an extremely well run, and extremely well managed Practice!!
The Practice should continue to be highly commended for the significant emphasis, and resources, which it devotes to ensuring the Wellbeing and Mental Health of its employees.
There remains a comprehensive and well embedded process of supervision which is very consistently implemented and well managed throughout the Firm.
It remains very clear from both interview and documentary evidence that the Practice continues to place very significant emphasis on the levels of ongoing client care which it provides.

Auditor’s comments for CSE

It was very clear from both documentary, and interview evidence, that the Practice puts CSE at the heart of everything that they do. It is fully supported by the entire Management Team, and is an integral part of the Firm’s culture that they are all required to both sign up to, and are measured against.
Despite the ongoing challenges of the post-pandemic context, the Practice has proactively continued to refine and develop the already deeply embedded culture of customer service/client care and it was very clear from interview evidence that staff were highly adept at managing client expectations.
It was also very clear that extremely robust procedures were in place to protect client privacy.

These excellent results are due to the collective effort of all our staff, from Managing Partner down to post clerk. Everybody puts the needs of our clients at the forefront of everything they do.
We all look forward to continuing to offer a high quality service in the communities we serve.