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Adams Harrison Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) accreditation – what’s it all about?

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The Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) is a quality assurance scheme introduced by the Law Society in 2011 and it has been widely adopted by many solicitors and law firms. There are now more than 3,000 solicitor firms who are accredited on the scheme.

Membership of CQS is designed to establish a level of credibility for member firms with stakeholders eg regulators, lenders, insurers and consumers, and the core aims of the Scheme are to improve the quality and consistency of services provided by residential conveyancing practices, and to help combat fraud and money laundering.

There are significant overlaps between the Lexcel accreditation (which Adams Harrison have held for 25 years and an earlier post explained) and CQS, but to achieve the CQS accreditation firms must apply and demonstrate greater focus on risk management, compulsory training and client care in the relevant aspects of conveyancing work.

Adams Harrison were an early adopter, having held the CQS accreditation continuously since July 2011, and were delighted to renew their accreditation for a further 12 months in July 2024.

You can find out more about the Conveyancing Quality Scheme here:

https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/firm-accreditations/conveyancing-quality-scheme

Adams Harrison Customer Service Excellence (CSE) accreditation – what’s it all about?

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Adams Harrison are extremely proud to have held the Customer Service accreditation since 2021 and have recently re-accredited for a further three years.

Originally known as Charter Mark it was one of the consequences of a political iniative, the Citizen’s Charter, which was launched by Prime Minister John Major in 1991, with its purpose being to improve customer service and performance in the public sector.

Over time Charter Mark evolved and in 2005 it was reviewed and as a consequence the Customer Service Excellence standard was launched. Although the principle focus was on public sector organisatioons, voluntary organisations having more than 10% public funding and private subcontractors on public contracts

The Customer Service Excellence Standard is made up of 5 main criteria. Assessment is carried out annually via a desktop review followed by an onsite / or remote review which views physical documentation and also speaks to clients, staff and partners to review their attitudes and working practices and also the firm’s customer focussed initiatives and performance.

You can find out more about the Lexcel quality standard here: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/firm-accreditations/lexcel

*These are law firms who still exist as they did when they were first awarded the Lexcel accreditation. Some law firms who were awarded the accreditation on 25th May 1999 or earlier may have merged or been acquired by other firms.

Our Lexcel accreditation – what’s it all about?

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Adams Harrison are extremely proud to have held the Lexcel accreditation for 25 years.

The Law Society of England and Wales’ Lexcel quality mark is designed for legal practices that want to implement an effective practice management system.

First launched in 1998, Lexcel accreditation is a sign of quality, showcasing our firm’s commitment to sound practice management, and designed to give reassurance to our current and future clients that we are a firm built on trust and integrity.

According the Solicitors’ Regulatory Authority (SRA) as at the end of June 2024 there were a total of 9,958 law firms in England & Wales, ranging from sole practitioners to international firms. All may apply to hold the Lexcel accreditation.

Of those only 1,596 organisations hold the Lexcel accreditation.

We are in a group of only 14 law firms* who have held the Lexcel accreditation since 25th May 1999 or earlier.

You can find out more about the Lexcel quality standard here: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/firm-accreditations/lexcel

*These are law firms who still exist as they did when they were first awarded the Lexcel accreditation. Some law firms who were awarded the accreditation on 25th May 1999 or earlier may have merged or been acquired by other firms.

Lexcel and Customer Service Reacceditation

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What better way to celebrate 190 years of the firm’s existence with recent reaccreditations for Lexcel and Customer Service Excellence.
The firm was subject to assessments for the reaccreditation of The Law Society Lexcel Standard and the Customer Service Excellence Award recently.
Adams Harrison Solicitors have now held the Lexcel accreditation for 25 years.  Lexcel is not an obligatory accreditation for firms of solicitors to hold.   It is a  mark of excellence if obtained.   It is a legal practice quality mark for client care, compliance and practice management.  In particular the following areas are assessed:
  • Client care
  • Risk management
  • People management
  • Structure and strategy
  • Financial management
  • Information management
  • File and case management
Adams Harrison Solicitors were one of the first firms to receive the Lexcel standard.   In this year’s reaccreditation our assessor made the following comments and observations:-
“…..the Practice should again be very highly commended for sustaining a very 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”.
“….the firm remains an extremely well run, and extremely well managed Practice”.
The assessor commented that Adams Harrison should be highly commended for the on-going and very comprehensive staff training and communication that it has in place for cyber security, as well as the accreditation against the Cyber Essential Standard.
The assessor stated that the Practice showed significant emphasis and resources devoted to ensuring the wellbeing and mental health of its employees, including the availability of mental health first aiders.
The assessor stated that the firm continued to have very high standard in terms of training and development of its staff as well as on-going coaching, mentoring and support offered to all staff.
The assessor stated that there remained a very clear understanding from fee earners on all aspects of risk and that operational risk management was dealt with comprehensively and effectively.   He also stated that supervision was comprehensive and well embedded.
The assessor stated that it remained very clear that:
 “the Practice continues to place very significant emphasis on the levels of on-going client care which it provides and in the very great majority of instances it clearly does so…”    He commented on the low level of complaints and claims.   
Customer Service Excellence is not unique to the legal sector.   It is a National Quality Mark that seeks to recognise organisations that have a truly customer focused culture.   This was our 3 year assessment.   We obtained full compliance in all areas and “compliance plus” in a number of areas, also.
It was determined that Adams Harrison:
 “comfortably achieved the high standards necessary to continue to be accredited against the Customer Service Excellence Standard”.
The assessor stated that there was very clear evidence from the staff members that were interviewed that there was a desire to want to provide excellent customer service/client care.  The assessor stated that it was very clear that our staff were adept at effectively communicating with clients and managing their increased expectations.
The assessor stated that Adams Harrison puts Customer Service Excellence “at the heart of everything that they do”.

Lexcel and CSE Accreditation 2023

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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.

Adams Harrison CQS Accreditation July 22 to July 23

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We are delighted to announce that we have been reaccredited from July 2022 – July 2023 by the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS), which is a recognised quality standard for residential conveyancing practices. We have proudly held the CQS accreditation since 2011, an accreditation currently held by less than 15% of Law Firms in the England and Wales..

This shows our clients and other third parties that we have the expertise to deliver nationally recognised quality residential conveyancing advice; use standardised processes to recognise and reduce risks and that we inform clients about what to expect when using our conveyancing services.

The accreditation also gives greater access to lenders, and demonstrates that we can provide residential conveyancing advice of the level expected by clients, lenders and the wider residential conveyancing community.

Please contact us to discuss your residential conveyancing needs.

Adams Harrison CQS Certificate July 22 to July 23

Cyber Essentials Accreditation Renewed

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Adams Harrison - Cyber Essentials Certificate 2022

For the third year we have been awarded the Cyber Essentials accreditation – demonstrating that we have in place systems and controls to ensure that we are best protected against any internal and external threats. This includes not only our computer hardware but our entire internet facing infrastructure at Adams Harrison, including firewalls and internet routers.

The Cyber Essential scheme is Government backed and industry supported. To become accredited, it is necessary to show that there are technical controls in place to prevent against on line security threats.

We take seriously the risk of malicious attacks on data and therefore keep under regular review the steps and measures that can be put in place to reduce the risk.

We are now displaying the Cyber Essentials badge on our website homepage and e-mails to give clients and third parties peace of mind that their data is safe with us.

CQS Re-accreditation July 2021 to 2022

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We are delighted to announce that we have been reaccredited from July 2021 – July 2022 by the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS), which is a recognised quality standard for residential conveyancing practices.

This shows our clients and other third parties that we have the expertise to deliver nationally recognised quality residential conveyancing advice; use standardised processes to recognise and reduce risks and that we inform clients about what to expect when using our conveyancing services.

The accreditation also gives greater access to lenders, and demonstrates that we can provide residential conveyancing advice of the level expected by clients, lenders and the wider residential conveyancing community.

The award is testament to the dedication and expertise of our Conveyancing department who have worked through the additional challenges of the Pandemic, as well as managing additional high volume workflows due to Stamp Duty Land Tax reductions over the past year.

Adams Harrison CQS Certificate july 21-22

Customer Service Excellence Accreditation

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We are delighted to announce that after a rigorous initial assessment, we have been recommended to be awarded Customer Service Excellence (CSE) accreditation.

CSE is a nationally recognised quality award that seeks to reward organisations that have a truly customer-focused commitment to all they do while providing a positive steer for customer centred change. Certification to the CSE standard is based on meeting 5 key standards that are sub divided into 57 elements.

The 5 standards cover Customer Insight; Organisational culture; Information and access; Delivery, timeliness and quality of service. Our assessment included a comprehensive review of documents to demonstrate compliance against each element of the standard and interviews with clients and staff, to establish whether or not we met the requirements of CSE.

Our assessor commented that Adams Harrison

“is clearly an organisation that understands the critical importance and the role that customer service plays……” and that “the practice has a deeply embedded culture of wanting to provide excellent levels of service/client care”

It was also noted that we have carried out work leading to ongoing improvements to client care, which are being owned by staff because of their involvement in developing them.

The assessor further commented that at Adams Harrison,

“clients are at the heart of everything they do”

The result reflects the commitment, loyalty and hard work of all of our staff in very challenging times throughout the pandemic. It is their dedication and determination that has enabled us to remain competitive and continue to offer a high level of service to our expanding client base.

We look forward to meeting and indeed exceeding the expectations of our clients and contacts, through continuing to offer a high quality service in the communities we serve.

Lexcel Annual Review 2021

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Lexcel LogoWe are delighted to announce that Adams Harrison has just undergone a vigorous annual assessment and has been reaccredited against the Lexcel standard. Lexcel is a Law Society Quality mark for law firms demonstrating legal excellence. There were absolutely no non-compliances against the standard at all. This is our 22nd year of being certified against the standard. 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. Our assessor commented:

“Despite the current ongoing difficulties and challenges in light of the pandemic the Practice should continue to be extremely highly commended for continuing to sustain an extremely high level of compliance against the Lexcel standard. It is crystal clear that compliance remains a deeply embedded part of the culture and in Lexcel terms the Practice remains extremely well run and extremely well managed.”

It was noted, as a result of the assessor’s interviews with fee earners and the files audited, that our practice has very high standards of file management. He stated that there was evidence that we place very significant emphasis on client care, demonstrated also by the low level of complaints. The assessor was extremely complimentary of our staff and stated:

“The calibre of the support staff remains amongst the very, very best the writer has experienced”. Our firm was commended for the ongoing development and training of our staff.”

The result reflects the commitment, loyalty and hard work of all of our staff in very challenging times throughout the pandemic. It is their dedication and determination that has enabled us to remain competitive and continue to offer a high level of service to our expanding client base. We look forward to meeting and indeed exceeding the expectations of our clients and contacts, through continuing to offer a high quality service in the communities we serve.