With reference to the letter in the Gazette of 3 April entitled 'Limited Guarantee' from Trevor Moore (see [2008], 3 April, 10), I would like firstly to clarify that the content to which he refers is actually on the Law Society website and not that of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). He is correct to say that it would be inappropriate for the SRA as his regulator to make such claims about firms and accreditation schemes. However, the Law Society, as the representative body for solicitors, has concluded lengthy research into the added value of a Lexcel accreditation. The main benefit of Lexcel is that it reinforces the high management and customer care standards that many practices already have.


Research shows that more than 81% of Lexcel practices found it to be beneficial in relation to client care, and nearly 79% found Lexcel to be beneficial in relation to risk management. This statistic reinforces the earlier finding from the Independent Commissioner that Lexcel practices generated 40% fewer complaints than other practices. A healthy 69% of practices also found that Lexcel helped them get lower insurance premiums.



More than 700 practices in England and Wales currently carry the Lexcel accreditation, and of that number over 200 accredited practices have fewer than ten partners, showing that it is a valuable tool for the smaller business. Around 50 sole practitioners have the award in addition to this number and I would be happy to discuss with Mr Moore at length how the Law Society can help him to become Lexcel accredited.



Andrew Holroyd, President, Law Society