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New standards scheme now available to solicitors

A Law Society initiative aimed at building confidence between solicitors and their clients is now available to the profession. 

The Legal Services Excellence Standard (LSES) will allow solicitors to show that their practice is adhering to the highest standards of excellence. 

The LSES is independently audited and accredited by the National Standards Authority of Ireland and has been designed by solicitors, for solicitors. 

The Law Society believes that the initiative will work to help practitioners grow, sustain, and operate their practices more efficiently, as well as giving confidence to clients.  

Pat Mullins (solicitor and chair of the LSES Steering Group) said that the standard had been “several years in the making”, having been one of the recommendations of a report by the Future of the Law Society Task Force in 2013. 

He added that the steering group had included solicitors from all geographical regions and from all types of firms “to ensure that the standard was inclusive, reflected all aspects of the profession, and was mindful of all challenges and management issues in firms”. 

Three-year cycle 

The group says that LSES accreditation will help practitioners in several areas: encouraging best practice, improving efficiency, client satisfaction, employee engagement, succession planning, regulation compliance, sustainability, and financial planning. 

Accreditation is valid for three years, after which renewal is required. 

There are six steps in the process: 

• Submit an application,
• Upload the required documents to the LSES portal for audit by the NSAI,
• On-site visit from an NSAI auditor (this will take from half a day to two days),
• NSAI submits its final audit report to the Law Society’s LSES Accreditation Committee,
• The committee meets quarterly to decide on awards, and
• Successful firms receive LSES accreditation – including a certificate and logo for branding purposes. 

Seal of approval 

Suzanne Parker (Parker Law Solicitors, Waterford), one of seven practitioners who have already completed the process, said that it had enabled her to achieve “excellence to the highest standard with the Law Society seal of approval”. 

Sligo solicitor Michael Monahan said that he was proud to be part of the LSES: “It elevates our profession and my firm to a higher level of accountability and service for our clients,” he added. 

Another accredited solicitor, Fergal McManus (Mercantile Solicitors, Cavan), said: “Having established my practice five years ago, I wanted the opportunity to take stock of how I was doing. Without the momentum of the LSES process, I might never have carved out the time to do this.” 

A self-assessment checklist is available to help practitioners to decide whether they are ready to apply for accreditation. 

If a firm is not awarded LSES accreditation, it will be advised of areas where it needs to improve, as well as what options are available to gain future accreditation. 

More information is available at lawsociety.ie/LSES or by contacting solicitorservices@ lawsociety.ie.