What is the LSES? 

Designed by solicitor for solicitors, the LSES works to help practitioners grow, sustain and operate their practice more efficiently.

The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) will operate as the independent auditing body for LSES accreditation.

Why apply for the LSES?

The LSES is intended to empower practitioners and the profession. 

LSES accreditation will drive best practice, enable practice growth in operational efficiency, client satisfaction, employee engagement, succession planning, regulation compliance, sustainability, and financial planning for accredited firms.

LSES accreditation will demonstrate to colleagues and clients alike that your practice is delivering to the highest standards of excellence.

Assessment criteria

Applications for the LSES are assessed under four criteria.

1. Business planning, business development and business continuity 
2. Infrastructure (operational systems management, data security and management, confidentialitypolicies and communications procedures)
3. Operational systems – client care  
4. Human resources, competence, and knowledge management  

Resource Toolkit

To assist practitioners in applying for the Legal Services Excellence Standard (LSES), the Law Society has identified a large range of resources to assist each practitioner in researching and applying for the standard. These resources are solely aimed at providing guidance and direction for practitioners to develop their own tailored and customised documents and evidence to assist in audit preparation for subsequent assessment in applying for the standard.

• Download the resources toolkit

The LSES process

The LSES is awarded after a document and on-site audit by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI).

Application process and pricing

• In advance of applying, the firm will conduct a self-assessment to determine if they are ready to apply for audit or need to implement actions to meet the requirements of the standard. 
• A range of resources are available, including guidance notes, precedents, and a Diploma in Legal Practice Management. There is no obligation on an applicant firm to have completed the Diploma In Legal Practice Management prior to applying for the Standard. There is a self-assessment checklist available to assist in assessing your level of preparedness.
• Completing an application indicates a commitment to participate in the accreditation application process within six months of applying. The application will be identified using the firm number.
• The firm will pay a fee to the Law Society and complete the online application via the LSES portal (including self-assessment and document upload).
• The firm will receive confirmation of their registration, and this will initiate the audit process.

Pricing 

The Legal Service Excellence Standard pricing is as follows.

1-3 Practising Certificate (PC) holders

• Initial application: €2,600 plus VAT
• Re-submitting for a re-audit: €1,500 plus VAT

4-7 PC holders

• Initial application: €3,500 plus VAT
• Re-submitting for a re-audit: €1,750 plus VAT

8-20 PC holders

• Initial application: €5,000 plus VAT
• Re-submitting for a re-audit: €2,000 plus VAT

Prices are listed subject to change.

To organise LSES payment please contact solicitorservices@lawsociety.ie

Audit process and National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI)

LSES accreditation is through an NSAI independent audit. The independent auditing process is a combination of a review of documentation (uploaded to the LSES portal) to ensure compliance with the four requirements of the standard, plus individual on-site visit for meetings with a cross-section of staff to ensure operational implementation compliance. 

Marking 

A maximum of 250 marks is available for each of the four requirements, giving a maximum potential score of 1,000. 

A minimum score of 60% in each requirement section is required to achieve certification. 

• Requirement 1: Business planning, development, and continuity. 
• Requirement 2: Infrastructure (i.e. firm data, data security and practice management). 
• Requirement 3: Operational systems – client care. 
• Requirement 4: Human resources, competence, and knowledge management.

Audit Process

• The NSAI audit will be in two parts – document upload and an on-site visit.
• Once registration is complete, firms will submit documents via the portal according to the marking sheet. The uploaded documentation will be reviewed by an NSAI auditor.
• An on-site visit from an NSAI auditor will be arranged to conduct staff interviews – the purpose of the visit is to test the quality of understanding and conformity to policies and procedures. The number of days audit will depend on the size of the firm (usually one day). 
• The on-site visit must be completed within six months of the documentation upload audit. 
• The NSAI will send an audit assessment report to the Law Society.
• The Law Society will share this report with the firm. 
• Audit assessment reports will be retained by the Law Society for the lifetime of accreditation (that is, three years).

Cancellation policy for Audit 

• By agreement with the auditors, if given sufficient notice of at least greater than 30 calendar days, the auditors may reschedule the audit to another time agreeable to both parties. 
• If the notification is received less than 30 calendar days but more than seven calendar days prior to any scheduled activity, the postponement/cancellation fee shall be 50% of the cost of the scheduled activity. 
• If the notification is received less than seven calendar days prior to any activity, the postponement/cancellation fee shall be 75% of the cost of the scheduled activity. 
• Cancellations will only be accepted if submitted in writing. 
• All cancellation costs will be passed onto the applicant.
• Any refunds will be subject to an administration charge. 

If you need assistance or have any questions on the process, please contact a member of the team at solicitorservices@lawsociety.ie. 

Accreditation

Certification 

• The Legal Services Excellence Standard Accreditation will be awarded where a minimum mark of 60% is achieved across each of the four requirements.
• All accreditation decisions will be made by an AccreditationAwarding Committee convened by the Law Society.
• All accreditation decisions are notified in writing by the Law Society to the firm, and a certificate is made available online to successful firms. 
• This accreditation will be valid for three years. 
• A list of firms awarded with LSES certification will be published on the LSES portal. 
• Where accreditation is not awarded, the firm will be advised of areas requiring improvement.
• In some cases, an unsuccessful firm (on appeal) may be permitted by the Accreditation Awarding Committee to resubmit for further clarification documentations which did not achieve the necessary minimum mark criteria.
• An unsuccessful firm will be permitted to reapply for a further audit of the requirement(s), but will be subject to a further fee, as outlined above.
• The decision to grant, extend, withdraw, or suspend certification to/from a firm is made Accreditation Awarding Committee convened by the Law Society. 

Re-accreditation 

• After the initial three-year accreditation, a firm can renew their accreditation via a document audit conducted by the NSAI, without the requirement for a site visit.
• Subsequent accreditations will be awarded via a document audit and on-site office visit.
• Firms will be notified six months before their accreditation is due for renewal. 

Accreditation ownership

If a Legal Services Excellence Standard accredited firm ceases to practice law, it will cease to be a Legal Services Excellence Standard accredited firm. 

Logo 

A successful firm will be issued with an LSES logo and other branded items, which can be used on stationery and promotional material. The logo must be used in accordance with branding guidelines issued to a accredited firm. 

Audit preparation and self-assessment checklist

Complete a self-assessment audit preparation checklist to ensure that you are properly prepared before signing up for the audit. 

• Download the Checklist for Requirements

Ensure you have read the marking guide (available on payment) and have all the files available for upload. Ensure you follow the file-saving protocols to ensure that all documents required are uploaded and to ensure ease of marking by the auditors. Please follow the file format for saving and uploading below.

• Download the LSES Resources

Completing your application

Applications must be completed in one sitting, as there is currently no ‘save’ option operational.

File saving

• It would assist the auditors if you clearly label each file that you upload to correspond to the requirement, as set out in the self assement checklists. For example, to evidence your Mission Vision Values Statement (item 1.1), you would save the file as ‘1.1 Mission Vision Values Statement Example Firm Name LLP’
• As the form must be completed in a single sitting, it is strongly recommended that you label and organize each file in advance.
• File uploads cannot be greater than 10MB per file. File types .doc, .docx, .txt, .pdf, .rtf, .odt, .tex, .jpg, .png, .jpeg, .bmp are all accepted.

Example: to save a file for upload, use the following format to identify the document for the auditor:

1. Select category (for example, ‘Business planning development continuity’),
2. Use filename as below:
   • Mission Vision Values Statement (firm name),
   • Legal Structure Reasons for not registering as a LLP (firm name).
3. Complete application uploading documents as per the marking sheet/checklist.

Preparing for an on-site audit

• Once you have completed your audit application and document upload, the auditors will contact you to schedule an appointment within the next 60 days.
• Please note that there is a cancellation policy.
• The auditors will attend your office on the date agreed.
• Please supply the auditors with your office Eircode address.
• Please reserve an office for them for the entire day (allow for two auditors).
• Some staff will be required to meet the auditors, so it is important that staff are aware and knowledgeable about all of the contents of the four requirements regarding the firm’s policies and procedures.

Contact us

If you would like to discuss the LSES or learn more, please get in touch with our team at solicitorservices@lawsociety.ie.