Neil Hudgell Solicitors has once again been recognised for meeting the highest standards of legal practice in personal injury and medical negligence.
The firm’s Lexcel accreditation has been renewed by The Law Society, recognising highly-efficient working practices and excellent service to clients.
A practice must go through rigorous initial testing to gain Lexcel accreditation, and then further annual inspections to ensure it has maintained the very best practice in client care, file and data management and complaints handling.
Since first being awarded the accreditation last year, Neil Hudgell Solicitors has further developed robust systems and procedures not only in its Hull headquarters, but in all offices across the UK, including its new London office, which was opened last year.
Compliance officer Sean Gordon was delighted with the renewal of the accreditation.
He said: “Although Lexcel is an optional accreditation scheme, we have been delighted to retain this status as it gives assurance to clients that our practice is meeting the highest standards in protecting their confidentiality, communicating clearly about their cases, being upfront about costs and keeping them regularly updated about the progress of their cases.
“Our clients and staff can be assured that the way we manage the practice has their interests at heart. There is a lot of choice in the legal services market, but being Lexcel accredited demonstrates our commitment to client care and best practice.”
Independent assessors were particularly impressed on their recent visit by the company’s commitment to continually improving its compliance systems in all areas, and how it has been managed consistently across all UK offices.
“We are confident our 100 strong team not only meets the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Code of Conduct at all times, but exceeds it,” added Mr Gordon.
“Key to the success has been the development of our customised case management system, which makes compliance simple for our solicitors, whilst also ensuring a first-class service to all of our clients.”
Greatly reducing the chance of errors, the system ensures that all key future points of action in a case are scheduled into the solicitors’ own work calendar, alerted to them, and highlighted if not complete to both the individual fee earner, their supervisors, and the Senior Management Team.
“This bespoke software ensures clients are given the first rate service they expect and deserve, and the firm is automatically meeting the strictest industry standards at all times,” added Mr Gordon.
Lexcel is recognised as the legal profession’s gold-star quality mark, and Nicholas Fluck, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, said: “Gaining and maintaining Lexcel is no mean feat. There are many facets of being a Lexcel accredited firm, including client care. A commitment to customer service in today’s evermore competitive legal services market is vital.
“By undergoing the rigorous Lexcel application and assessment process, practices can show the positive steps they are taking to help clients in the increasingly diverse, complicated legal services market.
“The scheme is a beacon of quality to clients and potential clients alike.”
All Lexcel accredited firms are committed to:
• Protecting client confidentiality
• Communicating clearly with clients about their cases
• Being upfront with clients about costs
• Keeping clients regularly updated about the progress of their cases
• Dealing affectively and professionally with complaints.