Lexcel or ISO 9001? Choosing a quality mark that earns its keep

What each one is

• Lexcel is the Law Society's practice management and client care standard, written specifically for legal practices. It covers governance, risk management, information security, client care, supervision, file management and complaints. Firms are assessed by licensed assessment bodies, then reassessed every year.
• ISO 9001 is the international standard for quality management systems, used by organisations of every kind. It is certified by accredited certification bodies, with annual surveillance audits and full recertification every three years. A new edition is due to replace the 2015 version, with a transition period for certified organisations, but the changes are expected to be evolutionary.

The case for Lexcel

• Written in the profession's language, so it maps naturally onto SRA obligations: supervision, file reviews, conflicts, complaints, risk registers and client care.
• Recognised by legal buyers: panels, local authorities and other legal procurement often expect it.
• Legal aid: a legal aid contract requires Lexcel or the Specialist Quality Mark.
• Insurers may look favourably on it at PII renewal, as evidence of risk management.
• A stepping stone to other legal accreditations, such as the Conveyancing Quality Scheme.

The case for ISO 9001

• Recognised outside the profession: corporate clients and public sector buyers often know ISO 9001 better than Lexcel, and some require it from all suppliers.
• Flexible: it says what a quality system must achieve rather than how, so a firm can design processes around how it really works.
• Integrates with other ISO standards: ISO 9001 shares a common structure with ISO 27001 (information security) and others, so a firm already certified to one can run a single management system, with one set of audits, policies and reviews.
• Continual improvement is built in: objectives, measurement, internal audit and management review.

The drawbacks

• Lexcel means little outside UK legal services, and can feel prescriptive.
• ISO 9001 does not address SRA requirements on its own; the firm has to interpret a general standard for legal work, and it can drift into paperwork if nobody owns it.
• Both cost time and money every year, and both become box-ticking if the evidence is assembled for the assessor rather than produced by how the firm works.

How to choose

1. Start with who is asking. Legal aid points to Lexcel (or the Specialist Quality Mark). Conveyancing panels point to the Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Corporate and public sector tenders often point to ISO 9001.
2. Look at what you already hold. A firm with ISO 27001, or planning it, gains most from ISO 9001's shared structure.
3. Consider your clients and markets. A firm serving businesses and international clients may value ISO's recognition; a high street or legal aid practice will usually be better served by Lexcel.
4. Consider holding both. Some firms do, from one evidence base. Holding one can make the other easier.

The value is in the system, not the certificate

Either mark rewards the same thing: a firm that can show, from its everyday records, that it supervises work, reviews files, manages risk, handles complaints, trains its people and reviews its suppliers. If that evidence lives in spreadsheets and folders, every assessment is a scramble. If it lives in the practice management system, as file reviews, risk alerts, registers and reports, the assessment becomes a by-product of running the firm well.

We help firms decide which quality mark fits their clients and markets, and set up their systems so the evidence is there all year round, independently of any vendor or assessment body.