Nockolds is delighted to announce that it has been reaccredited with the Lexcel Legal Practice Quality Mark and Customer Service Excellence Standard (CSE), following a thorough independent assessment earlier this summer.
2021 marks the 18th consecutive year that Nockolds has met the Lexcel practice management criteria, demonstrating a long-term commitment to consistently delivering services that meet client expectations, improve customer satisfaction and ensure regulatory compliance.
It is also the third year that it has been assessed against the CSE Standard which focuses on putting the client at the core of everything – with a particular focus on delivery, timeliness, information, professionalism and staff attitude.
To satisfy both the comprehensive Lexcel criteria and CSE Standard, it is not enough just to have policies and procedures in place and a client friendly website. Instead, these must be properly embedded across the practice and form part of the firm culture.
To verify full compliance, an independent assessor conducted a dual assessment for both accreditations and spent a week with Nockolds virtually undertaking rigorous file audits across all practice areas. Additionally, the assessor virtually interviewed 30 staff members to validate that both the Lexcel criteria and CSE Standards had been met.
This was done at the height of the pandemic in 2020 and again in 2021 and despite these difficult times, Nockolds maintained its high standards.
The assessor stated in the Lexcel final report that: ‘despite the ongoing difficulties and challenges, the practice should continue to be extremely highly commended for continuing to achieve an extremely high level of compliance against the Lexcel standard’.
Since becoming fully compliant with the CSE Standard in 2019, Nockolds went further and was thrilled to secure four Compliance Plus awards in 2020 which demonstrate the firm’s commitment to foster a truly customer focused service. However, in 2021, this doubled to eight Compliance Plus awards.
These additional awards demonstrate areas where Nockolds has exceeded the Standard and identify what is being done as exceptional and not common across other solicitors’ practices. They are also considered to be examples for good practice for other firms.
The independent assessor commented: ‘It remains very clear from the assessment process that the practice puts customer service and building strong client relationships at the heart of everything they do. It is fully supported by the entire firm and is an integral part of the firm’s culture that all staff are required to both sign up to and are measured against’.
‘It is also crystal clear that compliance is a deeply embedded part of the culture, and in both Lexcel and CSE terms, the practice remains a clear ‘Centre of Excellence’. In the writer’s very wide experience of the legal sector, this level of commitment is exceptional practice, and should serve as an exemplar of other firms within the legal sector.’
Service, quality and client care have always been at the forefront for Nockolds, and the firm is thrilled to once again be recognised as a leader in its field and for its commitment to putting its clients first.