Lexcel preparation
Are you fully prepared for your Lexcel assessment?
Lexcel accreditation is the gold standard for risk management in legal practice. Our support service guides your firm through the entire process, increasing your chances of passing the assessment the first time.
Support for law firms undergoing their Lexcel assessment
Our Lexcel support service combines expert strategic guidance and hands-on assistance with each aspect of the process, from policy reviews to interview preparation. We don't just help you get the badge; we build sustainable systems that genuinely improve practice and service standards over the long term – improving your firm’s profile with regulators and insurers.
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Law firms
We offer hands-on guidance for law firms preparing to achieve Lexcel accreditation.
Whatʼs included in the service?
Our expert team understands both the challenges of preparing for Lexcel and what auditors are looking for. We’ll guide you through the entire accreditation journey, from gap analysis to final assessment.
The main areas where our Lexcel specialists can support you include:
Review of current systems
Full gap analysis of your existing practices compared to the rigorous Lexcel standard.
Tailored roadmap
A step-by-step plan outlining exactly what needs to be done to meet Lexcel requirements.
Policy creation/revision
Drafting new policies or revising existing ones to ensure they are fully Lexcel compliant.
Registers and procedures
Creating and implementing the registers and operational procedures mandated by Lexcel.
Pre-accreditation dry run
Rehearsal, including interviews and file reviews, to ensure your firm is fully prepared.
Support with assessor queries
Ongoing support to help you answer any questions from the official Lexcel assessor.
Actionable outcomes
Fewer mistakes and less rework
Save time on document drafting
Identify and fix issues in advance
Build processes that work long-term
Support when challenges arise
Is your firm working towards Lexcel accreditation?
Speak to Complex Risk today. We’ll help you streamline the process of preparing for and undertaking the assessment, giving you the best chance of achieving accreditation and maintaining standards over time.
Frequently asked questions
If you don’t find the answer to your question here, get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to help.
Think of Complex Risk as your driving instructor and the official Lexcel assessor as the examiner. We’re on your side, collaborating with your teams. Our role is to ensure that you’re fully prepared for the Lexcel assessment by helping you build, implement, and embed the required systems. The assessor's role is to independently audit those systems against the Lexcel standard, on behalf of the Law Society.
We find that hands-on support is the most effective approach, so we don’t just provide you with a list of recommendations to implement – we help you put the required changes into practice. We’ll start with tried and tested templates for the required policies, and then work closely with your teams to tailor them to your firm’s operations. We’ll review drafts with you, suggest edits and work collaboratively until we’re confident you’re assessment-ready.
It’s not a scenario we encounter often, as we’re extremely thorough in our preparation and "dry run" process, and wouldn’t recommend a firm to undergo the Lexcel assessment before we believe they are ready. However, if you fail to secure accreditation, we’ll be on hand to review the assessor's report, create an action plan to address the specific points of failure, and help you prepare for re-assessment with as little delay as possible.
It depends on the maturity and consistency of your processes, documentation and practices, but on average, we would usually spend between 2 and 4 months preparing a mid-sized law firm for the Lexcel assessment. We begin each engagement with an in-depth gap analysis, which allows us to give you a much more precise and realistic timeline from the outset. Get in touch with one of our team to discuss your current position and how much support you might need to prepare for the assessment.
We believe so, yes. The systems and processes we help you build are designed for long-term value, not just to get over the hurdle of the initial assessment. They create a foundation for greater operational efficiency, consistent service quality, and robust risk management that will continue to benefit your firm, reduce PII premiums, and make annual re-accreditation a much simpler process for years to come.