Quality Assurance

Assuring you of quality

Quality cannot be taken for granted. Our confidence has to be matched by objective evidence. Therefore we have sought - and been granted - third party endorsement of the standards our clients expect to receive. We are the only local legal practice in the country to simultaneously hold ISO9001, Lexcel and Investors in People accreditation.

Customer Charter

• We are committed to providing the highest quality services at the
  lowest possible cost to all our customers.
• We consider it important to keep in touch with our clients and make
  regular enquiries to ensure that service delivery is matching their
  expectations and requirements.
• Our staff are expected to understand and acknowledge the
  obligations and constraints experienced by clients. These will be
  taken into account when agreeing instructions.
• Client confidentiality will be maintained having regard to the current
  legislation and professional requirements.
• In cases where work needs to be sub-contracted to barristers, expert witnesses or others, clients will be offered the opportunity to assess or verify those services [this facility is only operated in cases where this arrangement is agreed with you.  The fact that you assess the sub-contractor does not exempt us from our own responsibility in evaluating that service].
• All our systems and procedures are assessed on a regular basis by the international certification body SGS and meet the requirements of ISO9001 and the Law Society's Practice Management Standard, Lexcel.  All our staff are trained to IIP and Charter Mark standards. The client is the final inspector and we never forget that you have a choice.

Quality Matters

ISO9001:2008

ISO9001 is an internationally recognised quality standard, which concentrates on quality management to fulfil customer requirements, encouraging organisations to continually improve the effectiveness of their operations. We first achieved this award in 1997, and it has since been reconfirmed annually by independent external auditors.

For more information about IS09001 visit the BSI Global website.

Lexcel

The Law Society introduced the Lexcel standard for private and local government legal practices to identify those who demonstrate an extremely high level of management. Lexcel encourages practices to consult with clients to ensure that the views of the users of legal services have an impact on the way the service is delivered. Being among the first to receive accreditation in 1998, we have since had our certification reconfirmed annually.

For more information visit the Law Society's website. 

Investors in People

The most important part of any organisation is the people who work within it and one of the most difficult things to achieve is to make all the staff members feel valued and happy in their work. KCC Legal Services demonstrated its commitment to providing the best working environment for our staff by first achieving this award in 1999. Investor In People status was later awarded to the whole of Kent County Council in 2000, and is reviewed regularly by independent external assessors.

For more information visit the Investors in People website.

Solicitors Regulation Authority

This signifies that the team contains lawyers who are recognised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (the independent regulatory body of the Law Society) as experts in the law relating to children. This is evidenced by their inclusion as Local Authority representatives on the SRA’s Specialist Children Panel. 

Inclusion on the Children Panel is only open to those who have demonstrated the required skills and experience to personally conduct complex and challenging cases relating to children.