For some practices the answer will be yes – all the boxes are ticked. No need to look at the Standard or review any documentation until one month before the annual maintenance visit.

For other practices the answers is no – this is the start of our journey toward being a practice that consistently delivers quality of service and continuous improvement throughout the supply chain.

I imagine that the practices that answered “yes” are already a little lost – “supply chain” what is that? Quality, we deliver quality - our award says so.

The practices that answered “no” however are already making their way forward in their own individual way along a journey, recognised in the business world as total quality management (TQM) – much talked about in industry in the 80s and 90s but sadly, in the main ignored, by law firms.

In the simplest of quality management terms the “yes” camp are the benchmarking practices and the “no” camp are the baseline practices. For the record St Helens Law Limited is very much in the “no” camp.

So will the “yes” camp manage sustainable quality and improvement? The truth, as backed up by academic research, is probably not over the longer period once they start to level off.

The "no” camp on the other hand see the award as the starting point from which to move forward and create their own individual identity in the market place by continuously striving for excellence and improvement of delivery and just as importantly receipt of services.

St Helens Law with its continued commitment to remain in the “no” camp will look to using the Lexcel standard as the framework to guide its management on the journey toward excellence.

On the journey toward excellence St Helens Law will publish articles and items of potential interest for practices that would like to join the “no” camp on its website. These may also be of interest to clients and business that St Helens Law supply or receive services from.

Further information about St Helens Law’s journey toward excellence can be obtained by contacting Paul Wood, practice manager at St Helens Law.

For some practices the answer will be yes – all the boxes are ticked. No need to look at the Standard or review any documentation until one month before the annual maintenance visit.

For other practices the answers is no – this is the start of our journey toward being a practice that consistently delivers quality of service and continuous improvement throughout the supply chain.

I imagine that the practices that answered “yes” are already a little lost – “supply chain” what is that? Quality, we deliver quality - our award says so.

The practices that answered “no” however are already making their way forward in their own individual way along a journey, recognised in the business world as total quality management (TQM) – much talked about in industry in the 80s and 90s but sadly, in the main ignored, by law firms.

In the simplest of quality management terms the “yes” camp are the benchmarking practices and the “no” camp are the baseline practices. For the record St Helens Law Limited is very much in the “no” camp.

So will the “yes” camp manage sustainable quality and improvement? The truth, as backed up by academic research, is probably not over the longer period once they start to level off.

The "no” camp on the other hand see the award as the starting point from which to move forward and create their own individual identity in the market place by continuously striving for excellence and improvement of delivery and just as importantly receipt of services.

St Helens Law with its continued commitment to remain in the “no” camp will look to using the Lexcel standard as the framework to guide its management on the journey toward excellence.

On the journey toward excellence St Helens Law will publish articles and items of potential interest for practices that would like to join the “no” camp on its website. These may also be of interest to clients and business that St Helens Law supply or receive services from.

Further information about St Helens Law’s journey toward excellence can be obtained by contacting Paul Wood, practice manager at St Helens Law.