February 2011:

Firms holding an SQM accreditation should look seriously about switching to the Law Society's Lexcel accreditation.  Lexcel is now an accepted alternative to SQM for holding a Legal Aid contract, and SQM audits are no longer free but are now being charged for by the outsourced SQM auditing body.  Lexcel also satisfies the SRA requirements for compliance with the Solicitors Code of Conduct, and provides evidence to your firm's PI insurers that you are effectively managing your exposure to risk.

December 2010:

The   Law Society have announced version 4.1 of the Lexcel Standard. There are no major changes to the main building blocks of Case and Risk Management, File Review, Business Planning and staff-related procedures, but various existing requirements have been made more detailed or in some cases added to.  The new v4.1 version will be the required requirements for firms wishing to move to an initial Lexcel assessment after 1 January 2011.

A full revision of the Lexcel Standard (v5) is being planned for later in 2011.