du Legal Department secures top accolade from The UK Law Society

The Legal Department of the UAE’s integrated telecommunications service provider -du has become the first organisation in the UAE to be awarded with the prestigious Lexcel quality standard by the Law Society of England & Wales

Dubai, UAE,  24 March 2014: Lexcel is the Law Society of England and Wales’ internationally-recognised practice management standard. The Lexcel standard is only awarded to law firms and in-house legal departments who meet the highest management and customer care standards. Lexcel-accredited organisations undergo rigorous independent assessment every year to ensure they meet required standards of excellence in areas such as client care, case management and risk management. Unlike other quality standards, Lexcel was written specifically for the legal profession.

Anneliese Reinhold, General Counsel and SVP Legal & Regulatory Affairs at du, said:“In house legal teams have a vital role to play at the heart of large businesses. We understand and value the importance of Lexcel, and securing this prestigious accreditation sends a message to all our stakeholders that we invest in high standards of legal services based on internationally-recognised best practices. We believe that Lexcel has helped us to identify the multi-faceted nature of the drivers affecting quality. The benefits of adopting Lexcel have been both tangible and significant. At a holistic level, we are certain that the positive effects of this recognition have been beneficial not only to the legal department but to the wider organisation the Department sits within.”
Andrew Bean, Director at JRS Consultants, said:“Assisting du in the achievement of Lexcel has been enormously satisfying. The Lexcel standard is an onerous undertaking for any organisation. In the case of du there were many unique challenges along the way because it was the first of its kind. The way the organisation rose to these challenges was incredibly impressive. du’s strong leadership and team ‘buy-in’ were essential components in achieving a robust Lexcel implementation.”

Following the Law Society’s recent decision to widen the scope of Lexcel to become an international standard, with this honour du joins a distinct and rarefied community of only 17 organisations holding this accreditation outside England & Wales and just over 1500 UK legal practices, both in-house and private.