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About accreditation schemes
An accreditation scheme is a group of legal practitioners whose expertise in a particular area of law has been tested, assessed and accredited by the Law Society or the Solicitors Regulation Authority. These schemes promote standards of excellence in the delivery of legal services.
Accreditation schemes are also intended to help consumers identify solicitors and solicitors’ employees who are competent and experienced in key areas of legal practice.
Only practitioners who meet exacting requirements are permitted to join our accreditation schemes.
When you see a professional accreditation scheme logo, you’ll know that the practitioner’s skills and knowledge have been rigorously and independently tested.
Children Panel Accreditation Scheme
The Children Panel Accreditation Scheme aims to connect you with practitioners experienced in representing children and other parties under the Children Act 1989.
Scheme members, who must be solicitors or legal executives (ie Fellows of the Institute of Legal Executives, or FILEXs), provide advice and representation
- for children, in all family matters
- for adults, when their children are ‘at risk’, or have been taken into care
- for local authorities, in care proceedings under the Children Act 1989
Scheme members can also help you with proceedings such as
- family breakdowns
- residence
- contact
- emergency protection
- adoption
- parental responsibility
- human rights
Civil and Commercial Mediation Accreditation Scheme
Civil and Commercial Mediation Accreditation Scheme members, who must be solicitors or legal executives (ie Fellows of the Institute of Legal Executives, or FILEXs), offer ways to resolve disputes without using the courts.
Mediation involves a trained, neutral, impartial third party using special skills to resolve a dispute – regardless of whether the parties have commenced litigation.
Mediation differs from litigation and arbitration, in which a third party (the judge or arbitrator) makes a binding decision and tells the parties the answer to the dispute.
The Civil and Commercial Mediation Accreditation Scheme covers mediations arising from all types of civil/commercial disputes. While scheme members may have special expertise in certain kinds of disputes, they also have good general dispute resolution and mediation skills.
Clinical Negligence Accreditation Scheme
The Clinical Negligence Accreditation Scheme aims to connect you with legal representatives who provide advice and assistance with claims arising from acts of negligence by medical or dental practitioners.
Solicitors or legal executives (ie Fellows of the Institute of Legal Executives, or FILEXs) on the scheme have satisfied the Solicitors Regulation Authority that they can conduct actions properly on behalf of patients.
Clinical Negligence Accreditation Scheme members advise and assist people who have been injured – or the relatives of those who have died or been permanently incapacitated - by any alleged act of negligence, breach of contract and/or breach of statutory duty by a member of the medical or dental professions.
Criminal Litigation Accreditation Scheme
Stage 1 membership of the Criminal Litigation Accreditation Scheme (CLAS) enables solicitors to apply to the Criminal Defence Service for inclusion in duty solicitor schemes.
All firms that perform publicly funded criminal defence work have at least one ‘duty solicitor’.
Duty solicitors are called to police stations to advise and assist people who would otherwise have no legal representation.
They also provide advocacy services at magistrates courts, assisting people who do not have their own legal representatives.
Family Law Accreditation Scheme
Family law deals with complex, grueling issues. Family Law Accreditation Scheme members can advise on and assist with
- divorce
- separation
- division of family assets
- co-habitation
- maintenance
- family disputes
Solicitors and legal executives (ie Fellows of the Institute of Legal Executives, or FILEXs) who work in the field must have in-depth legal knowledge and be capable of dealing with clients in a skilful, considerate way.
Family Law Accreditation Scheme – Advanced
Advanced members of the Family Law Accreditation Scheme – solicitors or legal executives (ie, Fellows of the Institute of Legal Executives, or FILEXs) – can provide advice and assistance to clients in particularly complex family law cases.
Family Law Accreditation Scheme members themselves should consider using advanced members of the scheme to handle cases that may be beyond their expertise.
Family Mediation Accreditation Scheme
Family Mediation Accreditation Scheme members, who must be solicitors or legal executives (ie, Fellows of the Institute of Legal Executives, or FILEXs), can assist couples who are going through divorce or separation; they help people talk to one another, attempting thereby to resolve the issues in dispute. Such issues might include a couples children, or financial matters arising from the breakdown of the relationship.
Mediation involves a trained, neutral, impartial third party using special skills to resolve a dispute, regardless of whether the parties have commenced litigation.
Family mediators may specialise either in children-only or in financial-only mediation. However, every Family Mediation Accreditation Scheme member has knowledge and awareness of all family mediation issues.
Higher Courts Rights of Audience
All solicitors have full rights of audience in the following:
- tribunals
- coroners courts
- magistrates’ courts
- county courts
- the European courts
Solicitors may also obtain rights of audience in the higher courts:
- the Crown Court
- the High Court
- the Court of Appeal
- the House of Lords
A solicitor may choose to gain higher rights in order to offer a complete service for a client: from initial advice to case preparation and presentation before the courts.
Immigration and Asylum Accreditation Scheme
Major changes recently have been made to the provision of legal advice to immigrants and asylum seekers, and to the way in which the provision of such services is regulated..
Insolvency Practitioners
The Insolvency Act 1986 requires anyone who acts as a receiver, liquidator, administrator, supervisor or trustee of a company or an individual to be a licensed insolvency practitioner.
The Law Society is one of a number of professional bodies that can license (or ‘authorise’) their members; it has delegated this function to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
The licence allows solicitors to
- act as supervisors of voluntary arrangements
- act as administrators
- act as administrative receivers or liquidators for a limited company
- act as receivers
- act as trustees in bankruptcy for individuals
- supervise company and individual voluntary arrangements
- administer insolvent estates of the deceased
Licensed solicitors are also able to offer advice on all legal aspects of insolvency, bankruptcy and related matters.
Mental Health Review Tribunal Accreditation Scheme
Mental Health Review Tribunals are independent judicial bodies that operate under the provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983.
The main function of the tribunals is to review the cases of compulsorily detained patients and decide whether or not such patients can be discharged.
Solicitors and solicitors’ employees who belong to the Mental Health Review Tribunal Accreditation Scheme can advise and represent at tribunal hearings patients who have been detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.
Many members of the Mental Health Review Tribunal Accreditation Scheme are also able to offer legal advice and assistance in other related areas of the law affecting mental illness and incapacitated persons – in wills and probate, Court of Protection cases, and powers of attorney.
Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme
If you have been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries and loss of earnings.
The Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme aims to put you in touch with legal practitioners who provide advice on and assistance with claims arising from personal injury.
Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme members, all of whom are either solicitors or legal executives (ie, Fellows of the Institute of Legal Executives, or FILEXs), can also provide advice to relatives of people who have been fatally injured.
Many Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme members offer potential clients a free half-hour consultation. You can use this advice session to find out
- whether you have a case
- how to go about claiming
- how much you might be able to claim
- how a claim could be paid for
Planning Law Accreditation Scheme
Planning law includes
- planning applications or appeals
- enforcement
- listed-building and conservation-area applications
- compulsory purchases
- tree-preservation orders
- development on contaminated land
- other situations in which special planning controls apply
Members of the Planning Law Accreditation Scheme, who must be solicitors, are able to advise on all aspects of the planning process.