Peer Review

On this page:

What is peer review?
Can providers challenge a peer review result?
How does peer review affect providers?
Peer review outcomes
How is peer review independent?

Independent peer review of telephone advice work

Recruiting peer reviewers
For more information

What is peer review?

Peer review is a quality assessment tool. It directly measures the quality of advice and legal work carried out by legal aid providers.

The independent peer review we use is developed and managed by the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies. This organisation is independent of the LSC.

Peer reviewers are experienced legal aid practitioners. They assess a random sample of a provider’s case files using a standard criteria and ratings system (See Documents panel for the crime, civil and CLA peer review criteria).

Following this assessment the reviewer makes an overall judgement about the provider’s quality of advice and legal work in a particular category of law. The peer reviewer writes a detailed report containing their findings including both positive areas, areas for improvement and the overall quality rating. The overall quality of advice provided is assessed using a 1–5 rating.

The ratings are as follows:

Excellence (1)
Competence Plus (2)
Threshold Competence (3)
Below Competence (4)
Failure in Performance (5)

Further information about peer review can be found in the Independent Peer Review Process paper located in the Documents panel.

Can providers challenge a peer review result?

Providers can challenge their peer review results using the representations process for the two lowest ratings i.e. Below Competence (4) or Failure in Performance (5).

The peer reviewer will consider the representations made and discuss these with a senior panel member. Senior panel membrs are appointed by the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies from the existing panel of peer reviewers.

Together the peer reviewer and senior panel member will decide:

whether amendments should be made to the report
if the rating should be changed.

If the peer reviewer and senior panel member cannot agree the rating, the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies will speak to an individual with recognised expertise in the category of law.

Their role is not to determine the rating but to provide expertise that should assist the peer reviewers to reach agreement.

How does peer review affect providers?

For ratings of Below Competence (4) or Failure in Performance (5) a further peer review (with different case files and a different peer reviewer) will be conducted.

If this further review confirms a rating of either Below Competence (4) or Failure in Performance (5) the LSC will take further action. This may affect the provider’s contract.

Peer review outcomes

In the Documents panel you'll find a document showing peer review outcomes.

How is peer review independent?

The peer review framework and methodology was developed and is managed by the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies.

Peer reviewers are recruited and trained by the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and work independently from the LSC. The LSC will not influence or alter the rating awarded. Peer reviewers decide what rating to award based on the quality of advice and legal work.

Independent peer review of telephone advice work

The peer review process was adapted to assess telephonedvice work in 2006/07 with input from the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, peer reviewers and provider feedback during pilot reviews. This process has been used to assess CLA providers since 2008.

In most respects the process used to peer review telephone advice files is the same as the standard Independent Peer Review Process.

However, the following aspects of the process have been tailored to ensure the process is suitable for the assessment of telephoneadice work:

File sampling process
Peer review crteria

These two documents can be found in the Document panel on the right hand side

Recruiting peer reviewers

We are not currently recruiting peer reviewers at the moment. Please refer to the Document panel for:

Application form
The personal specification

Please note both documents are for information only and may be subject to change.

For more information

Full details of the process can be found in the Independent Peer Review Process paper located in the Documents Panel.

Please email any questions/queries to the peer review team.

Visit the Improving your quality page to read and download our improving quality guides.

Last updated: 12 July 2007