Press Release
Legal Services Commission consults over Peer Review
31 March 2005
The Legal Services Commission has today published a consultation paper outlining the process of Peer Review, a direct independent assessment of publicly-funded advice and legal work by experienced practitioners.
Peer review will enable the Commission to champion the needs of the client by ensuring the provision of quality legal services and also support organisations’ ability to provide high quality legal services through the feedback that peer review assessments provide.
Peer review involves the assessment of an organisation’s files by experienced solicitors using a standard criteria and ratings system to determine the quality of legal advice and work provided to clients in a particular category of law.
Peter Watson Director of the Supplier Development Group at the Legal Services Commission said:
"Peer review will enable us to ensure that clients receive a consistent high quality service. The use of peer review to assess the work of solicitors and advisers has been developed in recognition of feedback we have received from legal practitioners and representative bodies that say that independent evaluation by experienced peers is the best way to assess the quality of advice given by practitioners."
The peer review process used by the Commission has been independently developed, and managed by the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies.
At present there are approximately 80 peer reviewers working across nine categories of law including crime, family and immigration. Peer reviewers are recruited and trained through an open selection process.
Further reviewers will be recruited and new categories of law will be added in order to support the expansion of the process to include, where appropriate all publicly-funded categories of law.
Experienced peer reviewer and family practitioner Peter Whitfield, from Kent based family law specialists Madeleine Townsend Solicitors and Co. said: "Peer review is an accurate, flexible and constructive means of assessing the quality of work carried out by firms. The process at its best is instructive for both peer reviewer and peer reviewed."
ENDS
Media information
Daniel Kellingley 020 7759 0415
Notes to editors
1. The consultation paper (and Executive summary): ‘Independent Peer Review of Legal Advice and Legal Work’ is available in the Civil Consultation section of the website at Community Legal Services> Consultation> Civil Consultation and comments are invited until 25 June 2005.
2. A document covering Peer review frequently asked questions is available on the website at www.legalservices.gov.uk/peerreview
Last updated: 28 December 2006