Guidance

Legal Aid Agency quality standards

Legal aid providers: find out how the LAA sets quality assurance standards and make sure you qualify.

From:
Legal Aid Agency
Published
2 July 2014
Last updated
1 October 2022 — See all updates

Applies to England and Wales

Overview

If you hold a legal aid contract with LAA you must have the SQM standard or the Lexcel Practice Management standard (Lexcel), owned by the Law Society.

The LAA owns the quality assurance standards known as Specialist Quality Mark (SQM).

Find information about Lexcel on the Law Society website or find providers who hold the SQM or Lexcel

Specialist Quality Mark

The Specialist Quality Mark (SQM) is a quality assurance standard designed for organisations:

  • supplying complex legal help
  • offering a full range of legal services, including representation in court (where necessary and permitted) by formally trained professionals

Changes to the Specialist Quality Mark from 1 October 2022

The LAA has recently reviewed and updated the SQM Standard and SQM Guidance. The revised requirements in the SQM came into force on 1 October 2022.

A summary of the main changes are set out in the document below alongside final versions of the SQM Standard and Guidance:

Summary of main changes to the Specialist Quality Mark from 1 October 2022

PDF, 26.6 KB, 1 page

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Specialist Quality Mark guidance 1 October 2022

PDF, 657 KB, 94 pages

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Specialist Quality Mark standard 1 October 2022

PDF, 868 KB, 134 pages

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Previous versions of the standard and guidance that were applicable for applications for an audit made before 1 October 2022 are available below.

LAA Specialist Quality Mark standard March 2017

PDF, 1.11 MB, 128 pages

LAA Specialist Quality Mark guidance March 2017

PDF, 915 KB, 93 pages

Withdrawal of the Family Mediation Quality Mark

The Family Mediation Quality Mark has been withdrawn from 1 September 2018.

Providers holding a 2018 Standard Civil Contract in the mediation category of law will be required to meet the quality requirements set out in the 2018 Standard Civil Contract category specific rules for mediation. This document is available to download here:

Standard Civil Contract 2018

Updates

We publish updates about the Specialist Quality Mark standards in the LAA bulletin.

Updates to this page

Published 2 July 2014
Last updated 1 October 2022 + show all updates

  1. Update to Guidance

  2. Updated content with details of revised requirements for the Specialist Quality Mark, which come into force on 1 October 2022.

  3. Changes to quality standards page following withdrawal of the family mediation quality mark

  4. SQM Standard and guidance updated.

  5. Information about changes to the SQM audit process from 1 April 2017 published.

  6. Updated documents added

  7. First published.

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