THE LAW SOCIETY ACCREDITED FAMILY MEDIATION...

Work started in April 2015 to ensure that the accreditation remains compliant with the Family Mediation Council's  (FMC) updated Professional Standards and Self- Regulatory Framework.

The review was completed in early October 2015. Accredited individuals also became FMC accredited, can carry out Mediation Information and Assessment. Meetings and undertake publicly funded mediation work.

The Law Society stated that as a member organisation of the FMC, the accreditation must be compliant with the requirements of FMC's new framework.

The Law Society's representative on the FMC, the scheme's chief assessor and family law policy experts have been involved in the review. The initial application process now requires the completion of a portfolio, comprising three case commentaries, a reflective account and three case study questions.

A professional practice consultant must observe a mediation session and complete a statement. A new re accreditation process will ensure that practitioners have maintained the required levels of experience and practice.

ACCREDITED CRIMINAL LITIGATION...

According to the Law Society, ' solicitors currently undertaking publicly funded criminal defence work via the duty solicitor scheme need to hold the Criminal Litigation Accreditation.

While we have received feedback from some accredited members about changes that could be made to the scheme, we will not start any work until after the award of the new legal aid contracts.

Following the implementation of the new contracts in January 2016, we anticipate to start an initial consultation with accredited members to gain feedback on the structure and requirements for accreditation, including implications of the new two tier legal aid contract system.

#WILLS & INHERITANCE QUALITY ACCREDITED...

The Law Society stated that 'following the accreditation of the first batch of practices in February 2014, the number of accredited practices to the Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme (WIQS) has gradually grown to just under 200.

Continued work for the forthcoming year will build awareness of the accreditation amongst consumers.

On average there are 5,300 unique monthly searches for wills and probate on Find A Solicitor - a healthy volume of traffic to promote WIQS to consumers searching online.

We're already investing in paid search campaigns to direct consumers to Find A Solicitor to view their nearest WIQS accredited practice.

Other planned targeted marketing spend includes working with the Alzheimer's Society and securing speaking opportunities and PR to increase understanding about WIQS amongst consumers.

#THE LAW SOCIETY'S UPDATE ON CIVIL & COMMERCIAL MEDIATION...

The Law Society stated that 'two phases of research were completed with accredited and non-accredited individuals in 2014 and 2015 to determine how it could be changed to better meet practitioners' needs.

The proposed changes will be shared with all accredited individuals for their feedback before the end of December 2015.

The research indicated that the accreditation in its current form does not provide a clear differentiation of expertise or generate significant new business enquiries.

To address this, it is proposed that the accreditation be re-structured to become a peer to peer referral scheme, to enable law firms to pass referrals to accredited practitioners.

Requirements for accreditation and assessment methodology will be reviews to ensure that they are relevant to specialists who undertake this work.

Post launch marketing activities will include raising awareness of the accreditation amongst all solicitors to help generate referrals to accredited individuals listed on Find A Solicitor.

FAMILY LAW AND FAMILY LAW ADVANCED ACCREDITATIONS...

The Law Society's update on Family Law and Family Law Advanced Accreditations commenced in January.

The consultation will review the required knowledge for accreditation, including referencing Welsh law and changes arising from the Children and Families Act 2014.

Requirements for initial, re-accreditation and assessment methodology will also be reviewed.

All accredited individuals will be contact to participate in the consultation process.

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