30 Park Place lead the way as the first UK Chambers to achieve LOCS:23 Certification

30 Park Place are currently the largest chambers in Wales, with their members frequently handling high-profile cases across England and Wales.

Headed by Catrin John, the Cardiff-based set partnered with Briefed to pursue the prestigious goal of becoming the first UK Chambers to achieve LOCS:23 certification, a new standard approved by the ICO for GDPR compliance.

Over the last few months, they have been one of only three organisations involved in the LOCS:23 certification pilot scheme and are now proud to be recognised as the first set of barristers' chambers in the UK to be LOCS:23 certified.

Rebecca Harrington, barrister and treasurer of 30 Park Place, believes it is only a matter of time before other chambers follow suit.

“I don’t believe we are the only chambers to take this issue seriously. Once they have seen that someone has done this successfully, they will not want to be left behind and will be forced to jump, whether they like it or not.”

What is LOCS:23?

The Legal Services Operational Privacy Certification Scheme (LOCS:23) is designed to assist law firms, chambers, and legal software providers in fulfilling their UK GDPR obligations while evidencing to clients that their data is properly and legally protected.

It allows organisations to demonstrate their compliance using a tangible, quantifiable and auditable framework. By implementing this standard, businesses can protect themselves from fines, win more work, reduce data breaches, and show that they comply with industry standards.

Similar to how Cyber Essentials safeguards against online threats, LOCS:23 could soon become a prerequisite for organisations seeking to collaborate with public government bodies. With GDPR compliance a pressing issue in today's supply chain, numerous businesses, particularly financial institutions, are likely to embrace the LOCS:23 standard to ensure the secure handling of client data.

The multidisciplinary set have always been committed to protecting their client data as well as possible, and they believe that taking on the certification will keep them ahead of their competing sets across England and Wales with Kayleigh Jefferies, Lead Civil Clerk for 30 Park Place stating:

“We decided to go ahead with the LOCS:23 certification because we believe that it is essential for ensuring we are able to demonstrate a competent level of GDPR compliance to our clients and throughout any due diligence processes.

If this is the new standard, law firms and local authorities will inevitably begin to ask for proof of certification before instructing us with work. Achieving LOCS:23 is in our best interest, as it keeps us ahead of our competitors.”

Fully Briefed: Supporting 30 Park Place through LOCS:23 Certification

Achieving LOCS:23 certification is a huge commitment for barristers’ chambers, requiring collective effort from members and staff throughout the organisation and we were thrilled to come onboard as 30 Park Place’s certification partner for this project, guiding them from beginning to end with Kayleigh stating,

“Briefed have been an immense asset from onboarding to becoming certified. They were instrumental in completing a gap analysis of our data governance structure with the provision of a navigable action plan that helped us get into the strongest possible position to be certified. Alongside their invaluable work to remediate any gaps in compliance, they also offered insight into how we can properly implement the certification, as well as continued support throughout the all-important auditing phase.

“Choosing Briefed to guide us through LOCS was an easy decision to make. They are a trusted partner of ours, who provide LOCS-approved training and aim to move us through the process as fast as possible."

Uniquely, as a supplier to the legal industry, we have undertaken the certification process ourselves, giving us a true understanding of not only what it takes for a business to achieve and maintain this new standard but also how effective the standard is."They also have first-hand experience, having already achieved the certification themselves. They already know what a certification-ready organisation looks like.”

Mitigating data breaches and enhancing client confidence with LOCS:23

The LOCS:23 certification brings with it many benefits for an organisation and an overall peace of mind when it comes to GDPR considerations. But the looming threat of a data breach was more than enough reason for the chambers to reinforce their in-house practices and training requirements.

“The threat of a data breach is always present in this industry and by having LOCS:23, we are able to reduce the possibility and frequency of these breaches, as well as any financial or reputational costs that come with suffering from one.

“The ICO have also mentioned that if we were to incur a breach without having LOCS:23, it would be considered an aggravating factor. Also, we are now able to make sure that our members are completing annual training thereby meeting their regulatory requirement.”

Using our online booking system, you can book a free 30-minute eligibility call, and we will answer all your LOCS:23 questions. Alternatively, you can visit our LOCS:23 website page for more information.