A YORK law practice which has earned the ultimate professional management standard, has received the blessing of the Archbishop of York.

Dr David Hope presented the Law Society's new Lexcel practice management accolade to Denison Till at a reception in its offices in Stamford House, Piccadilly.

About 50 top members of the business community, including chartered surveyors, accountants, bankers and clients, applauded as Dr Hope presented the award to Lionel Lennox, a partner who also happens to be the archbishop's legal secretary.

Declaring this a "team effort", Mr Lennox said: "Denison Till is very proud to be the first firm with its principal offices in York to be awarded the Law Society's official seal of quality - particularly as we passed the assessment on our first attempt.

"We're an innovative and forward-thinking firm so the word 'first' is one we like to hear."

The firm's Leeds office has also been given the award which is described by the Law Society as "the practice management certification scheme written by lawyers for lawyers - directly meeting the needs of the legal profession"

It puts great emphasis on client care and to this end Denison Till recently established an e-commerce unit to advise "cyber clients" and uses voice recognition software to improve communication.