Thompsons Solicitors is the first law firm in the UK to be awarded the Legal Services Commission (LSC) Quality Mark for legal websites.

The LSC's Quality Mark is the quality standard for legal information. It sets standards designed to ensure that the website is well run and has its own quality control mechanisms for the information provided on it.

The standards also relate to accessibility for those with disabilities.

Thompsons, the UK's largest specialist trade union and personal injury law firm was chosen to be part of the first wave of pilot applicants for the Quality Mark because of the broad range of legal information it provides on its website and because of the site's straightforward design and navigation.

All the firm's information leaflets on employment, health and safety and personal injury law are accessible on the site. The monthly Labour and European Law Review which keeps trade union activists up to date with developments in employment law is also available on the site, along with a series of Everday Factsheets on a variety of subjects including family, consumer and property law.

Tom Jones, director of communications at Thompsons said: "We are delighted to have been awarded this Quality Mark. I hope it will make us something of a standard bearer to other firms in how they design and use their websites. Thompsons has never treated its site as a flashy piece of marketing for the firm. Instead it serves a serious and useful purpose of providing information to trade unions, their members and families and to all working people about their rights at work.

"As a firm with a proud record in equality issues we are particularly alive to the need to make websites easy to read and navigate. Too many law firms go in for bells and whistles that may look impressive but can be a nightmare for people who are visually impaired. We aim to provide an online legal information service that is accessible to everyone."