‘Court rent accounts’, McKenzie Friends and allegedly inducing breach of contract. – Nearly Legal

Posted August 10th, 2023 in contracts, freezing injunctions, McKenzie friends, news, rent, repossession by tracey

‘Katrina McCarthy was apparently acting as a McKenzie Friend for a Notting Hill Genesis tenant. Notting Hill assert that in the course of “assisting” the tenant, Katrina McCarthy “induced the tenant to start paying his rent directly into her own bank account. She had represented to the tenant that she would then transfer the funds into a “court rent account” so that he could “offset” his rent whilst a disrepair dispute with Notting Hill was resolved.” ‘

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Nearly Legal, 9th August 2023

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

A judge has discretion to grant relief from sanctions without a formal application or any application at all, Court of Appeal reaffirms- Farrar’s Building

‘In Park v Hadi and Another [2022] EWCA Civ 581, the Court of Appeal (Holroyde, Stuart-Smith and Warby LJJ), reaffirmed the principle that a judge may, of her own discretion, grant relief from sanctions without formal notice or without any application at all. The Court went on to issue guidance as to how this judicial discretion ought to be exercised, observing that a judge should always act in accordance with the overriding objective and will likely only exercise her discretion to grant relief sparingly.’

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Farrar's Building, 5th May 2022

Source: www.farrarsbuilding.co.uk

Judge criticises Mackenzie Friend over timing of application to revoke adoption order – Local Government Lawyer

‘A disputed adoption case has highlighted the problems of reliance on a Mackenzie Friend rather than a solicitor in proceedings, a Family Division judge has suggested.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 22nd October 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Judge refuses to recuse herself over counsel link – Litigation Futures

Posted July 8th, 2020 in barristers, bias, judges, litigants in person, McKenzie friends, news, recusal by sally

‘A High Court judge has refused a request from a litigant in person to recuse herself from hearing a case where she had briefly supervised counsel for the defendants at her old chambers.’

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Litigation Futures, 8th July 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Right of audience denied: McKenzie Friend not allowed to speak for litigant who was ‘well able to speak on her own behalf’ – Transparency Project

‘The recent case of Ameyaw v McGoldrick [2020] EWHC 1741 (QB) offers a cautionary tale about McKenzie Friends and what they can and can’t do for you in court. In this case the judge, Mrs Justice Steyn, refused to allow the MF to make oral submissions on behalf of the claimant, saying the claimant was a well-educated intelligent woman who had extensive experience of litigation, and was perfectly capable of speaking for herself.’

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Transparency Project, 5th July 2020

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

McKenzie Friends giving “biased and misleading” online advice – Legal Futures

‘McKenzie Friends are giving “biased and misleading” advice to vulnerable family litigants, an academic study of online posts has found.’

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Legal Futures, 11th December 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Lawyers want crackdown on ‘unscrupulous’ untrained advocates who put public at risk – Daily Telegraph

‘A new breed of untrained legal advocates who are ripping off the public with “flawed” and “dangerous” legal advice should be banned, lawyers’ leaders and politicians have urged ministers.’

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Daily Telegraph, 8th December 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

‘McKenzie friends’ must be banned because courts are being overrun by untrained advocates, senior politicians say – Daily Telegraph

‘A new breed of untrained legal advocates who are ripping off the public with “flawed” and “dangerous” legal advice should be banned, lawyers’ leaders and politicians have urged ministers.’

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Daily Telegraph, 8th December 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Unregulated adviser held to same standard as qualified lawyer – Legal Futures

Posted March 18th, 2019 in legal services, McKenzie friends, negligence, news, personal injuries by tracey

‘A man who ran a ‘litigation firm’ and sold its expertise as coming from qualified legal advisers – even though it did not – has been held to the same standards as actual lawyers in a negligence claim.’

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Legal Futures, 18th March 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Judiciary pulls back on ban for fee-charging McKenzie Friends – Legal Futures

Posted February 26th, 2019 in fees, McKenzie friends, news, remuneration by tracey

‘While “deeply concerned” about the growth in fee-charging McKenzie Friends, the judiciary has failed to decide whether they should be banned – three years after consulting on doing just that.’

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Legal Futures, 26th February 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Research launched to assess whether biased advice is distorting access to justice – Family Law

Posted October 19th, 2018 in bias, children, legal aid, litigants in person, McKenzie friends, news by sally

‘A new research project will examine whether vulnerable people representing themselves in child court cases find themselves and their children put at risk by misinformed or biased online legal advice.’

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Family Law, 18th October 2018

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Barrister suspended for High Court advocacy before and during pupillage – Legal Futures

Posted August 24th, 2018 in barristers, disciplinary procedures, McKenzie friends, news, pupillage by sally

‘A barrister has been suspended for six months by a Bar disciplinary tribunal for acting as an advocate in the High Court before and during his pupillage.’

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Legal Futures, 23rd August 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Whatever happened to the judiciary’s McKenzie Friends consultation? – Transparency Project

‘In February 2016, the then Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, and the Judicial Executive Board issued a consultation entitled “Reforming the courts’ approach to McKenzie Friends”. It followed an internal report by a judicial working group and sought responses to a number of proposals in relation to McKenzie Friends, including changing their name to ‘court supporter’, replacing existing practice guidance with rules of court, introducing a Code of Conduct for them, and imposing a bar on recovery of fees.’

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Transparency Project, 27th February 2018

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Judge throws McKenzie Friend out of court over “tirade” against him and solicitors – Legal Futures

Posted September 23rd, 2017 in judges, McKenzie friends, news by sally

‘A district judge has explained how he had to throw a McKenzie Friend out of his court after she disrupted proceedings and threatened complaints against him and the other side’s solicitors.’

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Legal Futures, 21st September 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

McKenzie ban back to drawing board – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 18th, 2017 in codes of practice, consultations, fees, judiciary, Law Society, McKenzie friends, news by tracey

‘HM Judiciary is set to reassess some of its proposals for regulating the fast-expanding “McKenzie friend” sector after a consultation on banning fee recovery received “large numbers of responses”.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 15th September 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Poor behaviour on the part of McKenzie Friends ‘a minority concern’ – Legal Voice

‘Most litigants in person were happy with their experience of paid McKenzie Friends, according to research published this week. The study commissioned by the Bar Council found that unrepresented litigants reported ‘relatively low’ costs for such services.’

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Legal Voice, 13th June 2017

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

New research shows paid McKenzie Friends operating mostly outside the courtroom – The Bar Council

‘ New research undertaken by the Universities of Cardiff and Bristol shows that the bulk of work undertaken by paid McKenzie Friends is delivered outside court, with very few seeking actively to represent their litigant in person clients in the court room.’

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The Bar council, 12th June 2017

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

CoA right to take stern line on McKenzie friend concept, solicitors say – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 31st, 2017 in appeals, litigation friends, McKenzie friends, news by sally

‘A Court of Appeal judgment that discouraged use of the term ‘McKenzie friend’ and described the bad experiences that some court users have had with unqualified advisers has met mixed views from the profession.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 26th May 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Paid McKenzie Friends “play on uncertainty and victimhood” of separating fathers – Legal Futures

‘‘Professional’ paid McKenzie Friends associated with fathers’ rights groups (FRGs) play on their “uncertainty and sense of victimhood” to attract business, academic research has found, saying that there needed to be a code of conduct and a greater role for law school clinics in their place.’

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Legal Futures, 20th April 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

McKenzie Friend Marketplace to ban “active” students from giving legal advice in wake of criticism – Legal Futures

‘The McKenzie Friend Marketplace (MFM), which hopes to help hundreds of law students find paid work offering legal services, has responded to criticism from practitioners by announcing that it will ban active students from providing legal advice – although they will be able to give clients other types of support.’

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Legal Futures, 28th March 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk