McKenzie friend

Tikay10

@Essexphil


I came across the term "McKenzie friend" this morning, which I'd never heard before.

Can you give some background & explanation please, & how it got it's name?

Tikay10

FWIW, it was in this article;



https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68141649

Essexphil

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKenzie_friend

Something of a minefield. FWIW I think Scotland has it right-they allow them, but do not allow them to be paid.

There are quite a few of these sorts of firms about. They mainly concentrate on fields of Law which are not defined as "reserved legal activities". So-for example-you have to be a Solicitor/Barrister or working under their instruction (and Professional Indemnity Insurance) to appear in a "Court". Some people have realised an Employment Tribunal is not a "Court"

Tikay10

@Essexphil


Thanks Phil.

That seems a bit weird to me.

Essexphil

Tikay10 said:

@Essexphil


Thanks Phil.

That seems a bit weird to me.

They are a bit weird. Like quite a lot of Law, it started out with a good example, which has expanded to less good.

There are times when amateur assistance can be good. For example, the person has special needs via disability, be it physical or mental. When it is a limited role advising the litigant what stuff means, or possible options going forward, that's 1 thing. Whereas in-depth, paid advice is quite different. Similarly, if it is unpaid assistance, there is no risk of a person being conned.

The blurring occurs when the shonky pretend Solicitors go past preparatory advice to in-depth Litigation. The vast majority of Solicitors would go nowhere near taking over cases from these sorts of firms-not least because my (former) Professional Indemnity Insurers would be very likely to refuse to renew my Insurance. Because they would not risk £2 million on what some amateur may have done.

PaintedOne

Essexphil said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKenzie_friend

Something of a minefield. FWIW I think Scotland has it right-they allow them, but do not allow them to be paid.

There are quite a few of these sorts of firms about. They mainly concentrate on fields of Law which are not defined as "reserved legal activities". So-for example-you have to be a Solicitor/Barrister or working under their instruction (and Professional Indemnity Insurance) to appear in a "Court". Some people have realised an Employment Tribunal is not a "Court"

interesting what you said at the end here phil about some people realising "not a court " as people are starting to also realise the council tax fraud and when they send you a summons to a court , that its also not a real court , it infact has just been created by the council . a lot of deception going on as always it seems

Essexphil

PaintedOne said:

Essexphil said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKenzie_friend

Something of a minefield. FWIW I think Scotland has it right-they allow them, but do not allow them to be paid.

There are quite a few of these sorts of firms about. They mainly concentrate on fields of Law which are not defined as "reserved legal activities". So-for example-you have to be a Solicitor/Barrister or working under their instruction (and Professional Indemnity Insurance) to appear in a "Court". Some people have realised an Employment Tribunal is not a "Court"

interesting what you said at the end here phil about some people realising "not a court " as people are starting to also realise the council tax fraud and when they send you a summons to a court , that its also not a real court , it infact has just been created by the council . a lot of deception going on as always it seems

No. And for reasons you will probably understand.

Employment Tribunals (originally called Industrial Tribunals) are not Courts, simply because they were set up to be a cheap alternative to a Court.

Council Tax is enforceable through the Magistrates Court. There are all sorts of arguments as to why Civil debts should not ordinarily be enforceable as though they were criminal debts-Council Tax and the TV Licence being the only 2 that I can think of.
But, as a matter of Law, (and Law is more a question of what is, rather than what might/should be) those 2 are priority debts, whereas most other debts are not.