Counsel for CILEX, for law centres, for the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and for the Law Society laid out their arguments last week in the high-profile Mazur case
At stake is the business model of many law firms and scope of practice of many highly skilled and experienced legal professionals who are non-solicitors. Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys [2025] EWHC 2341 held that, under the Legal Services Act 2007, non-authorised individuals cannot ‘conduct litigation’ even if supervised by a solicitor or other authorised person.
Professor Dominic Regan, of City Law School, who attended the hearing, reports Nick Bacon KC, of 4 New Square, acting pro bono for the appellant CILEX, asserted the judge ‘had failed to distinguish between tasks and responsibilities’.
Prof Regan also praises the ‘eloquent demolition’ of Mazur by Ben Williams KC, of 4 New Square, who pointed out the ‘the plain intention of the Legal Services Act 2007 was... not to introduce a cosy closed shop where only authorised lawyers could run claims’.
