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25 September 2015 / Dr Jon Robins
Issue: 7669 / Categories: Opinion
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Friends disunited

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Jon Robins highlights the perils of McKenzie Friends

“Initially, he was very convincing. I was desperately anxious and he took advantage of that vulnerability,” so said the victim of Martin Williamson, a conman posing as a professional McKenzie Friend. The father of three, who was attempting to stop his ex-wife taking their kids to live in America, was one of a number of victims of the fake friend sent to prison last month. “He repeatedly gave us false assurances and then dropped out of contact altogether and we were left in complete confusion,” the father’s victim statement read.

Friend or foe

The “McKenzie Friend” has evolved from the familiar old family friend offering moral support to today’s latest legal services industry seemingly thriving in the post-LASPO (Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012) vacuum.

While the chairman of the Legal Services Board (LSB), Sir Michael Pitt has called the movement a “legitimate feature” of an evolving market, the profession has warned of the perils of a new generation of non-qualified legal advisor ripping off

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