header-logo header-logo

McKenzie Fri-End

29 April 2016 / Neil Parpworth
Issue: 7696 / Categories: Features , Legal services , Profession
printer mail-detail
nlj_7696_parpworth

Neil Parpworth asks whether there will soon be an end to the “McKenzie Friend”

On 7 June 1831 judgment was given in the case of Collier v Hicks (1831) 2 B & Ad 663. The unanimous decision of the court was that the defendants had been justified in committing or ordering a trespass on the plaintiff (an attorney) when he refused to leave a police office where he had been seeking to act as an attorney or advocate for an informer during the course of the trial of another. This was on the basis that, in the words of Mr Justice Littledale, “every court of justice has the power of regulating its own proceedings”. Of greater significance for present purposes were, however, the remarks of the then Chief Justice, Lord Tenterden, who observed: “Any person, whether he be a professional man or not, may attend as a friend of either party, may take notes, may quietly make suggestions, and give advice; but no one can demand to take part in the proceedings as an advocate,

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll