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03 April 2026 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 8156 / Categories: Opinion , Profession , Legal services , Regulatory
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The insider: 3 & 10 April 2026

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All aboard! Dominic Regan on a Mazur reversal, medical reporting & mammoth judgments

Rejoice! The Court of Appeal has, in an exquisite judgment penned by Lord Justice Birss, reversed Mazur. It was after all lawful for an unauthorised person to act for and on behalf of an authorised individual so as to conduct litigation under their supervision, provided the authorised individual put in place appropriate arrangements for the supervision of and delegation to the unauthorised person. Legal executives are back where they rightfully belong. The Legal Services Act 2007 was never intended to and did not alter the time-honoured practice of unqualified staff being entitled to conduct litigation under supervision.

Nicholas Bacon KC should be in line for canonisation at the very least. He had no involvement with this matter until after the High Court judgment. CILEX, which also had no presence at that hearing, turned to Nick. Somehow he secured permission to appeal on behalf of an outsider, and well out of time too.

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NEWS

From blockbuster judgments to procedural shake-ups, the courts are busy reshaping litigation practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School hails the Court of Appeal's 'exquisite judgment’ in Mazur restoring the role of supervised non-qualified staff, and highlights a ‘mammoth’ damages ruling likened to War and Peace, alongside guidance on medical reporting fees, where a pragmatic 25% uplift was imposed

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