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ARTICLE · 06 JULY 2023

With Friends Like These…?

Weightmans LLP
Weightmans LLP
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Weightmans LLP

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This is a cautionary tale for claimants and defendants alike who either rely upon or are opposed by McKenzie Friends.

United KingdomInsurance
Saul Burton
Saul Burton

This is a cautionary tale for claimants and defendants alike who either rely upon or are opposed by McKenzie Friends.

Like my old guitar teacher once told me, if playing was easy, everyone would do it, and quite spectacularly, I couldn't. Likewise, the law can be hard, and more often than not it is sensible to engage the help of a qualified legal professional but for a variety of reasons that is not always possible, and so many litigants in person rely upon the help of McKenzie Friends.

McKenzie Friends are so called following McKenzie v McKenzie [1970] 3 All ER 1034 where it was permitted for a litigant who is not legally represented to have reasonable assistance from a layperson. Such assistance can be invaluable to vulnerable litigants.

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