Anyone who is mentally competent is entitled to represent themselves in court (they do not need to employ a solicitor or barrister) and if they choose to do this, they are termed a Litigant in Person (LIP).

We can assist in child access case, divorce, financials' after divorce and mediation.

Letter before action

Writing Particulars of Claim or Defence 

A LIP may be accompanied by a friend; “Any person, whether he be a professional man or not, may attend (court) as a friend of either party, may take notes, may quietly make suggestions, and give advice.” (Lord Chief Justice Tenterden ,1831)

In the case of McKenzie v McKenzie in 1970, this right was challenged, and upheld, giving rise to the term now used: “McKenzie Friend.” This is not an automatic right, but a judge would only refuse a LIP the help of a McKenzie Friend for a good reason.

More and more people are conducting their own cases in court, without a solicitor or barrister, often because they cannot afford lawyers’ fees, and Legal Aid to pay these fees is becoming harder to obtain.

Representing yourself in court is not as daunting as it may sound, especially if you have the help of a McKenzie Friend to assist in preparing the case beforehand and to sit along-side you in court.

We offer a free initial consultation - usually by video or telephone call – this usually takes only 20 minutes.

Our pricing model is straightforward.

After our initial free of charge consultation, for work we do ‘on your file’, in court, meetings with professionals or with you, we charge £90 per hour exclusive of VAT known as the “Retainer Fee”. The time charged will include advise to you after reading the file papers and attendance at any digital or face to face hearings as agreed by the court or tribunal.

Our minimum Retainer Fee at the early investigative and preparatory stage at the time of being instructed is £450.00 plus VAT on account, this amount represents our best estimate of the time required at this early stage and may increase depending on the amount of work required to service your case.

We think our charges are very reasonable when you consider a solicitor might typically charge from £250 to £450 per hour with administrative rates typically being around £145 per hour.

All times are calculated rounded up to the nearest six minutes, each six minutes represent a unit fee time charged at £9.00 and there are 10 units in each hour, so if it takes us 60 minutes to prepare a letter you will be charged for 10 units equating to £90.

We do not normally charge for trivial items, like a brief phone call to confirm arrangements (“Just checking I’ll see you in court tomorrow at 11 am”, “Yes”). This is so you can have the peace of mind without having to worry about running up charges.

All prices quoted are exclusive of VAT

Disbursements

If we become aware that further disbursements will be necessary, we will discuss these with you.

Representing yourself in Family Proceedings is not as difficult as it might appear at first.

If you earn too much to qualify for Legal Aid, but not enough to afford the fees of solicitors and barristers, then representing yourself in court, with our help as your McKenzie Friend, can be a viable alternative.

For many people we help, the motivation is not mainly financial, but a desire to be in complete control of their case.

We help you to prepare your case, most of which can be done by email and phone and we will do as much or as little as you need us to. Once you have told us about your case, we can advise on:

• Communications with the other parent and/or their solicitor.

• Which are your strongest arguments and how best to present them in court

• Paperwork you will need to produce for hearings

• If there are any case precedents which will help you case, we will tell you and provide copies.

• We can prepare court application forms and email them to you, to take along to the court office

• We can coach you on how to conduct yourself in court

• We can attend court with you, and sit alongside you quietly offering advice and support during the hearing.

Rest assured that if we think you need to employ solicitors and barristers then we will recommend you take that route instead of using our help. This may be appropriate depending on the circumstances of your case.