The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in CILEX & Ors v Mazur & Ors. Allowing the appeal, Sir Colin Birss, Chancellor of the High Court, said “it is hard to see why this litigation went on as long as it did”.
Following the ruling, CILEX chief executive Jennifer Coupland said:
“This is the most consequential judgment for legal services in recent history: It is a victory for CILEX members but also for access to justice, the interests of consumers and the encouragement of a thriving, diverse and competitive legal sector.
“CILEX is delighted that this common-sense judgment recognises our solutions, bringing much needed clarity to the conduct of litigation, and the role of authorised and unauthorised professionals. It means the profession can now operate effectively, maintaining high standards and consumer confidence whilst opening up legal services to alternative business models and providers.
“CILEX professionals play a critical role in the justice system; they are well qualified, highly skilled, hugely experienced and, given they are more likely to come from groups traditionally underrepresented in the legal profession, bring different perspectives to their work.
“Many have been profoundly impacted by the uncertainty created by the Mazur judgment and we hope that they are now able to move forward with their careers.
“We also hope that this judgment offers a moment of reset for legal services where we can work collaboratively with the rest of the sector to ensure a consistent and clear response to the judgment that supports ordinary people seeking justice.
“CILEX joins the voices of others in the sector, including the Legal Services Consumer Panel, in calling out the regulatory failure the Mazur judgment and its consequences represent. We will now look to lobby the government to address some of the regulatory shortcomings of the Legal Services Act. In the meantime, we await updated guidance from our regulator, CILEx Regulation.
“Finally, CILEX is grateful for the support of our outstanding legal team – Nick Bacon KC, Helen Evans KC, Teen Jui Chow and Faye Metcalfe of 4 New Square, Iain Miller, Stephen Nelson and Phoebe Alexander at Kingsley Napley and Greg Cox of Simpson Millar. All have acted pro bono in this important case.”
This story will be updated.
2 responses
Dreadful result.
From what I can glean from this case, it is only the Fat-Cat Solicitors and Barristers who are marching in protest against this judgement, with flaming torches and pitchforks. Naturally, they want to protect their revenue generation, and to Hell with anyone else from outside their protected walls. Legal Executives and Paralegals play an important role in helping ordinary people to access justice, without worrying about the costs. CILEX members for example, are often from non-traditional ‘Boys Club’ backgrounds, and bring an enthusiastic and capable, real-world approach to Litigation. The Public don’t really care about ‘Authorised’ v ‘Unauthorised’ persons, as long as they are capable and provide a quality, cost-effective service. That was the whole purpose of the LSA and deregulation.