The Law Centres Network (LCN) has revealed that it is intervening in Mazur over concerns that the uncertainty caused by last year’s High Court ruling could see people facing eviction or discrimination struggle to access legal help.

The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives is appealing Mr Justice Sheldon’s ruling that only authorised people can conduct litigation under the Legal Services Act. The Law Society and Legal Services Board are among other interveners. The appeal hearing will begin on 24 February.

LCN announced today that it asked to intervene to ensure the appeal court considers the implications of Mazur for non-commercial, access to justice organisations such as law centres, which operate in areas where the financial margins are extremely low but the human stakes are exceptionally high.

While law centres are not organisations authorised under the Legal Services Act, they employ authorised solicitors who supervise specialist caseworkers.

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LCN’s membership rules require law centres to employ at least two solicitors with a minimum of three years’ post-qualification experience to meet strict supervisory standards. The network said law centres operate under severe financial pressure. If every step of litigation must be carried out personally by a solicitor, capacity will inevitably reduce, limiting the number of people who can be helped.

LCN chief executive Julie Bishop said: ‘Law Centres work within the regulatory framework and are committed to high standards of supervision and provision of legal services to the public. But the judgment leaves uncertainty about how that framework applies to access to justice organisations like ours.  

'Without clarity, there is a real risk that people facing eviction, loss of income or discrimination will find it harder to access legal help not because their case lacks merit but because of how regulation is interpreted in practice. We need a definition of “conduct” that is proportionate, workable, and grounded in the public interest.’

LCN will be represented pro bono by A&O Shearman and Gatehouse Chambers’ PJ Kirby KC and James Hall.

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