The Solicitors Regulation Authority has made clear it will not flinch from going after firms that ignore the ramifications of the Mazur judgment. Since the now-infamous ruling was handed down in September, establishing that litigation could not be conducted by unauthorised staff, much of the discussion has centred around how the SRA might respond to firms potentially acting unlawfully.

In recent years many firms have employed paralegals and unauthorised legal executives to conduct litigation without realising they were in breach of the Legal Services Act.

In guidance issued last week, the regulator said there had been ‘concern and confusion’ in the profession about the status of unauthorised fee earners. If firms believe they have been operating incorrectly in the past, the SRA said they can self-report and that – while each case turns on its facts – cases of genuine mistakes would be treated ‘sympathetically’.

No such allowance is likely to be granted for firms who have not changed their business model since Mazur and potentially breach the law.

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The SRA added: ‘If you are conducting a reserved activity without authorisation and have not addressed the implications of the judgment and our guidance, you can expect us to use all appropriate investigative and enforcement powers to identify and address this misconduct.’

The latest update address calls from some in the profession for the SRA to give a safe harbour to firms who had not realised they were acting unlawfully.

Meanwhile, a poll of costs lawyers has found they are expecting more work to come in following the Mazur ruling and the satellite litigation which could come spring up.

The Association of Costs Lawyers, which surveyed its members last month, found that three-quarters of them said the judgment would increase demand for costs lawyers, who are authorised, instead of costs draftspeople. Mazur is already being used to challenge solicitors’ bills that do not show evidence of supervision, and 71% of costs lawyers expected to see more of these challenges.

The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives has secured permission to appeal the Mazur ruling, which it said has had a ‘significant impact’ on its members and law firms more widely.