Report comment

As chair of the newly formed Society of Professional McKenzie Friends, I have to say that the view from the Bar Council is untenable, as expressed in this article:

"Derek Sweeting QC, chairman of the Bar Council’s Legal Services Committee, said: ‘The Bar Council’s concern is that where members of the public are being asked to pay for the services of a McKenzie friend they should be aware that they are dealing with individuals who are unregulated, uninsured and who seldom have any legal training; often in circumstances where it would be no more expensive to instruct a junior barrister.’"

It is simply not true to say that whenever the public engages a McKenzie Friend they are dealing with individuals who are “unregulated, uninsured and seldom have legal training.” Our Society has 16 full members working as McKenzie Friends, all of whom have professional indemnity insurance, and meet our standards of accreditation. Those are conditions of membership.

There are rogue McKenzie Friends as there are rogue practitioners in all professions, and we protect the public by vetting our members and keeping rogue practitioners out.