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Years ago I was called in to act as a Mackenzie friend at the last minute for some relatives of my partner who had moved abroad and sold their business as part of the process. The purchaser tried to stiff them on part of the purchase costs in what I viewed as a 'try-on' given they had moved out of the jurisdiction. We turned up, I spoke for them and indicated in no uncertain terms that I would be assisting them going forward. All of a sudden the case was dropped and they got paid. I did not want to go on the record as solicitor since I knew they could not afford my exorbitant fees and I was happy to act pro-bono. There was also the issue of doing a conflicts check if I was acting on the record and various other issues. To remove the McKenzie friend option would - in my opinion - have made the process much more time consuming and complicated without yielding any significant benefit in terms of justice. I agree rogue 'Friends' need to be culled but, baby/bathwater caution requested. The status is there for a reason.