A Practical Guide to Working With Litigants in Person and McKenzie Friends in Civil Proceedings

The increase in the number of Litigants in Person in civil proceedings has become a challenge for advocates and courts including the Court of Appeal. Whilst assistance is often available for the Litigant in Person, there is less practical help for the practitioner. This book seeks to address this shortfall and gives practical advice on how to work with an unrepresented opponent. It also considers the role of the McKenzie Friend and how they can assist the Litigant in Person during a court hearing.

Subjects covered include:

• Reasons for Litigant in Person in civil courts;
• The courts approach to the Litigant in Person;
• Implications of working with a Litigant in Person;
• Understanding the difficulties for the Litigant in Person;
• Rules of Engagements for the advocate;
• Managing clients expectations;
• Costs issues;
• McKenzie Friends
;• Help available for the Litigant in Person;
• Case Law: Tinkler v Elliott (2012); Jones v Longley & Others (2015); Hobson v West London Law Solicitors (2013); Agarwala v Agarwala (2016) Barton v Wright Hassle (2018) LFA v LSL (2017)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stuart Barlow is a practising solicitor with over 40 years of experience in court litigation. He conducts most of his own advocacy and has dealt with many cases involving Litigants in Person. He has practised in the areas of Civil, Criminal and Family Law in South Wales and the East Midlands. He now specialises in Children Law. Stuart was a Chief Assessor of the Law Society Accreditation Scheme until 2016 and an Adjudicator for the Legal Aid Agency. He is also a former external examiner of the Nottingham Law School. He has written articles and presented courses on the subject of Litigants in Person over some years. He is also the author of two other law books.