McKenzie friends – who do they think they are?

Paul Spencer in this three-page article in the Family Law Journal for April considered the Court of Appeal guidance given in Paragon Finance Plc v Noueiri [2001] 1 WLR 2357 (20/LL p116, but we called it Noueiri v Paragon Finance). Paul Spencer who was instructed in the case by the RCJ Advice Bureau which was an intervenor, said he was surprised to learn that there are a number of individuals who purport to act as ‘professional’ McKenzie friends in the RCJ and other court buildings. On putting the words ‘McKenzie friend’ into a search engine on the Internet he found it produced hundreds of results. On one web site, an individual who purported to ‘work in the RCJ’ had even produced a standard ‘McKenzie friend’ form, which merely required the litigant to fill in the court reference number, the names of the parties and the date. A number of ‘professional’ McKenzie friends working in the courts are purporting to do so on a contingency fee basis. After a survey of the common law and relevant authorities the author concluded that the courts were having to adapt to deal with those who seek to abuse the court process. ‘Those who have made a practise of seeking to represent or assist unrepresented litigants will find the courts refusing to hear them, except in the most exceptional circumstances’. An article well worth keeping to hand for times of need.