CILEX granted permission to appeal Mazur ruling

CILEX has been granted permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal against the Mazur judgment.

Mr Justice Sheldon’s judgment, handed down on 16 September, said non-authorised persons could not conduct litigation under supervision.

CILEX has since held serious concerns about its impact on the legal sector. This has not been limited to CILEX members – the public, law firms and other lawyers have all been affected.

In granting CILEX permission to appeal, the court said it did not need to form a view on the appeal’s prospects of success as it “raises an important point of practice and its significance to the legal profession as a whole is a compelling reason for an appeal to be heard”.

The action is not seeking to affect the result of the case in terms of the costs awarded by the court; it is focused on matters of principle.

CILEX said its monitoring has identified “several adverse impacts”, including:

• Delays in the courts as judges query the status of some lawyers and, through satellite litigation over costs;
• Delays in the administration of justice, as various government portals struggle with consequential updating;
• Lawyers losing their jobs; and
• Firms and other organisations having to change their business models at considerable cost – which ultimately will be passed onto clients – and detriment to the competitiveness and speed of their services. In extreme cases, it could even affect the viability of their businesses.

Commenting on the decision, CILEX chief executive Jennifer Coupland said:

“It is great news that the Court of Appeal has acted quickly and recognised the need for a detailed examination of the issues raised by the Mazur ruling. We have already seen the significant impact it is having, not only on our members but on law firms more widely. We are also concerned about the longer-term impact on access to justice, diversity in the legal profession and the efficient running of the legal system.

“CILEX will now have the opportunity to present its argument that Mazur was wrongly decided. In addition, the uncertainties that have resulted from this judgment will be fully ventilated and determined through the appeal process.”

CILEX is being represented pro bono by leading lawyers in the field: Nick Bacon KC, head of 4 New Square – renowned for his costs work and professional disciplinary and regulatory practice – and Iain Miller, a partner, and Stephen Nelson, senior associate, of City law firm Kingsley Napley.

Mr Miller is general editor of the authoritative textbook Cordery on Legal Services, while Mr Nelson was until earlier this year head of legal at the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Visit the CRL website for more information on applying for standalone litigation practice rights.