Peter Thompson QC fights the corner of a tried & trusted friend
McKenzie Friends are in trouble. They may not yet have read the new Practice Guidance on the subject that was issued by the master of the rolls and the president of the Family Division last July; but when they do they will see that they need to smarten up their act and perhaps create their own website!
For a reminder of their humble origins we must turn back to the speech of Lord Tenterden CJ in Collier v Hicks [1831] 2 B & Ad 663: “Any person, whether he be a professional man (or woman) or not, may attend as the friend of either party, may take notes, may quietly make suggestions, and give advice; but no one can demand to take part in the proceedings as an advocate, contrary to the regulations of the court.” The text was adopted with approval by the Court of Appeal in McKenzie v McKenzie [1970] 3 All ER 1034. As a result, litigants in person frequently bring a McKenzie, a family friend or trusted neighbour
