A McKenzie friend assists a litigant in person in a court of law in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia by prompting, taking notes, and quietly giving advice.
They need not be legally trained or have any professional legal qualifications.
The right to a McKenzie friend was established in the 1970 case of McKenzie v McKenzie. Although in many cases a McKenzie friend may be an actual friend, it is often somebody with knowledge of the area and the presumption is heavily in favour of admitting a McKenzie friend into court.
They may be liable for any misleading advice given to the litigant in person but not covered by Professional Indemnity Insurance.
Knowledge does not equate to skill, but it can provide you with the information to give you the confidence to represent yourself.
A McKenzie’s Friend is an advocate.
REPRESENTING YOURSELF AT COURT FOR APPLICATIONS AND DEFENDING ALLEGATIONS
Representing yourself in court means you will be making the applications, prepared, provide and present the evidence you rely on.
A McKenzie’s Friend is someone who sits next to you in court.
They
- take notes,
- offer non legal advice (in whispers), and
- prompt you to ask particular questions etc,
- they cannot address the court directly.
- provides moral support for the self representing person;
- sits at the counsel table with the self representing person;
- assists with paper work including the taking of notes as the court proceedings go on;
- whispers quiet advice to the self representing person;
- generally assists the self representing person.
Many people don’t use McKenzie friends, and they are not meant to be a substitute for a solicitor or professional legal advice.
They are an assistant, a support person or friend who know’s what you’ve experienced to sit with you. They are very useful if you have not been in court before and need that extra bit of objective help. Even if you are confident about your defence or application, a McKenzie friend can help by taking notes and giving feedback, freeing you to concentrate on what is happening in the moment.
HOW TO INTRODUCE YOUR McKENZIE FRIEND TO THE COURT
In order to use a McKenzie friend, you simply tell the clerk at the start of the trial or hearing.
You’ll be either sit in the dock or at the front of the courtroom at the table which is separate from the rest of the public or your supporters.
You advise that you are not represented by a solicitor and would like to have an assistant to help you with taking notes and occasional non legal advice.
It should be as straightforward as that, there is normally no need to mention the term “McKenzie friend”, or to justify your desire to have an assistant by complicated legal argument
HERE ARE SOME OF THE WAYS A MCKENZIE FRIEND CAN HELP
- Help locate the courtroom.
- Help you keep to your notes or time schedule during your presentation. The best way to do this is to pass a note or quietly whisper in the
person’s ear.
- The judge may ask where certain material is (court documents). The self representing person may not be able to find it. The self representing person can always say to the court “your honour I can’t find it right away. I will ask my friend to find it.” The self representing person can always point out the material to the judge later. (A McKenzie friend should always have copies of court documents).
- They can monitor the body language of the judge. Judges sometimes telegraph their views of the case by body language. They can monitor better than a self representing person. For example, the self representing person may be hammering a point in their argument too much. The judge may become frustrated because the self representing person is not moving along to the next point. A McKenzie friend can draw this to the attention of the self representing person.
- They can keep notes as the matter proceeds in court.
- The court hearing for your case may have a break. There are breaks in the morning or afternoon sessions. During the break, the McKenzie friend can go over the presentation so far pointing out matters that have been left out or things that should be clarified.
At the end of the self representing person’s presentation, the self representing person should always turn to the McKenzie friend to see if there is any final comments that should be made.
The McKenzie friend must be careful not to overdo it.
A little bit of note passing and whispering in the ear is okay.
However, if it becomes persistent, the McKenzie friend will annoy the judge and go outside of the role of the McKenzie friend.
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WHERE DO YOU FIND A McKENZIE FRIEND
The term McKenzie friend can be confusing; as it suggests they are part of the court system, which they are not.
An Advocate is a support person who is mindful of your wellbeing and someone you can confide in or consult with when feeling the wobble.
A “Court Assistant” is an informative title, and means they are part of the court system.
The Court Assistant would give greater clarity to their role, but if they were part of the system they would need to adhere to a disciplinary code that would need to specify the tasks they could undertake – and would require insurance.
To some extent, formalising them like this would mean a trade-off between enhanced consumer protection and affordability.
