I am not employed in a solicitors firm, or supervised by a solicitor, what rights of audience are open to me?

A member in independent practice, i.e. not working under the supervision of a solicitor or authorised litigator, has no automatic rights of audience as they are not authorised to conduct litigation.

An exception to this is in the small claims track of the county court where a litigant may be represented by a lay representative. This is set in The Lay Representatives (Right of Audience) Order 1999. However, this is limited. Please refer to the Order for the limitations. It is important to note a member who is not employed by an authorised litigator or solicitor must not have conduct of the litigation (see the rights and responsibilities questions on Reserved Legal Activities).

Fellows can now acquire rights as litigators, and also litigation with advocacy rights linked to their area of specialism. They will then be able to undertake litigation independently. Though in order to exercise those rights you must be working in a legal practice that is regulated by an Approved Regulator, or you may work for an unregulated employer as their in-house adviser, provided the employer does not provide legal services to the public or a section of the public as part of their business.

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