I am not employed in a solicitors firm, or supervised by a
solicitor, what rights 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.
Fellows can now acquire rights as litigators, together with
advocacy rights linked to their area of specialism. They will
then be able to undertake litigation independently. More
information about the new rights can be found here.
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).
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