Following the Court of Appeal’s judgment in The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) -v- Mazur & others, the Law Society of England and Wales has published a new practice note for solicitors practising litigation.
The guidance is new rather than a return to the status quo – with a message on the expectations of full supervision audit trails.
The Court of Appeal considered the meaning of the words to ‘carry on the conduct of litigation’*, following the High Court’s ruling in 2025, which held that only authorised individuals can ‘conduct’ litigation.
Law Society vice president, Brett Dixon, said:
“This practice note sets out our understanding of how the judgment should be interpreted, pending further guidance from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), which we are working with them to develop.
“The judgment establishes a less restrictive framework in relation to the conduct of litigation than the High Court judgment, but it does not remove all limitations on what an unauthorised person employed by a regulated entity may do.”
The Court of Appeal judgment held that:
- an unauthorised person may lawfully perform any tasks which are within the scope of the conduct of litigation, for and on behalf of an authorised person, such as a solicitor or appropriately authorised CILEX member provided the authorised person retains responsibility for the tasks delegated to the unauthorised person
- the authorised person is, therefore, the person carrying on the conduct of litigation. The unauthorised person is not carrying on the conduct of litigation and therefore does not commit an offence
- the delegation of tasks by the authorised person to the unauthorised person requires proper direction, management, supervision and control (the details of which are a matter for the regulators)
- the authorised person must put in place appropriate arrangements for direction, management supervision and control. The degree of appropriate control and supervision will always depend on the circumstances.
Commenting on the work that can be conducted by unauthorised persons, Brett Dixon said:
“The Court of Appeal judgment did not alter the position that only authorised persons are entitled to carry on the conduct of litigation. However, it confirmed that an authorised person can delegate tasks within the litigation to an unauthorised person, as long as the authorised person maintains responsibility for those tasks.
“Responsibility in this context means both formal responsibility for the task itself and responsibility to adhere to the professional principles.
Dixon added that the Law Society advises its members to make sure they are familiar with the SRA’s guidance on supervision, conducting litigation, and its enforcement strategy, and concluded:
“We know the profession is looking for guidance following the judgment and we will be holding a webinar on 14 April to explain what this judgment means for firms, and to give our members a chance to ask questions about it.”
Useful links
- Read the Law Society’s practice note: Mazur and the conduct of litigation here.
- Find out more about the Law Society’s webinar hosted on 14 April 2026 here – whch should be available in catch up form for TLS members.
