On 29th April 2026, the Law Society published a practice note on the ‘conduct of litigation’, following the Court of Appeal judgment in Mazur & Stuart v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP & Others [2026] EWCA Civ 369, handed down on 31st March 2026. The practice note explains who may carry on the conduct of litigation, on what basis, and under what level of supervision. For any solicitor, firm or legal business with non-authorised staff involved in litigation work, it will need careful attention.
Why The Case Mattered
The conduct of litigation is one of six activities reserved under section 13(2) of the Legal Services Act 2007. Only those authorised by an approved legal regulator, or who are exempt, can undertake it. The Law Society’s practice note confirms that the definition is narrow, covering formal steps in proceedings: issuing, filing and serving applications and statements of case, for example. Much of the work involved in handling proceedings falls outside that definition entirely. The central question in Mazur was whether a non-authorised person may conduct litigation under the supervision of an authorised person. The High Court had taken a more restrictive view and the Court of Appeal overturned it.
What The Court Of Appeal Decided
The Court of Appeal held that a non-authorised person may lawfully perform tasks within the scope of the conduct of litigation, provided they do so for and on behalf of an authorised individual who retains responsibility for those tasks. Where that condition is met, it is the authorised person who is carrying on the conduct of litigation. The non-authorised person is not.
The Law Society’s practice note explains that an authorised individual must retain responsibility; delegation “requires proper direction, management, supervision and control”, and the degree of appropriate control will always depend on the circumstances, with the details left to the regulators. The court put the test in clear terms:
“In essence, the question in any given set of circumstances will be whether the unauthorised person, in carrying out whatever tasks which fall within the scope of “conduct of litigation” have been delegated to him or her, is in truth acting on behalf of the authorised individual. If they are, it is the authorised individual who is conducting the litigation. But if the reality is that the litigation is not being conducted by the unauthorised person for and on behalf of the authorised individual, they will be committing an offence.”
What Counts As The Conduct Of Litigation?
The statutory definition, set out in section 12 and Schedule 2 paragraph 4(1) of the Legal Services Act 2007, covers the issuing of proceedings, their commencement, prosecution and defence, and the performance of ancillary functions such as entering appearances to actions. The practice note confirms this extends to proceedings before the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court, Crown Court, county court, magistrates’ court, Court of Protection and Family Court, as well as before several tribunals under section 207 of the Act.
The Law Society draws on a line of case law to identify what falls outside the definition. Activities that take place before issue, with no contact with the court, are not covered (Heron Bros Ltd v Central Bedfordshire Council (No 2) [2015] EWHC 1009 (TCC)). The practice note confirms these include advising on the merits, drafting particulars of claim, pre-action correspondence and steps taken with the intention of settling without bringing proceedings.
This was further clarified in Ndole Assets Ltd v Designer M&E Services UK Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 2865 which separates formal steps from “purely clerical or mechanical” tasks. Photocopying, preparing bundles and arranging conferences with counsel are not the conduct of litigation. Nor are giving legal advice, taking witness statements or corresponding with the other party.
What ‘Responsibility’ Means In Practice
The practice note is precise about what responsibility requires. It means formal responsibility for the task itself and responsibility to meet the professional principles in section 1(3) of the Legal Services Act 2007: acting with independence and integrity, maintaining proper standards of work, acting in the best interests of clients, complying with the duty to the court to act with independence and in the interests of justice, and keeping client affairs confidential. Wider professional obligations under regulatory rules and standards are included too.
On the question of how much supervision is enough, the Law Society sets out the court’s own words:
“In some circumstances the degree of appropriate control and supervision will be high, with approval required before things are done. In other, for example routine, circumstances, a lower level of control and supervision will be required. In such cases, it may be sufficient for the authorised individual to conduct regular meetings with the unauthorised person and to sample their work.”
The practice note adds that the authorised person must be appropriately qualified to establish what adequate supervision looks like. Limited experience or competence in the specific area of law is unlikely to be sufficient.
Next Step For Law Firms
Firms may need to review their policies and procedures to document the steps involved in their litigation processes and who carries each of them out. There must be an authorised person responsible for each matter, with practising rights that include the conduct of litigation and the relevant technical skills for the work in question. The practice note also calls for clear records. Delegations and decision-making should be documented to demonstrate the professional judgement applied to formal steps in proceedings. Training for all staff involved in litigation processes, on the policies and procedures to be followed and the reasons for them, is also recommended. Supervision and review processes must be in place to make sure those policies and procedures are followed in practice.
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