Following the case of Mckenzie, all 'McKenzie Friends' provided their services for free. Then I came along and changed the legal landscape.

I was the first ever fee-charging McKenzie Friend (aka 'lay legal advisers'. I initially used to charge £50 per entire case in the mid 1990's!

Being a fee-charging McKenzie Friend was not a reserved activity under the Legal Services legislation. Recognising this was significant, because it was generally believed by the public that you must instruct a solicitor and barrister to obtain any legal advice and help.

Solicitors and Barristers

Being the sole legal services providers gave solicitors and barristers immense power and control over their clients, allowing many of them to justify ripping off and mistreating their own clients. The CAB's were useless, there was no online advice and information for the public, and court forms were too confusing to understand.

I was really unhappy and disgusted with that, and so first I piloted, then set up a very low cost alternative legal advice business, spending thousands promoting and advertising it up and down the country, educating the public that there was a legitimate alternative that did not rip off clients, and treated clients honestly and respectfully. My purpose was to clarify the law and legal procedures. My service was an instant success, through marketing and word of mouth.

I coined that phrase 'Professional McKenzie Friend' in the early 2000's, and also coined all of the other terms associated with it. These terms were then adopted by the press, and in commentary in the Houses of Parliament, the legal profession and the family courts. Thus, the brand of the 'Professional McKenzie Friend' was born.

Before the President's Guidance 2010

As the very first low cost, fee-charging McKenzie Friend business, I was advising clients in family and civil law matters, and supporting them in family and county courts, in England and Wales. This was years before the President's Guidance of 2010 was issued, followed by the withdrawal of legal aid funding in 2014.

Solicitors, Barristers and judges were very unhappy about my service in the beginning, because they didn't like that somebody out there was offering an affordable alternative. They tried having me closed down. Unsuccessfully. But because I kept appearing in court with clients, they got used to it. I put a lot of solicitors out of business, primarily because the public found out that they could have a similar service for far less than half the cost.

Training courses for McKenzie Friends

I created and ran the first training courses for Professional McKenzie Friends, in 2007/8. Once a month, I delivered a 4 day course. These courses were free. Everyone had to produce their DBS record, first. Many of my students were non-practising Solicitors, Barristers and Legal Executives.

I had trained over 60 people by 2009. Half of them joined my company on contract, which let them earn as they trained, on a commission-only basis. Some of them stayed working with me for 3-4 years. I provided the leads to my Mckenzie Friends, and coached them through every case they were given to work on.

But for my transformative business model, and provision of training courses and coaching, my brand would never have been adopted by hundreds of service providers, benefitting millions.

My Professional McKenzie Friend brand

Everyone who has a 'Mckenzie Friend' business has essentially modelled it on my own invented business model, many years after I was very well established. I was the innovator responsible for transforming an important part of the traditional legal landscape.

Hence, why I consider myself justified in applying for my specific brand to become registered trademarks, and to request a fee to use my brand. Sincerity, transparency, reliability, excellent testimonials, client referrals, integrity, affordability, and effective marketing, has been key to my success and longevity.

Discovering the online HMCTs Form E software error

The financial assets of more than 3,600 couples were miscalculated in divorce and separation proceedings due to a faulty Ministry of Justice website.

The extent of the errors caused by the online self-assessment form was acknowledged in a written parliamentary statement by the justice minister, Shailesh Vara, on Thursday, who has apologised. Some people may have to reopen and renegotiate completed divorce settlements.

The fact that the software had been miscalculating assets since at least April 2014 was spotted by a family law specialist, Nicola Matheson-Durrant of the Family Law Clinic in Ascot, Berkshire, and revealed by the Guardian shortly before Christmas.

Form E on the MoJ website failed to record liabilities or debts as minus figures, thereby falsely inflating the wealth of parties who recorded their possessions. Click on this link to read the whole Guardian article

The evolution of Direct Access Barristers

Not a lot of people know that it wasn't always possible to instruct a barrister yourself. Since the beginning of time, you had to already be using a Solicitor to have a barrister. Only your Solicitor was permitted to instruct a barrister to help you in court. Therefore, huge fees were always inevitable. Many years ago, Barristers wouldn't even want to chat to their clients!

However, a significant, important change then came about. The Direct Access/Public Access Barrister system was pioneered, whereby you could select and directly hire your barrister yourself, completely circumventing Solicitors. Thus, also saving you thousands of pounds.

The person who changed the old system was Marc Beaumont.

Marc was the architect in 2000 of the original scheme of direct access to the Bar. Since 2004, he has become a recognised pioneer of and innovator in the field of direct access to the Bar and has built arguably the leading on-line barrister direct access practice in England & Wales. But despite being known as "Mr Direct Access," Marc works closely with UK and international law firms and other instructing entities. He is now authorised to conduct litigation in his own right.

© 2025 Article by Nicola Matheson-Durrant