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Scots support McKenzie Friends

Eighty-five percent of Scots think it would be useful if people who cannot find or afford a lawyer to represent them in court could have the help and support of a knowledgeable non-lawyer or friend in court (known as a McKenzie Friend), according to new figures from Which?.

The consumer group polled just over a thousand adults in research timed to coincide with the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill going through the Scottish Parliament. It reveals that around seven in ten Scots (71%) think that legal services should be regulated independently.

Around six in ten (59%) think it is important that lay people should make up the majority of a profession’s regulator or disciplinary board.

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February 2010


  • SLC report on land registration (date added: 26 February 2010)
  • Children's Hearings Bill (date added: 24 February 2010)
  • Unified court administration (date added: 22 February 2010)
  • Move to strengthen law on stalking (date added: 22 February 2010)
  • SLC Annual Report published (date added: 19 February 2010)
  • Home buying and selling study published (date added: 19 February 2010)
  • Thomson Review - the Faculty response (date added: 17 February 2010)
  • Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland (date added: 16 February 2010)
  • Eighth Programme of Law Reform for SLC (date added: 12 February 2010)
  • New law on repossession (date added: 12 February 2010)
  • Repossessions lower than predicted (date added: 11 February 2010)
  • First Annual Report from SLCC (date added: 09 February 2010)
  • Rise in Scotland’s property prices (date added: 08 February 2010)
  • Marine Bill passed (date added: 05 February 2010)
  • Simplifying planning policy (date added: 04 February 2010)
  • Scots support McKenzie Friends (date added: 02 February 2010)
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