The Solicitors Regulation Authority has released long-awaited guidance to help law firms stay compliant after the Court of Appeal’s ruling in Mazur. The 24-page document, published today, focuses on the safe supervision of unauthorised staff carrying out litigation work.
The Court of Appeal established earlier this year that an unauthorised person — such as a legal executive, paralegal, or trainee solicitor — may lawfully perform tasks within the scope of litigation conduct. The ruling came with a condition: delegation by an authorised person requires “proper direction, management supervision and control.”
The SRA took more than two months to produce its detailed response. It was reviewed by the Law Society, CILEX Regulation, government departments, the Legal Aid Agency, and the Law Centres Network.
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What the guidance actually says
The document addresses how and when tasks can be delegated, and how a solicitor can show responsibility through direction, management supervision, and control. The regulator has also expanded sections covering both those supervising and those being supervised.
From the outset, the guidance stresses there is no single supervision model that firms should rely on. Providers should instead take a risk-based approach tailored to their own circumstances.
Firms are urged to consider who will supervise work, how many people they will supervise, how much of each person’s work a supervisor will see, how often they will communicate, and whether supervision happens face-to-face, remotely, or through a mix of both.
Supervisors should have “clear oversight” of the work being done and be “readily available” to support the unauthorised person, the document states.
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Effectiveness over formality
“Supervision needs to be effective. Merely putting supervision arrangements in place is necessary but not sufficient to meet legal services providers’ regulatory obligations,” the guidance says. Providers should take proactive steps to ensure supervision operates properly, that arrangements are clear and understood, and that supervisors are accountable.
Supervision can be carried out by people without line management responsibilities. Solicitors in that position should consider whether they have enough expertise and skills to understand the work they are overseeing.
Those being supervised should make sure there is clarity about what tasks have been delegated to them and when their supervisor is available. They should also be open about their capacity to do the work and when they need help.
Jonathan Peddie, SRA executive director of investigations, enforcement and litigation, said the regulator took time to review the position “thoroughly and collaboratively” with others across the legal sector. “The court has provided clarity and our overall position remains the same — firms should take a risk-based approach tailored to their circumstances,” he added. “Each firm will be different, but hopefully our case studies will help them as they exercise their professional judgement in practice.”
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Industry reaction
Law Society vice president Brett Dixon welcomed the publication. “We hope it will provide members with clarity as to how to comply with their professional and legal obligations in most situations,” he said.
The guidance arrives after months of uncertainty following the Mazur ruling. Some firms had paused delegation practices entirely until the SRA responded.
It includes case studies designed to help firms apply the principles in practice. The SRA says its overall position has not changed, but the expanded detail gives firms a clearer framework to work within.
