Costs and support options
Using solicitors, barristers and McKenzie Friends only where needed
How people can combine self-representation with selected professional or lay support while keeping control of their papers.
Representing yourself does not have to mean doing everything alone. It also does not mean you must instruct solicitors for every step. Many people use different types of help at different points: solicitor advice, barrister advocacy, McKenzie Friend support, paper organisation, peer support and self-management.
The key is understanding what each type of help is for.
This guide is general information only. SelfCase does not provide legal advice, legal strategy, representation, advocacy, litigation conduct or outcome predictions.
The person still carries the facts
Even where a solicitor or barrister is instructed, the client usually remains the main source of facts. The client knows the history, the messages, the documents, the dates, the missing papers and the practical reality.
If those facts are disorganised, paid help may be less efficient. The professional may spend time reconstructing what happened before they can advise on what it means.
Solicitors
A solicitor may provide legal advice, correspondence, drafting, negotiation, litigation conduct where authorised, and ongoing case management. This can be valuable but may be expensive if used for every paper task.
Some people use solicitors for targeted advice rather than full representation. Whether that is suitable depends on the case.
Barristers
A barrister may be used for advice, drafting or advocacy. Some barristers accept public access instructions directly from clients, subject to suitability and professional rules. A barrister may be especially useful for hearings or focused advice, but they need a clear brief.
A disorganised file can make briefing harder.
McKenzie Friends
A McKenzie Friend may provide lay support to a litigant in person, subject to court guidance and limits. Judiciary guidance distinguishes reasonable assistance from restricted activities such as rights of audience and conduct of litigation, which generally require permission or an exception.
A McKenzie Friend is not the same as a solicitor or barrister.
SelfCase
SelfCase sits in a different layer: paper support. It helps the person understand, organise and check their own documents. It does not advise, represent or advocate.
This can help before using a solicitor, barrister or McKenzie Friend because the papers are clearer.
A staged support model
A person might organise papers with SelfCase, take targeted solicitor advice on legal issues, use a barrister for a hearing, use a McKenzie Friend for permitted support, manage routine papers themselves, and return for further paper review before the next stage.
This is not a recommendation for any particular route. It shows that support can be modular.
Beware paying professionals to discover your own papers
The heavy lifting of supplying facts and documents usually remains with the person. If you give a professional a mixed folder of PDFs, screenshots and emails, someone has to turn that into a case history. That time may be charged.
A chronology, document index and gap list can make later advice more focused.
What SelfCase can help with
SelfCase can help organise and check papers, build a clearer chronology, identify apparent gaps or inconsistencies, and prepare source-backed paper summaries. SelfCase does not tell you what legal step to take.
SelfCase can prepare a chronology, document index, bundle gap list, solicitor-ready summary, issue map, draft-response support notes and evidence/assumption table.
What SelfCase cannot do
SelfCase cannot advise whether to instruct a solicitor, barrister or McKenzie Friend, choose one for you, negotiate fees, represent you, or conduct litigation.
When to seek legal advice
Consider legal advice where you need to understand legal rights, applications, settlement, evidence, orders, enforcement, costs, child welfare or financial consequences.
Checklist
Ask yourself: do I need legal advice, advocacy, emotional support, paper organisation, or a combination? Do I know what I am paying each person to do? Are my documents ready for advice? Can I explain the current issue clearly?
Good support starts with knowing which problem you are trying to solve.
Source notes
Not sure where to start?
Tell us what papers you have received, what is worrying you and whether there is a deadline.