Who may do what
Section 12 of the Legal Services Act 2007 reserves six activities. Carrying one on without authorisation is a criminal offence. Almost everything else that looks like legal work — giving advice, drafting a contract, writing a will, appearing as a paid McKenzie friend — anybody may do.
| Reserved activity | What it is | Authorised professions |
|---|---|---|
| exercise of a right of audience | Appearing before a court to argue a case. | Costs lawyers; Patent and trade mark attorneys; Barristers; Solicitors; Chartered legal executives |
| conduct of litigation | Issuing, prosecuting or defending proceedings, and the formal steps in them. | Costs lawyers; Patent and trade mark attorneys; Barristers; Solicitors; Chartered legal executives |
| reserved instrument activities | Preparing instruments of transfer or charge over land and lodging documents at HM Land Registry. | Notaries public; Licensed conveyancers; Patent and trade mark attorneys; Solicitors; Chartered legal executives |
| probate activities | Preparing papers on which to found or oppose a grant of probate or of letters of administration. | Notaries public; Licensed conveyancers; Solicitors; Chartered legal executives; Chartered accountants (ICAEW) |
| notarial activities | Activities customarily carried on by virtue of enrolment as a notary. | Notaries public |
| administration of oaths | Administering an oath or taking an affidavit. | Notaries public; Costs lawyers; Licensed conveyancers; Patent and trade mark attorneys; Barristers; Solicitors; Chartered legal executives |
What is not reserved
This is the half of the map that matters most to somebody choosing an adviser, and no regulator publishes it, because none of them regulates it. Will writing is not a reserved activity. Neither is general legal advice, nor employment tribunal representation, nor acting as a paid McKenzie friend. Anybody may charge for any of them with no qualification, no insurance and no regulator to complain to.
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Paralegals outside CILEX
None
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Will writers
None. Will writing is not a reserved activity
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McKenzie friends
None. A McKenzie friend has no right of audience and assists by the court's permission
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Expert witnesses
None. Duties come from CPR Part 35 and the court's control of evidence
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Legal secretaries
None
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Legal academics
None
Two reservations sit outside the 2007 Act’s scheme and are worth naming. Immigration advice is reserved by part V of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, so giving it while unregulated is an offence under a different statute — see regulated immigration advisers. Taking control of goods is reserved by schedule 12 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 — see certificated enforcement agents.
Checked against the oversight regulator
Which regulator authorises which reserved activity was compiled here from each regulator’s own pages and from section 12 of the Legal Services Act 2007. The Legal Services Board prints the whole mapping in one table in its 2014/15 annual report — approved regulator, regulatory body, reserved activities, licensing authority.
The two agree for every profession on this site. Notaries: reserved instrument activities, probate, administration of oaths and notarial activities. Licensed conveyancers: reserved instrument activities, probate and administration of oaths. Patent and trade mark attorneys: rights of audience, conduct of litigation, reserved instrument activities and administration of oaths. Costs lawyers: rights of audience, conduct of litigation and administration of oaths.
A test holds this site’s mapping against the LSB’s table, so that a future change has to be noticed rather than silently absorbed. The LSB’s table is from 2015 and both the CLC and IPReg have applied to extend their scope since, so a future disagreement will need reading against the current source rather than assuming either side is wrong.