Steven Wade is a family law advisor (McKenzie Friend) with nearly 20 years of experience helping people represent themselves in court. Having been through the system personally and supported thousands of others since, he knows what it’s like to face the stress, confusion, and pressure of doing it alone. This blog shares practical insights that empower you to take control of your case — without the legal jargon or the hefty solicitor’s bill.
5 things to think about before using a McKenzie Friend
Family Law Assistance
The only alternative to a solicitor.
5 things to think about before using a McKenzie Friend
- Introduction
- How visible are they?
- Online reviews
- Are they full or part time?
- Are they part of an organisation with an agenda?
- Do you trust them?
- Conclusion
Introduction
A good McKenzie Friend is worth their weight in gold. They’re knowledgeable, flexible, proactive and a bargain compared to what you can pay a solicitor. A good McKenzie Friend will help you get the possible result possible for your child, finance or divorce case while you are in the driving seat and left knowing you did the best you could in a difficult situation.
How visible are they?
Do they have an address, website, office number and social media channels? Can you see what their names are, a picture of them?
Or is it more the case of it being a mobile number and a gmail address – where you’re not sure who you’re contacting or how to get hold of them if need be? Does it look like someone has set up a Facebook page and put the absolute bare minimum on it so they can take calls? Does their online presence look reminiscent of an old shop where you’re not even sure if it is still trading or not?
This sort of thing should be a big red flag. You should be extremely hesitant of using a service/company/person who could stop answering their mobile one day, deleting that half-completed Facebook page and deleting their gmail address that is something along the lines at `topmckenziefriend@gmail.com’.
Do your research. Google the name of the person, company, whatever to see what you can find.
Don’t be too shocked if you find the odd negative review (remember – there’s a reason why solicitors seldom have review pages…because family law is a fraught, emotional and stressful business so it’s inevitable not everyone will be happy) but if you find nothing at all…that can be worrying.
Check YouTube, Facebook, Tiktok, LinkedIn and other social media apps to see what they’re doing. If it’s nothing – beware.
Online reviews
Google reviews are a great way of checking what the McKenzie Friend‘s previous clients think of the service they’ve received and work undertaken. Again – it’s worth pointing out that trolls are a thing, as are disgruntled ex partner’s and clients who didn’t get the result they wanted despite their case being presented as well as it could be.
Check for testimonials on websites too.
In family law reviews are hard to come by however – for the simple reason that people involved in family law clients often don’t want to risk antagonising their ex partner, seeing their words used against them in a future hearing or just want to forget the whole thing and move on with their lives.
Are they full or part time?
There are a huge number of people who assist as McKenzie Friends and they do this for a while host of reasons. Some of them are legal professionals who have chosen this as an alternative career to being a solicitor or barrister. Others have personal experience of the family courts and want to use that experience to help others who are going through it. Others still are part of a charity or other organisation and assist litigant in line with their goals.
Very view McKenzie Friends are able to do it on a full time basis because they are unable to pay the bills and help people – meaning many spend at least part of their time in employment.
If this is the case, there is a potential impact on you.
Got a court hearing coming up? Your McKenzie Friend may not be available to assist you in court because they’re at work. If this happens you’ll need to find someone else who is available on that day and make sure they are up to speed with the details of your situation.
The same is true when it comes to assisting you with paperwork, forms, advice, etc. Their availability may be limited and not in line with your own meaning you are left to your own devices when it comes to making decisions about your case.
A full time McKenzie Friend though?
While rare they’re going to have a lot more availability and unless they’re already booked with someone else they’ll be free to be in court with you (unless you are using someone like Family Law Assistance and we have a team of people who are ready to help you of course).
Are they part of an organisation with an agenda?
There are a lot of organisations out there that come into contact with family law matters.
Charities, support groups and others that deal with gender issues, child safety, parenting rights and more.
All of them have some kind of an agenda. I don’t necessarily mean this in a bad way. That agenda could easily be something as straightfoward as acting in the best interests of the children. Others could be more focused on men’s/women’s rights, a push to change the law for shared parenting, exposing the `corrupt family court’, attacking Social Services and CAFCASS and more.
Be under no illusions – you will be in court for one purpose only – your child.
These organisations will be keen to assist you. Don’t get me wrong, most people have the best of intentions and passionately believe their way of thinking is the answer to the problems they say and they will be keen to help you. But they may also be keen for you to swell their numbers, help push their agenda and use your situation to highlight the problems as they see them.
Some of them have McKenzie Friends attached to them who may (or may not) have this agenda in the back of their mind. Beware!
Do you trust them?
Go with your gut. If something doesn’t seem `right’, beware. You are trusting someone with an important aspect of your life – you children, your finances, your divorce, your life.
If you have second thoughts about enlisting the help of someone don’t use them. Going through the family courts can be upsetting, depressing, draining and mayu be one of the biggest challenges you’re every going to face in your life. If the person by your side doesn’t seem to be a good fit it can make things only harder.
A good McKenzie Friend will leave you feeling better, not worse. If you’re worried about what they may or may not do, whether you can get hold of them, whether they represent good value for money to you or anything else think again.
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Conclusion
As I said at the start of this post, a good McKenzie Friend is a great asset.
It’s wrong to judge their worth based purely on the outcome they can help you obtain – the court may not agree with you and no matter how good your case is, no matter how good your motives are things may not go the way you’d choose. This is the case for anyone who is by your side however – be they McKenzie Friend, solicitor or the country’s most experienced barrister.
But do your research. It could be the difference between success and failure.
This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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