An unreserved legal consultancy may help with advice, drafting and preparation, but some legal tasks require a person or organisation with the appropriate regulatory entitlement.
Formal conduct of litigation
Taking formal responsibility for issuing, prosecuting or defending proceedings can amount to the reserved activity of conducting litigation. Helping a litigant understand an order or organise evidence is not the same thing as assuming conduct of the case.
Court advocacy
Rights of audience are also reserved in the circumstances covered by legislation. A person managing their own case may therefore need an appropriately authorised advocate for a hearing even if preparatory support has been obtained elsewhere.
Property, probate and other reserved work
Conveyancing and Land Registry work can involve reserved instrument activities. Preparing the papers on which an application for or opposition to a grant of probate is founded is also reserved.
Separate regulatory regimes
Immigration advice, regulated claims-management services and certain financial or consumer-credit activities can require separate authorisation even though they are not simply described as one of the six reserved legal activities.
A responsible provider should identify these boundaries early and explain who is responsible for each part of the work.
General information only
This article is general information rather than advice on your individual circumstances. Law and procedure can change, and the correct approach can depend on the documents, facts and deadlines in your matter.