Matthew Withers, instructed by Family Law Partners and acting pro bono in this application for authorisation, appeared in GH v XX (Legal Services Act 2007 Exemption) [2026] EWFC 51 (B). The case concerns the exemption of an experienced Legal Executive prior to any authorisation, following the High Court’s decision in Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys [2025] EWHC 2341 (KB), which has had a significant impact on how legal practices arrange and conduct litigation.
The Family court (HHJ Farquhar) held that whilst the Legal Executive concerned was vastly experienced and readily competent, the test to be applied was one of exceptional circumstances, and whilst there would be delay and cost consequences, this was not sufficient to grant exemption.
This matter was held to be of public importance, and permission to appeal has been granted, pending the Court of Appeal’s decision in the Mazur appeal.
This decision has been widely reported, including in the Law Gazette, and summarised in both the Financial Remedies Journal and Civil Litigation Brief.
Matthew’s instruction comes after he joined other members of chambers and local legal executives in delivering a Webinar following the decision in Mazur last year.
