New research from lecturers in Birmingham and Leeds has shown that vulnerable people representing themselves in court are being given biased and misinformed advice by online legal advisors.
Dr Tatiana Tkacukova, Senior Lecturer in English Language at Birmingham City University, and Professor Hilary Sommerlad of Leeds Law School examined and assessed the quality of advice given by advisors in online forums and social media platforms, finding it often reflected personal anti-court and anti-social services viewpoints.
The research incorporated an analysis of advice given on 170 Facebook threads by 30 different McKenzie Friends, who help advise Litigants in Person on either voluntary or paid basis.
The study showed examples McKenzie Friends advising parents to disregard their lawyers’ advice, suggesting courts were institutionally unfair, and in some cases promoting the services of McKenzie friends while acting against their own lawyers.
Family Courts were sometimes described as “gender-biased” and [a] “disgrace” while social services were accused of not delivering, asking “stupid” questions, and overall incompetence.
Advisors told parents to write their own statement instead of following specialist legal advice on three occasions, while the study only found one positive description of a judge in all the posts analysed. The study also showed the range of challenges facing parents who represent themselves in court, with many reporting mental health issues, being subject to domestic violence, and confusion over the legal system.
The research suggests that there should be a framework to ensure transparency of McKenzie Friends and their advice to protect vulnerable people in court cases.
Dr Tkacukova said: “The increase in people representing themselves in court means that many parents are struggling to navigate the system while seeking to understand the way courts, social services and the legal system works.
“McKenzie Friends provide a much-needed service to offer advice and support to those for whom the legal system and the language of law is completely alien.
“While there are many positive experiences, the unregulated environment online means that our research found several instances of worrying, biased and misleading advice. The negative portrayals of the courts and social services, alongside the advice to ignore specialised legal advice show a worrying trend towards personal viewpoints and agendas clouding impartial and objective support.
“To help protect the many vulnerable people in these cases, we need to see a move towards a more regulated environment with increased transparency to make sure that people know the information they are accessing and the legal qualifications of those advising them.”
Of the 30 advisors online, the report found that only two were former lawyers. Three were former Litigants in Person, eleven were active, fee-charging McKenzie Friends and fourteen were McKenzie Friends moderators.
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