Following the Mazur judgment, many long-practising CILEX professionals temporarily lost rights they had exercised for years and were required to obtain formal Practice Rights authorisation. In this personal blog, Rita Veitch reflects on the experience.
Initial shock
I still remember the email from my CILEX colleague on 25 September 2025 with an article about the Mazur judgment saying: “have you seen this?!”
My response was “that’s a bit annoying.” Definitely an understatement! It was the start of the most stressful six months of my working life.
After being qualified for 35 years, suddenly I could no longer my job. I could not ‘conduct litigation’, I could only assist.
To do so was a criminal offence. The situation was stressful enough, but added to that was the fear of being arrested for doing my job.
It was like having the rug pulled from under me.
The impact of the judgment was all I could think about. In equal measures I was upset, stressed and angry. I struggled to work, to sleep and to eat. I had a constant headache.
I felt unqualified. I didn’t tell anyone as I thought they would think the same. I saw posts sharing achievements on LinkedIn and thought I no longer belong to that world.
The way forward
Litigation files were transferred to a colleague. I had to ask an authorised person if I could take a step that I knew needed to be done. Stopping and thinking – “I can’t do that, someone else has to make the decision.”
Telling clients was another challenge. Would they think their case was being transferred to someone else because I didn’t know what I was doing? Would they complain or refuse to pay their bill because I was not authorised?
I could not sign anything. On one occasion I was asked to sign a letter: “you can sign this, it’s very basic”. That just reminded me of the situation. I would take a deep breath and say to myself ‘every day is a day closer.’ That kept me going.
Amidst the negatives, there were positives. There were thousands of other CILEX members experiencing the same. Many were strangers to each other but we supported each other and shared information; there were LinkedIn groups and WhatsApp groups. We were in it together.
Obtaining Practice Rights
I opted for the University of Law assessment route and signed up to start that in January 2026. I was so impatient to get it done. I had a countdown on my phone up to results day. Starting in December 2025, with the assessment in February and results in March, it all seemed a long way off.
When I first qualified I did evening classes and a correspondence course, sending handwritten assignments in the post to be marked by my tutor.
Fast forward to 2026, and everything was on an app. I am ok with tech but the combination of studying again, getting to grips with new systems and dealing with the stress of the impact on my job made it much harder.
I did as much as I could to familiarise myself with the app. At least if I could get to grips with that, then I only had the actual assessments to think about.
The university provided mock question papers for the multiple-choice exam. There were quizzes online, but I didn’t look at them. I was scared that I would do badly in them and then worry more about the exam.
I was particularly dreading the skills assessment as it was role playing a mock interview. No problem with a real client meeting but a mock one is nerve-wracking. I was worried that my nerves would mean that I would not be able to do it.
The second part was a multiple-choice exam. I set myself a timetable of revision from January until the exam in mid-February. I wanted to do well. I effectively ‘wrote off’ my free time for that period, feeling guilty if I wasn’t revising.
Day to day we don’t memorise everything but for this exam that was what was needed. For example, that meant having ready mnemonics to remember the CMS formulas. That didn’t come up but I was ready for it!
My birthday fell between the two parts of the assessment. I had a big birthday last year. This year was so different. What was the point even taking the day off work? I would just revise. I celebrated after the exams but it was surreal with everyone wishing me a happy birthday on the day while I was revising for an exam and ignoring my birthday.
The wait for the results was two long weeks. I was very pleased to get the results and to have passed. I had my Practice Rights. I transferred the files back into my name. The stress was over. I could get back to normal.
Looking forward
On reflection, I would prefer this hadn’t happened and that I, and many others, hadn’t had to go through this but I am pleased to have Practice Rights.
The revision meant I reminded myself of some areas that I don’t do that frequently. I never expected at 60 to become a student again but revisiting my studying was beneficial. After the initial shock and loss of confidence, being tested and passing has made me feel more confident.
There are many others who are still going through this. Every time I see someone posting on LinkedIn that they have obtained Practice Rights, I know exactly what they have been through to get there. It seems an unwritten rule that we all ‘like’ each other’s posts – I had over 100 likes and some lovely comments on my post.
Rita Veitch, associate chartered legal executive, Child Law Partnership, and co-chair of Resolution’s Litigants in Person Committee
Read Juliet Harvey’s post on the wider impact of Mazur
