He describes a bewildering situation in which long-trusted legal executives, once central to litigation teams, now risk being side-lined as mere ‘ciphers’. He traces the problem to regulatory drift following the Legal Services Act 2007 and the growth of mass-market litigation models fuelled by ‘no win no fee’ practices.
Meanwhile, unqualified caseworkers in some modern claims factories are producing erroneous witness statements referencing vehicles or banks that never existed.
Philpott argues that the solution is simple: the regulator must restore clarity by confirming that all qualified CILEX members have rights to conduct litigation. With professions unsettled and livelihoods at stake, he suggests that intervention in the Mazur appeal may yet provide a much-needed corrective.
