The concept of using County Court advocates is not new. It has been around for years (LPC Law used to be called Legal Practice Clerks Limited and was established in 1994).
It has become more common for County Court advocate providers to use qualified advocates to attend hearings where the majority of County Court advocates do not have the right to an audience to appear.
I will typically attend court and identify myself as a “CILEX Advocate” since that is my legal profession. Sometimes I am met with a raised eyebrow. Sometimes I see the usher write ‘SILEX Advocate’ and let it be. However I also get told I will be recorded as ‘Solicitors’ Agent’.
One of my opponents, back long when, questioned why I was ok with that when I wasn’t a Solicitors Agent, but was a CILEX Advocate. The thing is… I was a Solicitors Agent.
What is a Solicitors Agent?
It is a question that is better suited once you consider what a Recorder once asked me:-
“Are you a member of the firm or are you instructed as an agent Mr Hancock?”
It showed that the Recorder truly understood the principle of what it actually means to be a Solicitors Agent.
I was once told about the original meaning of the term “Solicitors Agent”. In Plymouth, there used to be a “Solicitors Chambers” located near the Plymouth Magistrate Court. When a client’s case was not being heard in their local court but in a court further away, the solicitors would represent the client. However, the client wanted to avoid paying for the solicitor’s time and expenses in travelling to the distant court. Since it was a magistrate case, the client could not justify the cost of hiring a counsel. Thus, the solicitors would instruct another firm of solicitors closer to the court to act as their representative or “agent” on behalf of their client. This is why there was a “Solicitors Chambers” near the Magistrates.
The reason being is that the term ‘Solicitor’s Agent’ has lost its original meaning. The original meaning can be found within the comments of Deputy District Judge Balchin, which were quoted in the County Court Appeal of Halborg v Apple:–
“.. Mr Halborg is entirely right in what he told me about the origins of solicitor’s agents attending, for instance, hearings in London at the behest of a solicitor’s firm in the countryside, for example.”
So can Solicitors be Solicitors agents?
Yes. If that Solicitor is acting as an agent for another firm. Whether an advocate is qualified or unqualified, instructed by one firm but employed by another firm, they are considered a solicitor’s agent. if they are ins to attend Court
That brings me to the conundrum. Why should there be only three options for legal representation (Counsel, Solicitor or Solicitor Agent)? Whilst rare, it could be an in-house Barrister who works in a firm of Solicitors. Another firm instructs that firm of solicitors and that Barrister attends. Surely, since they are employed, they would be working as an agent for another solicitors’ firm?
For the same reason, a Solicitor instructed by another firm is a Solicitors’ Agent, but when they act for their own client in their own firm, they would be a Solicitor. What would happen if they were a paralegal exercising an appropriate right of audience under Schedule 3 Legal Services Act 2007? They cannot be a Solicitors’ Agent if they are acting for their own firm’s client.
Why I am a Solicitors agent… but also not?
When I work as an advocate for law firms through Quest Legal Advocates, I am acting as a Solicitors Agent. Quest Legal Advocates is a law firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and they are instructed by other law firms. When representing them in court, including Fast Track trials, I am required to meet the definition of a Solicitors Agent.
When I work as an advocate for law firms through AJH Advocacy, I am acting as a Solicitors Agent. It is no different from when I act for law firms via Quest Legal Advocates.
When working as a consultant in my litigation practice and advocating for my clients, I cannot be referred to as a Solicitors Agent. Instead, I am known as a ‘CILEX Lawyer for the Claimant’. While I have the ability to act as both a Solicitors Agent and a CILEX Lawyer, the correct title when serving as a Solicitors Agent is simply that.
Information
AJH Advocacy Limited, a Limited Company which is regulated by the Bar Standards Boards (entity number 190758), ceases trading on the 12th January 2026.
From the 12th January 2026 and onwards, Alec Hancock will practice as a Barrister at Magdalen Chambers in Exeter. For instructions on matters on or after 12th January 2026, please contact Magdalen Chambers via clerks@magdalenchambers.co.uk or by telephone on 01392 285 200.