However, all Magistrate Courts have a Clerk to the Justices who is qualified and advises the magistrates on the law at hearings and handles other court function

However, all Magistrate Courts have a Clerk to the Justices who is qualified and advises the magistrates on the law at hearings and handles other court functions. "A person can only be designated if he/she has a five-year magistrates' court qualification, was a barrister or solicitor who had served for not less than five years as an assistant to a justices' clerk, or had previously been a justices' clerk" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justices%27_clerk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justices%27_clerk