Be Your Own Lawyer
The only thing worse than not knowing about litigation when you’re in a legal battle is not knowing what you don’t know.
Though it’s not scientific, this readiness test highlights important things you may need to know about litigation. It’s like a self-assessment. Ask yourself, “Am I ready for court?” and know the answer.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
You’re expected to be engaged in frivolous litigation when you show up in court without a lawyer, especially when you’re the defendant. If you’ve ever read the small print on the back of a traffic or parking ticket, you’ve had to weigh the cost of the ticket against the cost of fighting it. I’ve seen threats of court costs as high as $500. That’s the bullying tactic cities use to force folks to pay up – guilty or not – because the courts assume your defense is frivolous.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
Sometimes in a civil case, an attorney will threaten a pro se litigant with attorney’s fees. If you don’t drop your case, here comes a threat of attorney’s fees. Bam! If you pursue a defense too eagerly. Boom! If you’re digging too deeply in discovery. Splat!
They didn’t expect this fight from you and are willing to use what they have to beat you down. Unfortunately, the courts might allow it. But you’re pro se, the idea is not to pay attorney’s fees. Don’t let them bully you out of pursuing your case.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
Most civil cases never make it to trial. The parties might settle. One party might drop out along the way and get a judgment against him. Others may simply not show up at all. For self-represented litigants, a defeat usually comes early in the case. Quite often, we don’t show up at all. So, if you’re pro se, and you’re going to trial, congratulations. You’ve jumped a lot of hurdles to make it here.
So now, let’s get to that trial notebook.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) has appointed Courtroom5 CEO Sonja Ebron to serve on the Leaders Council. LSC “… is the single largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans in the nation.” The Leaders Council is dedicated to helping raise public awareness of the civil legal aid crisis in the U.S. and the importance of equal justice to low-income Americans.
Legal battles between family members can be both ugly and tenacious whether a formal probate case is opened or not. As is often the case, a home or other property of an elderly, ailing, or deceased relative is at the heart of the dispute. A man’s experiences with his mother, uncle, lawyers, and the New York court system, should serve as a cautionary tale for those in similar situations.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
At a time when so many businesses have ground to a halt due to COVID-19, you can expect mounds of debt and a plethora of debt collectors looking to get paid when all of it is “over”. We all know that it will be some time before the economy fully recovers from the pandemic – if it ever does. Yet, that won’t stop companies like Capital One and others from continuing their practice of regularly taking their customers to court. When they come, be ready for them.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
If you’re a self-represented litigant, you’re essentially banned from appearing before the U.S. Supreme Court. That’s right, the lawyers representing the opponents in your case might be welcome, but you aren’t. The right to represent yourself in court is supposed to be protected by the U.S. Constitution. Yet, many self-represented litigants find it difficult to pursue meritorious cases to the fullest because of judicial barriers. The Supreme Court does not want to hear from us because they say they have too many cases. Here are 5 reasons why that is malarky and why courts should be expanded.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
In this episode of I Am Not A Lawyer, the Courtroom5 podcast, Anne Leduc shares her experience fighting a harassment and discrimination claim filed by a former employee of her small business. Representing yourself is difficult even when you’re at your best, but it gets really tough when you’re also fighting a life-threatening illness. Anne Leduc has done that at Courtroom5.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
The last petition for writ of certiorari I wrote was regarding a judge who refused to recuse herself after making biased statements in open court. A petition for writ of certiorari begins an interlocutory appeal. That is, it asks an appellate court to review a judge’s order in the middle of a case. Like other writs, the petition for writ of certiorari is not for the faint of heart. It’s one of a group of legal documents called extraordinary writs, and they are all hard to get.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
