Be Your Own Lawyer
After five months with no activity, you’re slapped with a summary judgment motion that could end your case prematurely, and not in your favor. You could’ve prepared, but you’d decided to let things die down and respond as necessary. Now you’re paying for it. It’s always better to stay on offense when you’re engaged in battle.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
Can’t we all just get along? Uh. No, at least not when adversarial positioning is the name of the game. Litigation is all about confrontation, taking a side, advocating for a desired outcome, and doing what needs to be done to come out on top. Self-represented litigants and lawyers might seem to be a natural matchup in this type of environment. After all, one needs a lawyer and the other is a lawyer. Yet, for the 6 reasons below, bringing the two together is not a piece of cake.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
When you represent yourself, you can bet your bottom dollar the lawyer on the other side expects an easy victory. This is where bias against pro se litigants pays off. The quickest way to settlement is to defy expectations in court.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
If you’re a defendant and the plaintiff has survived a motion to dismiss, your affirmative defenses are your next best chance to prevail. Affirmative defenses are much like claims in that the person asserting them must prove that all the required elements are present. Still, if you have any chance of saying, “The plaintiff was wrong too”, take it. And there are no better plaintiff-was-wrong-too affirmative defenses than contributory and comparative negligence.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
Winning is never strictly about a court judgment. It’s more about aligning your goals with a strategy to achieve them. Harassing the other side with discovery or raising their litigation costs above the value of the claim are tactics every litigant should consider. Being able to use them is what winning looks like for the pro se litigant.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
Why spend your litigation time wasting resources and going crazy? There are so many things you’d rather be doing than litigation. But since you’re in it, you want to make the most of it. Right? So, avoid activities that don’t advance your goals or strategy.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
You’ll likely fall back on your TV knowledge the first time you get sued. It won’t be long before you realize you’re out of your depth. You’ll feel confused, overwhelmed and desperate. But once you get your emotions under control, there are really only three things you need to do.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
As the appellant writing an initial brief, you must persuade the appellate court that the case should be reversed because of a lower court error. In answer, your opponent has to convince the appellate court that the lower court decision is sound. Going first puts you in a powerful position. Your actions in the initial stages of the appellate process matters, and the brief is front and center. Do that right, and you improve your chances of getting that rare reversal.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
Courtroom5 has developed a set of tools to ease the fear and drudgery of going to court without a lawyer. The Courtroom5 Toolset is designed instead to help self-represented litigants be more knowledgeable, organized, and effective in court. Check it out.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
Litigation is a slow process – until it’s not. When you don’t feel you have enough time to prepare for a court date, or you’re afraid you won’t meet a filing deadline, move for a delay with a motion for continuance or motion for extension of time.
And if you need help representing yourself in civil court, it’s time to join Courtroom5.
