Unrepresented litigants who have shown the court they can not afford legal assistance and whose cases have cleared substantial hurdles, like surviving summary judgment, will be provided pro bono attorneys.
Pro Bono Net nominated the NY Courts for this honor, believing they should be applauded for implementing technology which makes the justice system more accessible for
unrepresented litigants who are seeking critical support under the most difficult of circumstances.
Not exact matches
Although there are many, many examples of this, another recent case, this time from the Ontario Court of Appeal, shows that
unrepresented litigants —
who are generally unfamiliar with legal procedure — can unwittingly deprive themselves of the opportunity to assert their rights or put forward helpful evidence at the appropriate procedural juncture.
Providing them with solid legal information up front will benefit not only those
who don't have legal representation but the whole court system as
unrepresented litigants will be better able to manage their cases.
With up to 70 % of civil
litigants and 40 % or more of family
litigants unrepresented in our courts *, there are many, many individuals (the «non-clients»)
who have a considerable stake in the future of the legal profession but
who would not be included in a lawyers» debate about what clients want.
Judges have issued warnings that their courts are «grinding to a halt» because of the high percentage of
litigants who are
unrepresented litigants.
Are these
unrepresented litigants clients
who could never have afforded lawyers anyway?
However, according to Mr. Moskowitz, they see firsthand the effects of the civil legal aid shortage and understand the disadvantages faced by pro se
litigants who appear in court
unrepresented.
The Manhattan CLARO Project addresses the needs of
unrepresented debtors
who are being sued by their creditors, by providing pro se
litigants the opportunity to meet with an attorney to discuss their case and obtain limited legal advice.
Both solutions will occur because the power of the news media and of the internet, interacting, will quickly make widely known these types of information, the cumulative effect of which will force governments and the courts to act: (1) the situations of the thousands of people whose lives have been ruined because they could not obtain the help of a lawyer; (2) the statistics as to the increasing percentages of
litigants who are
unrepresented and clogging the courts, causing judges to provide more public warnings; (3) the large fees that some lawyers charge; (4) increasing numbers of people being denied Legal Aid and court - appointed lawyers; (5) the many years that law societies have been unsuccessful in coping with this problem which continues to grow worse; (6) people prosecuted for «the unauthorized practice of law» because they tried to help others desperately in need of a lawyer whom they couldn't afford to hire; (7) that there is no truly effective advertising creating competition among law firms that could cause them to lower their fees; (8) that law societies are too comfortably protected by their monopoly over the provision of legal services, which is why they might block the expansion of the paralegal profession, and haven't effectively innovated with electronic technology and new infrastructure so as to be able to solve this problem; (9) that when members of the public access the law society website they don't see any reference to the problem that can assure them that something effective is being done and, (10) in order for the rule of law, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the whole of Canada's constitution be able to operate effectively and command sufficient respect, the majority of the population must be able to obtain a lawyer at reasonable cost.
The Housing Court's Volunteer Lawyers Program offers free Continuing Legal Education (CLE) certified training to attorneys
who agree to volunteer in the Court's Help Centers by giving
unrepresented litigants legal advice and information.
Unrepresented litigants take up much more court time and resources per case than
litigants who have lawyers.
unrepresented litigant: a party
who does not retain a lawyer and appears for him / herself in court.
There is no doubt that court - connected ADR may benefit those
litigants who are already in the system, especially those
unrepresented by counsel.