the archives of f/k/a . . .

June 7, 2003

Access/Self-Help/Pro Se

Filed under: pre-06-2006 — David Giacalone @ 7:11 pm

– below are ethicalEsq postings and annotated web resources on this topic. use the Google Search Box to locate other postings covering the topic since the ethicalEsq weblog became f/k/a in May 2004 –

find our full list of annotated ethics links by clicking Ethics Resources on the Navigation Bar

See shlep: the Self-Help Law ExPress, which was created by f/k/a’s editor, and offers news, views and information on self-help law. It was chosen “Best Law Blog In the Public Interest” in the Blawg Review Awards 2006 .

probate proves hard to find online (May 5, 2005)
towards a better law day (May 2, 2005)
Bar & Guild (April 26, 2005)
Posting 03/07/04 That’s Not Fair fairness.com and self-help]
Posting 02/26/04 A Better Fix Than ParkingTicket.com
Posting 02/25/04 Small Claims Reform Bills Pending in 8 States
Posting 02/25/04 Taking Small Claims Back to the 20th Century in Indiana
Posting 02/12/04 Co-pays by Indigent Defendents Struck Down In Minnesota
Posting 02/09/04 New Pro Se Resources Webpage SelfHelpSupport.org)
Posting 02/09/04 NH Report Recommends Strong Program for Pro Se Litigants
Posting 02/03/04 Too Many Assigned Counsel Just Don’t Give a Damn
Posting 02/01/04 . . . and One Step Back (Small Claims reform)
Posting 01/21/04 NY Bar Ass’n Ignores Self-Help Approach to Improving Access
Posting 01/17/04 NY’s Disappointing Pro Bono Report
Posting 01/14/04 NY Bar Says Accessibility Is Its Prime Legislative Focus
Posting 01/14/04 Do-It-Yourself Law Panel at ABA Midyear Meeting in San Antonio
Posting 01/11/04 NYT Takes a Look at Prepaid Legal Services Plans
Posting 01/11/04 Six States Address Unbundling In Their Own Ways
Posting 01/10/04 Baby Steps Won’t Take Us to Small Claims Reform
Posting 12/27/03 Are There Really Too Few Trials?
Posting 12/19/03 Stocking-Stuffers for Legal Consumers
Posting 12/13/03 Improving Self-Help — Theory and Practice
Posting 12/10/03 Your Honor, Please Read This Article on Pro Se Techniques
Posting 12/09/03 Corporate Outsourcing May Bring Trickle-Down Competition, Options
Posting 12/04/03 Important New eBrochures for Consumers of Legal Services
Posting 10/08/03 ABA Unbundling Handbook Looks Like a Winner
Posting 10/03/03 Consumers Deserve Better Lawyer Referral Services
Posting 9/16/03 Internet Lawsites Encounter the Profession’s Guild Mentality
Posting 9/12/03 Courting the Public
Posting 9/04/03 Un-Bundle of Joy: A Win-Win for Lawyer and Client
Posting 8/23/03 No Need for Un-Bundelphobia
Posting 8/22/03 Santa Clara Courts Self-Helpers
Posting 8/11/03 Are Lawyers Blocking Efforts to Reform Small Claims Courts?
Posting 7/22/03 Article Explores Pros and Cons of Online Divorce Assistance
Posti ng 7/18/03 Mass. Offers More Proof that Self-Help Centers Are Better Than Free Lawyers
Posting 7/15/03 Pro Bono is Not the Answer to the Access Problem (Self-Help Is)
Posting 7/13/03 IL & Md Lawyer Groups Win First “Judee” Awards
Posting 7/08/03 More Help for the Self-Represented
Posting 7/06/03 New Model Rule Supports No-Frills Services
Posting 6/05/03 In LEAN Times, Nevada Needs More Imitators
Posting 6/02/03 A Fee Hike Even I Like

Self-Help Resources

The website of ABA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services, which has the “mandate to improve the delivery of legal services to the public, with a concentration on those of moderate income.”

The Pro Se Law Center, whose website is designed as a resource center on self-representation in civil legal matters. It provides a collection of materials and resources that can be used to create legal service delivery systems that are based on the concept of “pro se” or “self” representation within federally funded legal services programs, courts, pro bono programs, and other community-based programs. Especially, delve into the links to court pro se sites state by state — to see what other states are already doing to provide meaningful self-help assistance (through computers, personnel, brochures, hot-lines, directories of attorneys who unbundle, and more) and to consider what your state or county can and should be doing..

Examples of Court-Based Self-Help Centers: The pioneering self-help centers provided by the courts in Arizona’s Maricopa County (with information and over 400 court forms available online, covering domestic violence, family law, guardianship, estate, dependency, small claims, and tax appeal); and, programs throughout Florida (with comprehensive family law assistance). Also, newer programs at Center for Self-Representation.in the Lake County (Illinois) Courthouse (mentioned in our posting on 7/13/03), and Wisconsin Self-Help Center (discussed in our 7/8/03 posting).

For an excellent example of online statewide self-help resources, see the California Courts Online Self-Help Center, which “will help you find assistance and information, work better with an attorney, and represent yourself in some legal matters.”

FindLaw for the Public! Findlaw.com says “site is here to help you find solutions to your legal issues by providing you with easy and comprehensive access to lawyers and legal information.” Find the topic index here. Its Lawsuits & Lawyers page lists many articles of interest, including on being sued, deciding to bring a lawsuit, representing yourself, small claims courts, and more. Small Claims Court Reform

HALT’s Small Claims Reform Project. HALT believes that one key method of improving citizen access to the civil justice system is through small claims courts — which use simplified procedures, require plain English, provide consumer aids and often prohibit lawyers — because they can help empower ordinary people to take charge of their own routine legal needs. HALT is seeking a number of reforms that would make small claims courts fulfill their promise, including increasing significantly their award limits.

Supersize Small Claims [reproduced here] This article, written by ethicalEsq’s David Giacalone for Prairielaw.com (August 2000), advocates raising the limit on small claims awards to $20,000, to improve access to justice for the average consumer. It notes: “”[O]ur lawmakers could give a big chunk of the civil justice system back to the people by simply increasing the dollar limits allowed in small claims courts.” Unbundled Legal Services

Self-help often works best when consumers can use lawyers for discrete tasks — when they “unbundle” their services.

“Unbundled” Legal Services This website offers extensive information on the need for, ethics and mechanics of unbundling services, with relevant materials from many states, papers from conferences, sample retainer agreements, and much more for the court system or law firm interested in tapping into and encouraging the unbundling phenomenon.

Handbook on Limited Scope Legal Assistance The Modest Means Task Force of the ABA’s Section of Litigation has released this “Unbundling Handbook” in October, 2003. The 155-page document appears to live up to its billing as a “soup-to-nuts” guide for the practitioner. The Forward by Committee Chair Scott J. Atlas gives a taste of the purpose, scope and utility of the document:

The Handbook is a practical guide to providing legal services in a way that permits clients, who otherwise could not afford or would not choose to hire a lawyer, to obtain critical legal representation for discrete and important tasks in the course of resolving disputes. The Handbook discusses all aspects of limited-scope representation, including the formation and termination of the relationship, the performance of discrete tasks, and the ethical issues and procedural rules involved in this service method.

June 7, 2003

Access/Self-Help/Pro Se

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