Day: May 12, 2026

By Andrew Braun, PBI Intern Challenges for Pro Se Litigants Millions of pro se or self-represented litigants (SRLs) appear in state and federal courts each year, with some jurisdictions such as Washington, DC seeing as many as 75% to 97% of litigants go without counsel in certain civil matters. But those figures come at a serious cost to obtain justice in a judicial system designed to serve litigants with lawyers. Courts’ lawyer-centric design seriously disadvantages pro se litigants. Jim Sandman, Distinguished Lecturer and Senior Consultant to the Future of the Profession Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School