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 and President Emeritus of the Legal Services Corporation, has noted that litigants in as many as three-quarters of all state civil cases report struggle to navigate the legal system without a lawyer. Those unrepresented in family, shelter, consumer, personal safety and other matters often go to court unaware of procedure, their rights, or where the merits of their case lie. As a result, SRLs lose 80-90% of civil cases where litigants’ housing, physical safety, and finances are often at stake. Even if certain court rules were to be simplified, researchers note that SRLs might still struggle to participate in court. Misunderstanding certain rules or procedures like which documents to bring to court, in the worst-case scenario, can result in SRLs being held in contempt of court, which could subject them to penalties like fees or even jail time.
“It’s a system that was created by lawyers, for lawyers, on the assumption that everybody’s got a lawyer,” says Sandman. “If you don’t have a lawyer, it’s opaque, confusing, hostile — anything but user-friendly.”
Pro Bono Help for Pro Se Litigants
Pro bono lawyers can play an important role in changing outcomes for SRLs. They can help pro se litigants face the complex challenges of navigating legal institutions that they were never meant to go alone. By leveraging their own legal knowledge and professional experience of the courts, pro bono volunteers can play a significant role empowering SRLs to participate in the judicial process, understand their rights, and transform a pro se litigants’ day in court. Helping pro se litigants is flexible and affords lawyers excellent experience impacting lives in a wide variety of legal matters.
To help SRLs most directly, pro bono lawyers can provide assistance in limited but meaningful ways. Limited scope representation, also known as “unbundling” or “discrete task representation,” lets volunteers handle work on one step in a legal matter at a time. All 50 states and D.C. permit limited scope representation. Through courts’ or legal services providers’ flexible “lawyer-for-a-day” programs, volunteers help litigants across areas of the law and at different steps in the judicial process. Their service may range from preparing and advising a pro se litigant on legal strategy before a court proceeding, to reviewing legal documents, to providing representation during their court appearance. For example, in Maryland where 80% of people needing civil legal aid don’t receive it, the Maryland Pro Bono Resource Center’s Courtroom Advocacy Project provides eligible litigants with same-day advocacy and representation during court procedures. The unbundling format provides SRLs with valuable legal services and gives attorneys flexibility to work in smaller increments on more cases.
In many jurisdictions in the U.S., lawyers can also assist by “ghostwriting” important legal documents for pro se litigants to file. This is another high-impact, limited-scope opportunity for lawyers to support SRLs. By completing a form or drafting a pleading, motion, or other document for filing, attorneys can provide SRLs with better quality case materials and legal arguments. Ghostwriting demands far less time and resources from a volunteer attorney than complete representation in court and can be completed anonymously in many jurisdictions.
Helping SRLs is Easy and Flexible
Lending help to self-represented litigants is flexible and convenient. Lawyers can offer their services for just a few hours at a time, volunteering at events like local legal clinics. During these brief meetings with SRLs, lawyers use their expertise to lend impactful legal advice, drafting and filing documents, or making referrals. Volunteers can also engage in a variety of matters, from housing and public benefits to family and immigration law, expanding their current skills set or expanding their knowledge and expertise.
Pro bono lawyers can also field pro se questions over the phone or online. Convenient platforms like the American Bar Association’s Free Legal Answers allow attorneys to log onto a portal and select from a range of questions from SRLs to answer. Lawyers can also give guidance, often from the ease of their own home or office, staffing local legal advice and information hotlines for pro se litigants. Court-based self-help centers are another outlet for pro bono volunteers to help pro se litigants navigate the legal system. Attorneys volunteering at a self-help center can apply their legal expertise, providing simple information on proceedings or more impactful legal advice to SRLs. Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County (NLSLA) recruits attorneys to help clients review records and prepare appropriate pleadings in a range of matters at Self-Help Clinics at the Los Angeles Superior Court. Volunteering attorneys, paralegals, and law students receive training and support from court staff at Fulton County’s Housing Court Assistance Center to provide litigants facing eviction with legal advice and guidance on court procedures.
Supporting Pro Se Litigants
There are other strategies to assist SRLs in addition to pro bono, including authorizing community justice worker programs, creating self-help guides for navigating the courts, and using technology. As the PBEye recently wrote, several states and the District of Columbia are adopting or exploring systems that empower community volunteers to perform some limited legal services: review documents, give legal advice, and educate pro se litigants on steps of the legal system. This expansion of who can assist can help bridge the justice access gap that separates vulnerable rural and low-income communities from critical legal resources.
Courts also produce resources helping SRLs understand and participate in judicial processes. For example, California’s Self-Help Portal features step-by-step guides for initiating a proceeding or responding to filings, accessing correct court forms, and locating records such as citations. Other jurisdictions, such as Arkansas, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, have installed self-help kiosks at local libraries and self-help centers where SRLs can print forms, pay fines, and find legal resources themselves. These tools simplify complex legal tasks to improve pro se access to justice.
Likewise, legal institutions are exploring the best applications of technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to manage and complete some of tasks involved in a legal proceeding. During the PBI 2026 Annual Conference, legal technology strategist and scholar Sateesh Nori discussed his vision for AI’s role automating key steps in legal services and transforming how courts handle matters like housing. Expanding these resources can improve participation in the justice system for people without counsel.
Getting Involved
Providing pro bono legal services remains crucial in helping to secure access to justice for SRLs. Research from access-to-justice scholars like Rebecca Sandefur suggests that parties with legal representation could be as much as 6.5 times more likely to win their civil cases than unrepresented parties. Attorneys interested in proving pro bono to pro se litigants can explore their local courts, legal services organizations (LSOs), or pro se assistance platforms for opportunities. Courts and legal institutions like the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and Washington Council of Lawyers are constantly exploring strategies for helping pro se litigants. The American Bar Association maintains resources advising interested volunteers on how to best help pro se litigants.
Lawyers have a skill set critical for empowering a pro se litigant in their legal matters. When lawyers and legal institutions help pro se litigants, they build a fairer system that furthers access to justice for all.