Scroll down this page to find SERVICES for Litigants in Person. If you take advantage of them, be sure to come back here and leave a comment about what you learned from using the service(s) we list here. If you’d like to suggest a service we should list here, then please leave us a comment now and we’ll go find it for you.
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GETTING YOUR CRITICAL DOCUMENTS
ORGANISED & BUNDLED PROPERLY
This is some advice on getting your documents in shape for court.
Over the years we at Legastat have seen many LiPs walk through our doors and in general there seems to be a burning need for direction, advice and sometimes a sympathetic ear to bend about the poor state of British justice.
This site helps to fill that divide between expensive legal advice and going it alone with no support. Many of the poor souls we see looked stressed, haggard and sometimes it seems like they haven’t slept in a week.
To help make your life a bit easier here are a few things we think might help make things go a little more smoothly.
Consider how you wish to organize your paperwork from the start. It will save you work later on so you won’t have to re-jig everything.
- Remember the more complicated you make the document the harder it will be to read and the longer it will take to produce.
- Use electronic documents as much as possible. Keep them organized and only print them off when your bundle is ready for court. That way any amendments will be accounted for.
- If you have lots of documents either to disclose or to review there are some simple cloud based solutions that could assist as well as software for laptops and tablet computers. Again keep the printing to the end so as to keep cost and compliance in order.
- If you suspect that you may be instructing solicitors or barristers at some point, then ask them how they would want the documentation presented, as again this will reduce time and expense at a later date when the bundles are being created.
In short, much of it is about planning and simplicity.
A judge will want to be able to get to the salient points quickly and easily. Remembering and respecting this as you prepare your bundle will help you help the judge understand the most important aspects of what you desire.
We see lots of LiPs returning time after time looking crest fallen because a judge or barrister has pulled their case apart – because their documents are unfathomable or information is missing or incorrect.
So please keep our suggestions in mind!
And if you want some help with this aspect of your efforts, feel free to contact us using the code name “help4LiPs”and we’ll do our very best to help you.
Our contact details:
Email: robin.brown@legastat.co.uk Web: www.legastat.co.uk
Direct Dial: 0207 492 6516
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GET YOUR ESSENTIAL LEGAL QUESTIONS ANSWERED FOR FREE
Get your essential legal questions answered for free this month by attending an open Q&A session.
Gurvir Birang – a seasoned and successful lawyer – has kindly offered us his time and expertise for a free two hour Question & Answer session to help users of our site.
We want to help you leverage the law instead of succumbing to it.
This session was held on Saturday morning, 25th June 2011 at West London Law’s offices. Seating was limited, so people needed to organise their attendance in advance through this web page.
This morning session included time and opportunity for you to meet other Litigants in Person, so that you could compare notes and learn from others.
Future sessions are under discussion
If you are interested, please send an email to: BradMeyer@help4lips.co.uk
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Final Notes Batch number 10 (from the free Help4LiPs QA Session)……
101. If you can find another LiP to work closely with, you could potentially represent each other – thereby reducing the emotional disruption factor
102. It would be very helpful to have a “salvage pack” to help get into auto pilot to respond in time – including;
a. How to organise your papers and present your case
b. How to address the judges
c. Cost order options
103. This organisation’s website and services should focus on helping LiPs move from crisis to autopilot. If it does, it could corner the market of the 95% of people who will be unable to afford a lawyer
104. Moving from crisis to autopilot necessitates dealing with emotion, then with procedure
105. Knowing and accepting that you are physically and emotionally vulnerable is necessary step before you can become personally, procedurally strong
106. You probably cannot do it all alone. And you don’t have to do it all alone.
107. Help4LiPs can help!
Batch number 9 (from the free Help4LiPs QA Session)……
91. Judges have come to expect your best / strongest point first, so if you present a weaker one first, you risk losing the chance to build an agreement momentum with the judge from the start
92. Litigation creates a lot of stress. Stress impacts all dimensions of your life, creating weakness. Weakness is preyed upon by those looking for prey.
93. The government wants to reduce the amount of litigation. One potential change to discourage litigation is to remove the loser pays winners’ costs. A contra result could be it creates an incentive to break contracts.
94. There is only one winner in law – and winner takes all – so mediation needs to increase in the future
95. Be clear about your personal motivation and your team’s motivation – e.g. are you more principle oriented or cost/benefit ratio oriented
96. As lawyers become increasingly unaffordable more people will need to learn to be more effective in representing themselves
97. A trap for LiPs is detectable when you hear things like “I’ve done nothing wrong, so why I am in this mess?” or “I’ve done nothing wrong.”
98. Self-awareness is important. Accepting personal responsibility for court failures is a very helpful (self-empowering) psychological orientation to develop.
99. You may have had a “bad run”, but now it’s time to look forward, bringing with you an increasingly sharp focus on your strongest points
100. You want to focus on doing the best in the least amount of time. To do this, you need to keep the emotion outside of it.
Batch number 8 (from the free Help4LiPs QA Session)……
81. LiPs should play to their strengths and let others do their bits – e.g. law students doing case law research, possibly LiPs representing other LiPs (to keep the emotion out of it during delivery)
82. The State has always said there must be equal access to justice, but with legal aid cut backs, lawyer availability is cut back
83. The result is only the very poor and very rich can access justice through lawyers
84. But the system is reliant on lawyers, so what happens when 90% of the people don’t have access to lawyers?
85. The government wants it but the reality is getting worse, equal access is being denied
86. One approach is to provide courses for LiPs in a manner that can generate hourly rates approximating that of a lawyer but in a manner that enables all present to learn relevant approaches to apply to their own cases
87. As an organisation, we should look to help the most vulnerable / winnable cases in the least amount of time
88. This work must be enjoyable also, to be sustainable
89. You must understand as much of the process as possible – whether you are a LiP or not
90. Professionals shy away from “perjury” challenges
Batch number 7 (from the free Help4LiPs QA Session)……
71. The longer the history, the more detail and people to consider, so each solicitor in a chain will charge more, as there is more to unravel and understand
72. A LiP needs effective access to justice
73. The problem in gaining access is;
a. language
b. communication
c. incomplete papers
d. time required to understand
e. giving instruction
f. getting papers in order
74. Solicitor costs break down along the following lines (using a notional £300 GBP per hour);
a. an overview conversation – about 3 hours x 300/hr = circa £1k
b. getting papers in order and reading them 6 hours x 300/hr = circa £2k
c. talking it all through – 3 hours x 300/hr = circa £1k
d. so that’s 4k before taking any tangible action
e. collating core bundle – another 3 or 4 hours = circa £1k
f. creating skeleton argument – another 5 hours = circa £1.5k
g. writing to the parties – 3 hours = circa £1k
h. barrister – £2.5k
i. so that’s £10k minimum cost for access to effective justice
75. Justice is for the rich
76. It’s not unusual for lawyers to not be able to afford their own consul
77. General mentoring is necessary but at some point technical knowledge is needed
78. City law firms cannot help the average LiP because they are only experienced in corporate law, not street law for individuals – so they don’t understand private clients
79. LiPs should concentrate on logic and presenting, and case law should be an add-on
80. Lawyers will bring in case law to make a LiP’s life impossible, as they know the LiPs are “playing away from home”
Batch number 6 (from the free Help4LiPs QA Session)…..
61. A solicitor’s itemised bill should include every call and every letter (NB: 26-August-2011 – at possible variance with this note, we have read in The Law Society’s Oct 2010 publication entitled “Non-contententious costs” on page 17 of 31 that “It is for the solicitor to decide whether to deliver a gross sum bill or one containing detailed items. In a contentious matter, a client who has received a gross sum bill has the right to require a solicitor to deliver a detailed itemised bill to replace the original bill, see s64(2) Solicitors’ Act 1094. The right does not apply in non-=contentious work.”
62. The art of summary is very powerful – a one page summary takes far more time and effort than thirty pages
63. If you’re rambling, chaotic and confused in your delivery, your appeal will be rejected
64. There is a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT)
65. You cannot adduce any fresh evidence if it was attainable before
66. consider providing three bundles;
a. a core bundle
b. a frequently used bundle
c. a supplemental bundle
67. Say to judge that the supplemental bundle need not be read before the hearing, but has been prepared just in case it may contain relevant information during the hearing
68. Courts are constrained for resources and time and so respect you more if you suggest saving them time by bringing relevant cases together, joining them up (if it will indeed save time)
69. What happens outside a bankruptcy must be treated differently from what happens inside a bankruptcy
70. Judges deal with matters in a linear sequence, so use phrases like “only arises dependent upon…”
Batch number 5 (from the free Help4LiPs QA Session)…..
51. LiPs are often dealing with emotional baggage – but what they need to deal with is law and the related facts (without the baggage)
52. It’s about common sense and emotional intelligence – we need to reach the emotional breakthrough so we can then concentrate on the law
53. LiPs are often in a dinghy out on a dark sea, dying – and they need help getting back to shore
54. Education is a lifeline to pull oneself back to the shoreline
55. When you supply your bundle to the judge, make sure it’s a clean copy – no stains, no marks
56. Every page in a bundle should be paginated in the lower right corner – and the page number needs to be away from the edges so that they are no t lost during photocopying
57. The Rule book is the same, whether you a LiP or a solicitor or a barrister so it’s about whether you know what you are doing or not
58. LiPs will benefit from template letters good enough for the judge
59. Your story book needs to be as sharp and short as possible
60. Key question: “what is your best point about why…..?”
Batch number 4 (from the free Help4LiPs QA Session)…..
41. If you have retained a barrister who you meet for the first time at the doors to the court , s/he will want to lower your expectations at the court doors to minimise their risk of your response if they lose and maximise your appreciation if they win
42. It’s better to pay more money so that you can have a conference with the barrister a month before court so that everyone’s questions can be answered in advance and the barrister can be changed out if necessary (e.g. if your personalities clash)
43. Stay focused on the “conflict point”
44. People who cannot handle their emotions are a danger to themselves (and to their cases)
45. A reason a solicitor will ask you about your assets is to assess what you could lose when going to court – it has a potential bearing on a Trustee’s fees (like it or not)
46. Money attracts evil – the more you have the more you have to lose
47. The rules in a court room include when the judge speaks, you listen (without interrupting) and when you speak the judge listens (but does have the freedom and right to interrupt you)
48. Back to basics – all societies have rules and court etiquette allows the judge to interrupt you but you may not interrupt the judge
49. When the judge is speaking, shut up – take notes and raise your questions at the end
50. Judges dealing with appeal applications will be looking for any reason to reject an appeal – not to go against one of their brethren – and they only need ONE reason to reject your appeal
Batch number 3 (from the free Help4LiPs QA Session)…..
30. Your emotions CANNOT help you in your presentation – they can only hurt
31. A respectful and carefully sequenced patter of presentation: “I’m here before you to present my appeal to seek an annulment. Can I refer you to page number… where you will see that Judge…. has given me permission to appeal….”
32. LiPs need a key card re: how to address the different judges (which is dependent on the court they are sitting it)
33. LiPs need a key card re: bundle structure
34. LiPs need a key card re: skeleton argument
35. When you present ALL your points, you are actually HIDING YOUR BEST POINTS
36. NEVER use words like “corruption”, “deception”, “fraud”, or “conspiracy”, as the Judges will NOT want to hear it or judge on it – keep your presentation SIMPLE for the judge to deal with – that’s your job
37. When you are in court, you need to keep to the song sheet (your skeleton argument) and give them what they want – the facts, NOT opinion – stay away from opinion, stay on the facts
38. Your narrative on the facts should be slow and sequenced – don’t rush, don’t shout, don’t be rude – judges are only human and will not respond the way you want them to if you are
39. Every LiP should start out in court with: “Do you have a bundle, your Honour? I have brought a spare one with me. I also have a spare copy of the skeleton….”
40. People like people who come prepared, having done the hard work –it’s only a 1% difference that can make ALL the difference
Batch number 2 (from the free Help4LiPs QA Session)……
21. The law is a very adversarial game – you win or you lose – even if you are very competent in your discipline
22. In the Olympics you can come in second or third and still be a winner but in law there is no second or third place medal
23. LiPs are competing with Oxbridge level skill, training and discipline in law AND in more subtle things like when to pause in your delivery, the best sequence of details, how you sit etc
24. Your appeal bundle should;
a. Look beautiful
b. Be fully indexed
c. Be fully paginated
d. Be fully divided
e. Be fully headed up
25. Your aim should be to get agreement – starting with your very first sentence
26. Judges hate loads of papers, so you need to get very sharp at presenting the short version of your story in a manner that builds agreement from first sentence to last
27. You must make your bundle attractive
28. Your skeleton argument must go in with your best / strongest point first, your next best / strongest point second and so on and – it’s NOT about getting ALL your points in – it’s about getting your BEST points in
29. Each point needs to be cross-referenced to the page number in the bundle where the reference paper(s) are
30. Your emotions CANNOT help you in your presentation – they can only hurt
TRANSCRIPTS
If you want a transcript of Judgment or a Hearing, feed EX 107 into “Google” and you will see the relevant form.
Not all transcribers will deal with LiPs. I personally use Merrill Legal Solutions, and have always found them extremely helpful and understanding.
If you’re wondering how the first free Help4Lips Q&A Session went, then let me say that I thought it was VERY insightful.
While Mr Birang applied his professional focus as a lawyer on a specific case, questioning the LiP about its particulars and the LiP’s approach to the case, I was able to take numerous notes that are relevant to new and / or seasoned LiPs.
Some of my notes are probably understandable as I have typed them. Some, however, you may want to question.
Feel free to question them – especially since they are simply MY chronological notes of some of the things I heard / observed / thought, rather than a legal professional’s version.
This is the first batch of the 107 notes I took as the session unfolded…
1. Key question (that influences approach to take): “What stage is your case at?”
2. Key question (that influences approach to take): “Are you the claimant or the defendant?”
3. Judges are loathe to set aside other judges’ judgements
4. Key question (that influences approach to take): “what is the point of dispute?”
5. Phrase to understand: “cause of action”
6. Key question (that influences approach to take): “the main objection – what was it?”
7. With lawyers and courts, there’s a set procedure – so you’re either on track or off track
8. Phrase to understand: “directions”
9. Phrase to understand: “dismissed”
10. If a solicitor can’t make a hearing but the barrister is properly briefed, then a clerk might go instead of the solicitor – this is accepted practice in the profession
11. Often the papers “do more justice” than the LIPs themselves
12. Human impressions can easily knock you back – presentation (because humans are involved) is everything
13. LiPs need to be asking themselves what is the best way to present this case to a lawyer or a judge?
14. Unattractive elements of a case can include;
a. Where a LiP has been to see many people
b. Where a LiP was sued by solicitors
c. Where the substance seems stale / old
15. Attractive features of a case can include;
a. A recent permission to appeal
b. A solicitor’s bill clearly not complying with rules (e.g. “insufficient narrative” for an itemised bill)
16. A solicitor’s bill for circa £12,000 should have a full page or two of narrative and be signed by a partner
17. While Lawyers are focused on logical points of law, Litigants are often emotionally scatty and jumping around
18. The system may be right but people are not following the system
19. Bundles do get lost in the system – that’s real life – so prepare for that possibility
20. Practical advice for LiPs needs to focus in the first instance on ways to improve effectiveness in presenting documents and presenting themselves