Should You Represent Yourself in Court?

Deciding whether to represent yourself in court is an important decision that should not be made lightly. That being said, with some exceptions, self-represented parties ("pro se" or "pro per" parties) CAN effectively represent themselves in court without an attorney. In this episode, I discuss the following factors to evaluate when making the critical decision of whether to represent yourself in court without an attorney: How complicated is your case? Where is your case venued (state vs. federal court)? How is your case worth? Can you devote the necessary time to your case? Can you handle the pressure (e.g., deadlines)? I also discuss a few types of cases where you should think twice (or three or four times) before deciding to represent yourself, and why you should NEVER represent yourself in a CRIMINAL case. Want to learn more? Check out Justice Navigator: The Ultimate Video Litigation Tutorial for video tutorials, sample litigation materials, and resources to help you represent yourself in court. Remember: Every jurisdiction has its own laws and court rules. Make sure you read, understand, and comply with the laws and court rules in your jurisdiction.

You can listen to Should You Represent Yourself in Court? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Should You Represent Yourself in Court? is an episode from The Legal Seagull: Law | Litigation | Self-Help | Legal History by Neer Lerner.

This episode is 19:48 long.

This episode was published on Jul 13, 2018.

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