The Wall Street Journal reports that the recession has left more people with the daunting prospect of going to court without a lawyer.
Many people have found themselves in court facing potentially expensive financial proceedings such as fighting foreclosure and litigating employment fights are deciding to go pro se rather than hire a lawyer.
According to the article, legal experts say many people are likely losing claims and paying penalties they could have avoided with a lawyer at their side. Litigants often don’t understand the sort of evidence they need to present in legal proceedings, said Florida state Judge Claudia Isom.
Raymond Brescia, a professor at Albany Law School, noted that “People will gather legal information from the Internet, from friends, or leaflets at a courthouse and think, ‘I can play checkers, I’m ready. But when they get to court they realize it’s a game of three-level chess, and they don’t have the first idea of what’s happening.”
The Law Office of Frederic R. Abramson practices civil litigation in New York. If you have a question, call me at 212-233-0666
