Millions of Americans each year wind up in civil court without a lawyer.  Studies reveal that between 40 and 90 percent of litigants end up representing themselves, without assistance from an attorney, in civil matters such as eviction defense, divorce and creditor claims.

Those representing themselves – also known as pro se litigants – can find support and information online.  One resource is LawHelp (www.LawHelp.org), a free site that provides information from nonprofit legal services providers about a variety of issues as well as information about going to court, including how to get find help at the courthouse and commonly used court forms (for example, a petition for child support).  In some states, certain legal forms can be filled out using an interactive system known as National Online Document Assembly, accessible through the LawHelp site.  The user is guided through a series of questions, and the system uses the answers to fill out the documents completely and correctly.

LawHelp also provides online referrals to local legal aid organizations, for those seeking help from a lawyer before going to court.

Another good resource is the Self-Help Law ExPress site, also known as “SHLEP,” which can be found at http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/shlep.  The SHLEP site contains information and links on a variety of topics of interest to pro se litigants, from Antitrust Law to Wills, as well as a section entitled, “Should You Go It Alone?”

The American Bar Association (ABA) also provides some information on the “Helping Yourself” section of its Consumers’ Guide to Legal Help at http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/findlegalhelp/faq_selfhelp.

Finally, your local court or law library may have useful information on its website.  For example, New York has a site called CourtHelp, at http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courthelp, with information and resources for those going to court.  The California Courts, similarly, have a range of self-help resources available at http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp, and California county law libraries offer http://www.publiclawlibrary.org.  The National Center for State Courts maintains a list of Self-Help Information Resources and Centers by state at http://www.ncsconline.org/wc/CourTopics/statelinks.asp?id=108&topic=ProSe.