Facing court without a lawyer?

We can help at most stages of the court process. We can sometimes help right away or you may be able to book an appointment. View our locations for your local office's contact and location information

                  

How we help

We are a charity supporting people who face court alone so that they can represent themselves to the best of their abilities.

Our service is free and based in court buildings. In addition to our local offices, we also offer a National Helpline Service on 03000 810 006 which is open Monday to Friday 10:30am to 3:30pm.

Our volunteers provide practical, procedural and emotional support in many areas of Civil and Family court processes. They can:

• Explain how the court works, help fill in forms, organise papers, and discuss settling issues without going to court
• Help plan what you want to say in court, and if needed, go with you to court to provide support and help afterwards
• Provide details of other specialist advice agencies, where possible, and help you find out whether you can get free legal advice

Please note that we cannot provide legal advice or legal representation. You may find useful information at Advice Now

Our equality and diversity statement

We value diversity, promote equality and challenge discrimination. We are acutely conscious of the inequality our clients suffer as a result of appearing in court without a lawyer, which can be compounded by special needs and/or personal circumstances.

While we aim to support everyone who comes to us as equally as we can, we work with limited resources. We ask clients to make us aware of any disabilities, or extra needs, as early as possible. We will work together to agree reasonable adjustments to address client needs, within the limits of our resources. If we cannot provide the exact adaptations requested, we will discuss how to achieve the best support we can offer in each situation.