Summit: Summit on the Future of Self-Represented Litigation (Chicago 2005)

  Thursday, March 24, 2005 - 6:30am to Wednesday, March 25, 2015 - 6:30pm

The Summit on the Future of Self-Represented Litigation took place on March 24-25, 2005, in Chicago, Illinois. The Summit brought together national leaders in courts, legal aid, and the organized bar with experts in self-help support to review recent progress, chart steps for the next three to five years, and lay the groundwork for additional coordination and advocacy. Participants in the Summit included members of the Conference of Chief Justices, the Conference of State Court Administrators, the Legal Services Corporation, the American Judicature Society, the American Bar Association, and judges and staff from courts and access to justice organizations in twenty states. The Summit was funded by the State Justice Institute and organized by the National Center for State Courts. 

The following series of papers were prepared for presentation during the Summit to foster discussions around various issues in self-represented litigant advocacy. A full report summarizing the Summit can also be downloaded below.

Introduction to Summit & Materials

Full Report from 2005 Summit on the Future of Self-Represented Litigation


Topic Papers:

Paper 1. Framing the Issues for the Summit on the Future of Self-Represented Litigation  
John Greacen

Paper 1a. Family Courts and Self Represented Litigants - A Decade Later 
John Greacen 

Paper 2. Progress to Date and Future Plans: Survey Results Updating SRL Innovation Activities 
Kathleen M. Sampson

    Appendix 2a. Effective Practices: Tested Ideas from the Field in SRL ATJ Innovation
    Appendix 2b. Planning on Pro Se Issues- State Commissions, Task Forces & Committees

Paper 3. Where We Are And Where We Should Be Going - Helping People Before Court   
Tina Rasnow

   Appendix 3a. Model Family Law Plan
   Appendix 3b. Minimum Standards and Best Practices for Court-Based Self-Help Centers
   Appendix 3c. Helping People Before the Court - Effective Triage as a Critical First Step

Paper 4. The Courtroom Environment for the Self-Represented 
Susan Ledray & Deborah Chase

Paper 5. Changing the System So That SRLs Receive Compliance with Judgments and Orders   
Richard Zorza, Esq.
   
   
Appendix 5a. How Do I Collect My Judgment?

Paper 6. Self-Represented Litigants and the Ethics of Lawyers, Judges and Court Staff     
William Hornsby (with Cynthia Gray, and John Greacen)

Paper 7. The Role of Technology in the Access Solution     
Katherine Alteneder, Michael Genz, Michael Hertz, Bonnie Hough, Harry Jacobs, Glenn Rawdon

Paper 8. Engaging the Private Bar - A Path to Reducing the Need for SRL Support     
M. Sue Talia

Comment - Paper 8. Engaging the Private Bar - Other Paths    
Michael Hertz & Chief Justice Karla Gray 

Paper 9. Evaluation of Innovations Designed to Increase Access to Justice for SRLs     
Bonnie Rose Hough

Paper 10. Towards National Networking & Support for Innovation in Access to Justice for SRLs
Richard Zorza, Esq.