Pro Se Centers Help Even the Odds for Litigants Without Lawyers

When litigants come to federal court without a lawyer, they are at a disadvantage. Even if their case is strong, they can easily get lost in a maze of procedural rules and arcane terminology. A single error can doom their chances, long before a trial date is set. In the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, that is changing. Since late March, an innovative program has provided critical legal help to more than 150 low-income pro se litigants—people who must, usually for financial reasons, file or defend a civil lawsuit without a lawyer.