Articles Tagged with self-represented litigants

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OJD iForms is an easy way for self-represented litigants to produce court documents in a variety of case types including Family Law, Landlord/Tenant, and Small Claims. According to the OJD brochure, iForms “generates a correctly completed form that you can either eFile, deliver by hand, or mail to the court.”

The process is a simple one, called Guide and File. With Guide and File, the user logs in to the site, chooses the form they want to file and answers a series of interview questions, after which iForms generates a form.

There are some interviews within Guide and File that have Spanish translations. The OJD website cautions that court documents must be filed in English, or the court may reject your filing.

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Imagine this: A patron comes into the law library at 4:40 and says “I’m being sued, and I need to file a response before 5:00 today. Do you have the form for that? Oh, and I need help filling it out.” We would really like to help this person, but realistically this may not be possible. Unfortunately, patrons usually do not know what services we provide. Read on for information on what law libraries can and can’t do and how to get the most from your visit.

Don’t leave your research until the last minute. Leave enough time to handle any problems that might arise. In our example, the patron assumes that there is a fill-in-the-blank form that they can use, and that law library personnel can help them fill it out. Oregon does not have many fill-in-the-blank forms and law library employees cannot help patrons fill out forms. We would direct the patron to possible sources of templates that they can use to create their own document, and to resources that might help them to fill out the form. They probably wouldn’t have time to do all that in less than 20 minutes and get it to the court before they close.

Along those same lines, make sure you can devote time to research your questions. Law library personnel can’t do research for you. We can point you to resources that might be useful and show you how to do the research yourself.

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Ken Svengalis has published a 2nd edition (2022) of his “A Layperson’s Guide to Legal Research and Self-Help Law Books” — and it’s half the price of the first edition.

“A Layperson’s Guide to Legal Research and Self-Help Law Books” can now be purchased at the Author Reputation Press bookstore. (Paperbound edition ($49.95) and an eBook edition ($24.99).)

Note 1: Please do NOT purchase this 2nd edition from Ken’s former website, NE Law Press, where only the previous edition of the Layperson’s Guide is for sale. (Ken’s 2021, 25th edition, of his “Legal Information Buyer’s Guide” is still for sale from the NE Law Press website.)

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Recommended reading for anyone who thinks more tech, online forms, and better legal design will substitute for professional legal services, i.e. People Need Lawyers (and lawyers in public service need more support):

“They Had Access, But They Didn’t Get Justice: Why Prevailing Access To Justice Initiatives Fail Rural Americans,” by Michele Statz, Hon. Robert Friday, and Jon Bredeson, published in:

Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy, Volume XXVIII, Number 3, Spring 2021, 321

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Do you need legal help with expungements, DACA renewal, County Circuit Court navigation, legal name and gender marker changes, and other legal assistance, self-help, and referrals?

Check out the Oregon Legal Assistance Resource Guide (from the Washington County Law Library website), which will soon be updated with this PCC CLEAR Clinic, from the PCC (Portland Community College) Paralegal Program, based at the PCC North Portland Cascade campus:

Read about the CLEAR (Community Legal & Educational Access & Referral) Program and Clinics:

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WebJunction has been teaching online for more than a decade – and they do a darn good job of it, too.

This class: “Libraries Prepare to Answer Civil Legal Questions in Times of Crisis” will be taught by 2 law librarian stars: Jenny Silbiger, State Law Librarian, Access to Justice Coordinator, Hawaii Supreme Court Law Library, and Joseph Lawson, Deputy Director, Harris County Law Library, Texas.

The live webinar is scheduled for: Thursday, June 11, 2020 / 12:00 pm Pacific, 60 minutes. (Webinar recording and course materials will be available offline to registrants shortly thereafter.)

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Comedian Hasan Minhaj put up the website dontgetkickedout.com [link removed, website is no longer functional] to help renters / tenants struggling during the pandemic. This site has links to sites that help renters see if their building qualifies for the federal eviction moratorium, review state eviction protections during COVID-19, and locate legal aid services in their state. This comes from the May 18 episode of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, which explores the looming rent crises from COVID-19 and the challenges tenants face in the legal system.

[Update: see I’m Having Issues with my Landlord, What can I do? for Oregon resources]

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If you are not a licensed Oregon attorney and you need to perform thorough legal research (vs “googling a legal problem,” yikes), you have free access to some of the same legal research databases that Oregon attorneys use: Fastcase is one of them and you have remote access to it through your State of Oregon Law Library (SOLL). (Check out their Blog while you’re at the SOLL website.)

You also have free access to NOLO (formerly Nolo Press) databases through the SOLL.

Remember, Google isn’t enough when you have to appear without an attorney before a judge. I recommend consulting an attorney* or a professional law librarian**, but not everyone (or even most) has access to either, let alone both.

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You can’t (CANNOT) waltz into an Oregon Small Claims Court and expect to win your case. You have to do your homework:

1) You have to read the book (in public and law libraries and bookstores):

“Using Small Claims Court in Oregon.” by Janay Haas, 2012. (Oregon Legal Guides)

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“FREELANCERS REJOICE: A HISTORIC NYC LAW HELPS FREELANCERS DEMAND PAYMENT,” by Victoria Law, Bitch Media, October 28, 2016:

Excerpt:

“On Thursday, October 27, freelancers throughout New York City had cause to celebrate. By a unanimous vote, all 51 members of the New York City Council passed the Freelance Isn’t Free Act. It’s the nation’s first legislation protecting freelancers from non-payment….

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