Introducing Serving the Self-Represented Litigant: A Guide By and For Court Staff

On October 8, 2009, the Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court approved as a resource a manual entitled Serving the Self-Represented Litigant: A Guide By and For Court Staff (the Guide).

The purpose of the Guide is to provide court personnel with useful and practical information that will enable them to better assist the public. In particular, the Guide provides guidance to court personnel in making the critical distinction between providing legal information, which they should give, and legal advice, which they must never give.

The Guide was developed over a period of approximately two years by a working group of Massachusetts Trial Court clerks and administrators under the auspices of the Supreme Judicial Court Steering Committee on Self-Represented Litigants. It is being made available to the public through the Trial Court's Access to Justice Initiative in order to better serve court users and to enhance public understanding of our courts.

The Guide is the latest in a series of publications designed to enhance access to civil justice in Massachusetts courts. You may access the Guide at the following link: http://www.mass.gov/courts/serving-self-rep-guide.pdf .  You may also wish to consult Representing Yourself in a Civil Case: Things to Consider When Going to Court, available at http://www.mass.gov/courts/admin/ji/repyourself.html and Judicial Guidelines for Civil Hearings Involving Self-Represented Litigants, available at http://www.mass.gov/courts/judguidelinescivhearingstoc.html.

We welcome your comments or questions, which should be directed to Sandy Lundy, Esq., Deputy Advisor for Access to Justice Initiatives, at 617-557-1124, or sandra.lundy@sjc.state.ma.us.

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