Geoffrey Bindman QC harks back to a trailblazing litigant in person
The erosion of legal aid and the high cost of legal services are driving more litigants to represent themselves in court. The complexities of procedure and legal interpretation almost always put those without legal representation at a disadvantage. Where the opposing party is legally represented the non-lawyer does not compete on a level playing field.
The sophistication of our system means that legal aid cuts which reduce the role of lawyers may be a false economy. Lawyers save money: hearings are shorter because lawyers are skilled at curtailing arguments and time need not be spent in unravelling the woolly ramblings of the unskilled advocate. Denial of legal representation in all but the simplest cases undermines justice.
Yet there are exceptions. The confident and articulate litigant in person may be more effective with a jury. And where freedom of expression is the issue, a direct appeal to common sense and worldly experience by the individual whose freedom is at stake may make more sense to a jury than the dry recitation of statute
