Something that most litigators already know from their own, sometimes bitter, experience was confirmed by a House of Commons research briefing in January 2026—namely that the prevalence of litigants in person (LiPs) has increased considerably over the past few years.
The briefing paper (‘Access to justice: Legal aid and services’, 9 January 2026) draws on statistics from the National Audit Office which estimates that the number of LiPs conducting litigation in an unrepresented capacity in the family courts has increased by as much as 30%. The data is said to be unreliable, but civil litigators are also reporting significant increases in the number of LiPs dealing with their own cases, and this is certainly the case for all of our litigation teams.
As the authors of the briefing paper highlight, there is a real issue involving access to justice that is driving this trend. Many LiPs have no option but to pursue their cases without qualified legal advisers, given
