Litigant in person in the UK. What it means and what to expect.

If you've received court papers and can't afford a solicitor, you're already part of one of the biggest shifts in UK civil justice this decade. Nearly half of the people who appear in civil cases now represent themselves. The Civil Justice Council estimates the share has roughly tripled since 2013.

You are not unusual. You are not alone. You are also not at zero. Judges, court staff, and the rules themselves all have provisions for people doing this without a lawyer. This page explains what "litigant in person" actually means, what to expect, and where the genuinely useful help comes from.

The short version

A litigant in person (often shortened to "LiP") is someone who acts for themselves in a court case without a solicitor or barrister representing them. The term is the official one used by judges and the rules of court.

Both claimants (the people bringing cases) and defendants (the people being sued) can be litigants in person. It applies to civil cases (small claims, debt, contract disputes, possession), employment tribunals, family proceedings, and most other UK court contexts apart from criminal trials where a lawyer is usually appointed by Legal Aid.

Being a litigant in person is legal, common, and recognised in the procedural rules. It is also harder than being represented, and the outcome statistics are real. The Civil Justice Council's published data suggests litigants in person lose roughly 80% to 90% of contested cases, depending on the case type. That number is sometimes used to discourage people from self-representing. The honest reading is that many LiP cases involve unrepresented people on one side and a represented opponent on the other. Some of the loss rate is procedural, fixable with preparation.

At a glance

What "litigant in person" actually means

The phrase has a specific legal meaning in England and Wales. The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) and most court forms use it to describe a party who acts without legal representation.

A litigant in person:

• Files their own court documents (claim form, defence, witness statements, applications).
• Speaks for themselves at hearings.
• Manages their own case timeline, deadlines, and disclosure obligations.
• Pays no legal fees, but is still responsible for court fees and any costs awarded against them.

You are still bound by the same rules as a represented party. Deadlines are the same. Procedural requirements are the same. The judge will give you some practical latitude (more on this below), but the underlying law is the same.

Why most people become litigants in person

The simple answer is money. UK legal aid for civil cases has been cut substantially since 2013 (the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act, or LASPO). Most consumer, debt, employment, and contract disputes are no longer eligible for legal aid at all. A typical solicitor charges £150 to £400 per hour. A small civil claim that goes to a one-day hearing costs roughly £3,000 to £15,000 in legal fees if you're represented. For someone defending a £2,000 debt claim, hiring a solicitor costs more than losing the claim outright.

The other reason is choice. Some people prefer to represent themselves because they want full control of their case, distrust legal professionals, or believe the matter is straightforward enough to handle alone.

The Civil Justice Council and the Ministry of Justice both publish data suggesting the share of self-represented parties has grown from roughly 14% of civil cases in 2013 to 38% to 45% in 2024 to 2025, depending on the court and case type. This is now the typical experience, not an outlier.

How a judge treats a litigant in person

Judges in England and Wales operate under formal guidance from the Civil Justice Council and the Equal Treatment Bench Book, both of which set out how to handle litigants in person fairly. The practical effects include:

• Judges will often explain procedural steps in plain language when an unrepresented party is involved.
• A judge may ask clarifying questions in a way they would not with a represented party.
• A judge may give a small amount of additional time to file documents if a litigant in person has misunderstood a procedural rule.
• The judge will not, however, advocate for you, advise you, or fix substantive errors in your case. They remain neutral.

The latitude is procedural, not substantive. A judge will help you understand what form to fill in. A judge will not tell you which arguments to make.

What you can do as a litigant in person

You have most of the same rights as a represented party:

• File and respond to claims.
• File evidence (documents, photographs, contracts, correspondence).
• File witness statements (yours, and statements from other people who saw or know things relevant to your case).
• Cross-examine the other side's witnesses at trial.
• Make legal arguments and cite case law.
• Apply to the court for orders (interim payments, disclosure, security for costs).
• Appeal a decision you disagree with, subject to permission.

There are a small number of things you cannot do without a lawyer:

• You cannot conduct litigation on behalf of someone else (you can only represent yourself, with rare exceptions like a parent for a minor or a McKenzie Friend with court permission).
• You cannot do reserved legal activities for someone else (right of audience, conduct of litigation, certain instruments) under the Legal Services Act 2007.

A day in the life of a litigant in person

The work is heavier than people expect.

A typical week during an active case includes:

• Reading any documents that arrive (orders, applications from the other side, court correspondence).
• Drafting your own documents (defence, witness statement, skeleton argument).
• Gathering evidence (printing emails, organising contracts, getting bank statements).
• Calculating and meeting deadlines, often within tight windows of 7 to 28 days.
• Responding to letters from the other side's solicitors (who write in a tone that can feel aggressive even when they're being professional).
• Preparing for any upcoming hearings.

Most of this happens in your own time, often in the evenings and at weekends, while you continue working a day job. The emotional load is real. The Civil Justice Council has published research finding that litigants in person experience significantly higher stress, sleep disruption, and time off work than represented parties in equivalent cases.

CaseCalm exists because this load is unfairly distributed. Most of the actual procedural knowledge a litigant in person needs can be written down, explained in plain language, and offered as a workflow rather than a research project.

The McKenzie Friend option

A McKenzie Friend is a non-lawyer who attends court with you to provide quiet support. The role comes from a 1970 case called McKenzie v McKenzie and was formally recognised by the courts thereafter.

A McKenzie Friend can:

• Sit next to you in court (with the judge's permission).
• Take notes for you during the hearing.
• Quietly advise or prompt you about points.
• Help you organise your documents.

A McKenzie Friend cannot:

• Speak in court on your behalf (except in narrow circumstances with explicit judicial permission, called "rights of audience").
• Sign documents for you.
• Conduct litigation on your behalf.

Some McKenzie Friends are free (a friend, family member, or volunteer). Some are paid (professional McKenzie Friends charge roughly £40 to £150 per hour, much less than a solicitor). The Society of Professional McKenzie Friends maintains a directory of paid practitioners.

What it costs (and what it saves)

The cost of representing yourself is mostly time, not money. The Money you save: £3,000 to £15,000+ in solicitor fees for a typical small civil case.

The costs you still have to pay:

• Court fees: ranging from £35 for a small claim under £300, up to £10,000+ for high-value claims.
• Travel: train, parking, time off work for hearings.
• Copying and printing: court bundles often run to hundreds of pages.
• Expert reports: if your case needs one (medical reports, surveyors, accountants), you may need to pay yourself, although the court may order recovery of the cost if you win.
• The other side's costs if you lose: in higher-value cases, the losing party often pays a portion of the winner's legal fees. Small claims have a fixed-costs regime that limits this exposure to a few hundred pounds in most cases.

You can also claim litigant in person costs from the other side if you win, currently capped at £19 per hour (rate set by CPR 46.5), plus disbursements and travel.

Common challenges

Most litigant in person mistakes are procedural, not substantive. The pattern is consistent across case types:

• Missing a deadline. The most common cause of losing a case as an unrepresented party is missing a deadline to file a defence, file a witness statement, or attend a hearing. The cure is calendar discipline.
• Not understanding what the other side has filed. Court documents from solicitors are written in technical language. The cure is taking the time to translate each paragraph, ideally with a glossary.
• Sending the wrong document to the wrong place. Court forms have to go to specific court offices. Documents have to be served on the other party in specific ways. The cure is reading the procedural rule for the document you're filing.
• Filing too much or too little evidence. Either pile of paper hurts you. The cure is asking, for each document, "does this prove a point I need to prove?"
• Letting the other side's tone get under your skin. Lawyers write in a formal style that can sound combative. The cure is reading their letters twice, then drafting your response the following day.

Where to get help

Help is available, and most of it is free.

• gov.uk has plain-English guidance on representing yourself in court at gov.uk/represent-yourself-in-court.
• Citizens Advice provides free general advice across most case types, both online and at local offices.
• Court staff at the court counter will help with procedural questions (which form, where to file it), but cannot give legal advice.
• LawWorks runs free legal clinics with volunteer solicitors in some areas.
• University law clinics in many UK universities offer free supervised legal advice from law students.
• The Personal Support Unit (now called Support Through Court) provides emotional and practical support at major court centres.
• Direct Access barristers can be hired for specific tasks (drafting a skeleton argument, doing one hearing) without going through a solicitor. Cost is typically £500 to £2,000 for a discrete piece of work.
• Paid McKenzie Friends (see above) offer mid-range support at lower cost than solicitors.

Common misconceptions

"If I represent myself, the judge will think I don't take it seriously." Untrue. The judge will think you couldn't afford a lawyer, which is the typical reason. Judges see this every day.

"I won't be allowed to make legal arguments." Untrue. You can cite case law and argue points of law just like a lawyer would. You may not be as polished, but you are entitled to make the arguments.

"The other side's solicitor can intimidate me into giving up." They cannot, professionally. If a solicitor is using improper tactics (threatening, misleading, dragging cases out without grounds), you can complain to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

"If I lose, I have to pay their full legal fees." This depends on the case track. Small claims (under £10,000) have a fixed-costs regime that strictly limits what the loser pays. Fast track (£10,000 to £25,000) and multi-track allow more cost recovery, but the court applies proportionality rules.

"I should never represent myself in a complex case." Sometimes true, sometimes not. For genuinely high-stakes or complex matters, hiring at least one element of legal help (a Direct Access barrister for a hearing, a solicitor for a single advice session) often pays for itself. For routine consumer disputes and small claims, full representation is usually overkill.

Related concepts

• Solicitor and barrister. The two main types of UK lawyer. See the related guide for the difference.
• McKenzie Friend. Non-lawyer companion in court, see above.
• Direct Access barrister. A barrister you instruct without a solicitor in between.
• Small claims court. Track for civil disputes under £10,000.
• Fast track and multi-track. The categories above small claims, with different procedural rules.
• Particulars of Claim. The detailed document explaining what the claimant alleges.
• Defence. The document explaining what the defendant says in response.
• CMC (Case Management Conference). The procedural hearing where the judge sets the case's roadmap.
• Default judgment. What happens if you don't file a defence on time.
• Rights of audience. The legal right to argue a case in a particular court.

Sources

• Judiciary of England and Wales. Equal Treatment Bench Book and related guidance. https://www.judiciary.uk/
• Ministry of Justice. Court statistics and case track data. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
• Gov.uk. Plain-language guide to representing yourself. https://www.gov.uk/represent-yourself-in-court
• Civil Justice Council. Research and guidance on litigants in person. Various publications available via judiciary.uk.
• Citizens Advice. General free advice on civil cases. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
• Bar Standards Board. Public Access scheme (Direct Access barristers). https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/

This page was reviewed for accuracy on 2026-05-27. UK civil procedure rules and case statistics change. Check the official sources above for the most current information.

A note on what this page is and isn't

This is information, not legal advice. It describes how the litigant in person process works in England and Wales, not what you should do in your particular case.

CaseCalm helps litigants in person understand UK court procedures and draft their own documents. We are not a law firm and we are not authorised by the SRA. When your situation needs personal legal advice, we point you to qualified solicitors and barristers via our partner network.

Written by Peter Kolomiets, who represented himself as a litigant in person in his own UK civil case. Reviewed for accuracy 2026-05-27. Comments or corrections to peter@casecalm.com.