Who Wrote That Up For You?

Ty Brown is the CEO of ZAF Legal, a personal injury law firm with zero attorney fees (or ZAF). He discussed the inherent conflicts in the practice of personal injury law, as well as the pushback he's receiving now from traditional personal injury law firms. Ty shared his company's experience in the Utah regulatory sandbox and the need for national change in the rules governing professional ethics.

Nichelle ("Nikki") Perry is an associate professor of law and director of the law library at the North Carolina Central University School of Law. She discussed changes in the work of law librarians and the potential for integrating new justice technologies into the law school curriculum.

Joryn Jenkins, founder of Open Palm Law, is a Florida attorney, divorce mediator, and expert in collaborative law. She discussed the importance of mutual respect in dispute resolution, particularly for divorcing couples who also own businesses they wish to continue operating.

Lloyd Comiter of the Mediation Training Academy discussed the many reasons that parties in a dispute prefer mediation over litigation. He also described the certified training programs available in Florida that allow anyone to become an effective mediator.

Ken Johnson, juvenile justice expert and certified Florida mediator, discussed the potential of restorative justice practices to mitigate the severe harm to young people caught up in the school-to-prison pipeline. With a new academic year starting, Ken wanted to the reasons behind the shocking statistic that 4 out of every 5 incarcerated adults started out in the juvenile justice system. According to Ken, this is all by design and is part and parcel of the culture's punitive attitude toward children.

Ken described the coincidence of standardized testing schedules and high rates of at-risk youth arrested at school, which tends to raise a school's test scores and secure more funding for the school because low scorers are removed from the test pool. He also discussed the stark racial disparities both in arrest rates and in levels of violence exacted upon incarcerated youth. He shared the well-documented story of the "Whitehouse Boys" and the horrors perpetrated by law enforcement and guards at the now-defunct prison in Marianna, Florida. Ken decried the lack of criminal penalties for these and other abuses due to law-enforcement immunity from prosecution.

Ken also discussed the commonplace labeling of certain neighborhoods as "million-dollar blocks." These are city blocks with so many arrests that nearly $1M dollars is lost annually due to lack of productivity, criminal background-related unemployment, and other consequences of a carceral state. Ken sees these problems worsening in the future without activism because the incentives for punishing youth are so entrenched.

Wanda Butler, CEO of We Decide, discussed the financial analysis software the company makes to simplify the process of financial discovery in divorce. She gave several examples of the software easing negotiations and lowering the costs of dissolving a marriage. The software is available to individuals, couples, and legal teams assisting one or both parties. We Decide is also a member of the Justice Technology Association, a trade organization representing direct-to-consumer legal tech companies. Wanda described her membership as having found her tribe, a group of people working more for impact than for profit.

Lara Amoroso, owner of Doing It Differently Divorce, discussed pre-suit divorce mediation for couples in court without a lawyer. Offering services in all Florida counties, Lara shared the many reasons to mediate a divorce rather than litigate.

Joseph George, an arbitrator at George & George ADR, discussed the wide variety of options for settling cases out of court. He shared the work experience that led him to found the company with his sister and opportunities for innovative marketing for arbitration companies.

Joseph gave examples of the types of cases his firm handles, which include construction and the beauty industry. He also described the benefits of arbitration over litigation, such as the industry expertise of the arbitrator and significantly lower costs.

Mathew Kerbis is an Illinois attorney and founder of SubscriptionAttorney.com, an innovative model for delivering legal services to people who can't afford the traditional large retainer and billable hour. Mathew is an advocate for access to justice for the broader middle class. He focuses his practice and his company on serving the latent legal market and helping clients avoid litigation.

The entry price for SubscriptionAttorney.com starts at less than $20 per month. Clients who need litigation consulting and help to navigate Illinois courts can access his services for as little as $150 per month, far below the cost of hiring a lawyer to represent them. As he grows, Mathew hopes to bring on lawyers in other states and eventually serve clients nationwide.

Ken Johnson is a licensed Florida mediator and expert in restorative juvenile justice. He shared the different kinds of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), including mediation, arbitration, ombuds, and other methods of settling legal matters out of court. Ken discussed mediation techniques and ethics, and the differences between the types of ADR.

Pam Gwin Sheppard has been a certified court reporter for nearly 30 years. She currently serves as the designated court reporter for the Harris County, Texas misdemeanor criminal court. Pam discussed the role and importance of the court reporter in hearings and trials, as well as the process and cost of getting a copy of the record produced by a court reporter. Pam Gwin (Coder) Sheppard is the author of "Transitioning from Student to Professional Court Reporter," a textbook for joining the profession. She's a mentor and frequent webinar presenter on topics ranging from active listening to shorthand.

Joshua Schwadron, founder and CEO at Mighty.com, discussed his company's innovative model for helping injured people pursue personal injury claims through an affiliated law firm, Mighty Law. Mighty helps its clients manage the financial aspects of their lives -- car repairs, replacement wages, etc -- while their claims are being handled by the law firm. And the contingency fees are limited so that clients keep more of their awards.   

Mighty has angered some members of the personal injury bar with its marketing, which often paints "billboard lawyers" as greedy predators taking advantage of people when they need help the most. Joshua shared some of the ways traditional personal injury lawyers can hurt vulnerable clients instead of helping them. He described the blowback Mighty has received from law firms, including lawsuits and bar complaints for unauthorized practice of law.

Kristin Henning is the Blume Professor of Law and director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic & Initiative at Georgetown Law. She is also the author of "Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth," which draws upon her twenty-five years of experience representing Black youth in Washington, D.C.'s juvenile court to detail the myriad ways police encounters are used to deny Black youth the healthy adolescent development afforded to other young people.  

Professor Henning teaches and trains lawyers, judges, prosecutors, and others about the criminalization of Black and Brown youth to help mitigate the implicit racial bias in the juvenile justice system. She offered tips for parents whose children have been arrested to keep them from being targeted for incarceration. She expressed special concern for Black and Brown students with disabilities because their normal behaviors are often perceived as threatening during police encounters, leading to higher rates of removal from their families and communities.

Dave Maxfield is a consumer protection lawyer in Columbia, South Carolina. He shared the types of cases he pursues on behalf of consumers deluged by debt collection calls or cheated out of benefits. He also shared tips to help consumers think more like lawyers in their day-to-day activities.  

Dave is also co-author of "The Lean Law Firm," the first graphic novel ever published by the American Bar Association. The book applies the Lean Startup methodology to small and solo law firms to help them build systems and automated processes that can lead to profitability.  

Renee Vara is the founder of Vara Arts, which provides appraiser and advisory services for creatives. She discussed the use of the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) to protect artists whose works are threatened by traditional property rights, including a famous case where a commercial property development sought to destroy several murals in New York City. Renee advised artists in these situations to seek legal counsel but also to pursue mediation to recover the reasonable commercial value of their works.

Natalie Knowlton is the founder of A2J Ventures, a consulting agency for startup ventures and established businesses working to increase access to justice and the courts. Natalie shared her background as a lawyer who never wanted to practice but always saw an opportunity to help change the industry. She also shared her thoughts on the meaning of access to justice and what it means when societies lack broad access.   

Natalie discussed ways to knock down barriers to access and reform the regulatory regime to unleash innovation. She also addressed a misleading narrative around access: that efforts to close the justice gap should be focused only on low-income and indigent people. Her research showed that access to justice should be afforded to people much further up the income ladder. Indeed, Natalie argued that even people who can afford to hire an attorney should have other options for handling their legal matters in a meaningful way.

Tahmina Watson of Watson Immigration Law is an immigration lawyer licensed in both Washington and New York. Her law firm serves international startup founders and tech employees working and doing business in the United States. She is the creative voice behind the Startup Visa podcast and Tahmina Talks Immigration podcast.  

Tahmina discussed the evolution of U.S. immigration law and the differences from other countries' handling. She described the crisis brought about by massive layoffs in the tech sector, leaving many immigrants with work visas (and their families) in danger of deportation. Because immigration is a federal matter, Watson Immigration Law serves clients across the U.S.

Diego Acosta is a licensed court interpreter in the Houston, TX metro area. He discussed the role of interpreters in ensuring fair court proceedings. He described the process for a person with limited English proficiency to get an interpreter for a hearing or trial. Diego shared issues of etiquette that sometimes arise when dealing with judges and lawyers representing opposing parties, along with the ethics associated with speaking with clients outside of court.

Tiffany Graves is the first pro bono counsel at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP, the largest law firm in the southeast U.S., with over 600 attorneys serving the banking, construction, energy, and healthcare industries. ("Pro bono" means "for the good" or free of charge.) Each attorney at the firm provides a minimum of 50 hours of free legal services annually to people who cannot afford an attorney. Tiffany's role is to ensure opportunities for pro bono service are available when an attorney at the firm is ready to serve.  

Tiffany's legal career has been devoted to closing the justice gap between those who can pay for representation and those who cannot. She is a former director of the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission. Prior to that, she ran the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project. Tiffany shared the importance of pro bono service for both the legal profession and the larger society. She also advised that people needing free legal services should contact their local legal aid office for a referral to firms like Bradley.

Ada Crenshaw is the owner of Nfinite Legacy Mobile Notary, a notary public service based in McKinney, Texas. Ada's journey to the profession began when she lost her job with a large defense contractor. She quickly found herself grateful for the opportunity to become her own boss. The agency has expanded to international signings and wedding officiant services.   

Ada is excited to see the notary profession embrace change. The use of advanced technology has become mandatory, and remote notary services are now commonplace. Ada believes the future offers significant opportunities for growth in notary services.

Ana Julieta Kowalski Solis is the owner of Interpretation and Translation Services by Licensed Court Interpreters, operating in and around Brownsville, Texas. Ana shared the tremendous demand for court interpreters in border communities like Brownsville, as well as the struggles to help court personnel understand the value court interpreters bring to judicial fairness. The company provides a variety of translation services to companies and individuals in addition to its court interpretation services.

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Alyssa S. Wesley is the owner of Freelance Paralegal Services, an agency offering legal research and document assembly services to pro se civil litigants. Freelance Paralegal Services serves clients in all 50 states handling a wide variety of claims, but they specialize in family law matters from divorce to child support and custody.  Alyssa expressed confidence in her clients and has seen many of them become successful pro se litigants.

Ted Edwards is a principal at the Banks Law Firm, the largest minority-owned law firm in the Carolinas. Founded in 1994 by Sherrod Banks in Durham, NC, the firm specializes in affordable housing and community development, representing housing authorities and community-oriented nonprofit organizations.

Ted discussed the challenges for young Black lawyers entering the profession and shared the power of mentoring that led to his success. He also described the firm's fundraising activities on behalf of local nonprofits, including the Triangle Golf Challenge, an annual celebrity golf tournament, and the firm's high-profile Christmas celebration.

Scott Dodson is a distinguished professor of law at UC Law San Francisco. He's an expert in civil procedure and the director of the Center for Litigation and the Courts at UC Law SF. Scott shared several benefits of our civil justice system that we rarely consider. For instance, it provides a method of compensating for harm caused and deters future harm. It shifts the burden of managing harm from government agencies to private plaintiffs, which allows for smaller government. Civil litigation also has an equalizing and democratic nature, and the process of litigation forces disclosures and transparency in ways no other institution can.  

But a justice gap exists between those who can afford legal representation and those who cannot. Scott discussed whether the benefits of our justice system outweigh its costs, which are significant for both plaintiffs and defendants. Certainly one of the costs, according to Scott, is the lack of democratic accountability, but the system is workable overall.

Bonita Torres is a licensed private investigator and owner of ICU Investigations in the Houston, Texas metro area. Bonita shared her background in human resources and the job loss that put her on an unconventional path to a career in private investigations. While her agency specializes in surveillance and fraud investigations, she has served a wide variety of clients and cases. Bonita expressed concern for the rights of undocumented persons, who may fail to seek protection or assert their rights when needed due to fear of arrest and deportation.

Robert Songer is a private investigator with L and S Investigations, serving the east Tennessee metro area. He described his law enforcement background and the types of services his agency works on, from computer forensics to process serving. Robert emphasized the need for private investigators to prioritize ethical behavior, and he shared his efforts at time management to minimize costs for his clients.

Daniel Medwed is a distinguished professor of law and criminal justice at Northeastern University School of Law and the author of "Barred: Why the Innocent Can't Get Out of Prison." He shared the procedural hurdles faced by the wrongfully convicted in getting new trials, even when they have proven their actual innocence. The criminal justice system values the finality of criminal trials over all else, including the liberty of innocent people. Daniel argued that problems are found in both the trial process, where poor defendants and their public defenders are unable to match the resources available to state prosecutors, as well as in the post-conviction rules that apply when seeking review of trial procedures.

Professor Medwed is a founding member of the Innocence Network, a global consortium of innocence projects working to free the wrongfully convicted. He also serves on the board of the New England Innocence Project. He described the three-phase process used by innocence projects in deciding which cases to pursue and working to free prisoners in the cases they take on. He also stressed the need for concise facts and simplicity in applications for assistance from Innocence Projects.

Wanda Singleton is the lead private investigator and owner of FYI Private Investigations in the Atlanta (GA) metro area. Wanda shared her experience as a correctional officer in California and the process of becoming a licensed private investigator. In Georgia, she also became a certified process server. She has additional certifications as a criminal defense researcher, which is a specialty area for FYI Private Investigations. 

Wanda discussed the need to ensure the due process rights of criminal defendants were respected by state prosecutors. She also expressed concerns for indigent criminal defendants who were unable to afford the investigative services performed by agencies like hers, and her efforts to provide those services pro bono.

Frank Patka IV is a founder of Changing Patterns, providing education, mentoring, and resources for citizens returning from incarceration. He credits the mentoring he received while incarcerated on an armed robbery conviction many years ago. Frank witnessed many of those who'd been released with him fail at re-entry, and he realized they'd been denied the knowledge on re-entry that he'd learned. Changing Patterns aims to change that.  

Frank discussed the numerous challenges facing returning citizens related to employment, housing, and family reunification. He also shared the strongest factor in successful re-entry -- mindset. No matter the resources available, he said, change requires a personal commitment.

Eric Peterson at Peterson Investigations shared his background as an LAPD detective and his evolution to a private investigator. He discussed the need for private investigations in collecting and authenticating evidence for a wide variety of civil claims. While his agency is usually retained by a law firm, some pro se litigants have used him to catch cheating spouses or prove that certain environments were potentially harmful to children.  

Eric had good advice for anyone handling a civil case - understand the types of evidence that will be persuasive to a judge or jury, and make sure you have it before deciding you have a case. He is able to counsel pro se litigants on these issues without providing legal advice.

Jessica Bednarz runs the Chicago Bar Foundation's Justice Entrepreneurs Project (JEP), an incubator for small and solo law firms providing greater access to justice in the Chicago metro area. Jessica discussed the requirements for firms joining the incubator, as well as the entrepreneurial training offered to them.  

JEP is part of a law firm incubator movement aiming to improve the prospects for new small and solo firms while simultaneously addressing the lack of affordable legal services for middle-class households. JEP participants are required to offer alternative fee arrangements like fixed-fee pricing and limited-scope services. In return, firms are educated on ways to think like an entrepreneur and build a business around the practice of law. JEP celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2023.

Jazz Hampton, CEO at TurnSignal, shared the frustration he felt at hearing of traffic stops that ended in the death of innocent motorists. His legal career in BigLaw gave him little opportunity to address these concerns, so he left to create an app that ensures the safety of both police and motorists during traffic stops. TurnSignl allows drivers to bring a local attorney into interactions with police and plans for nationwide availability in 2023.

Ken Friedman is the general counsel and chief industry officer at Divorce.com, a low-cost online alternative to messy litigation for dissolving a marriage. He is a former vice president of legal at LegalZoom and is the founding chair of Courtroom5's advisory board. Ken first coined the term "justice tech" to distinguish consumer solutions from other forms of legal tech that more commonly serve the needs of law firms. The most important advice Ken offers to justice tech entrepreneurs is to simplify the law to make it accessible to laymen.

Dan Culhane, CEO of Discovery Genie, had difficulty responding to discovery requests as a new lawyer. He also had trouble understanding his cases without organizing his evidence first. Those experiences led him to create Discovery Genie, a document production technology tool that levels the playing field for small and solo law firms competing against larger firms.

Melissa Franca and Emma Hawley are law students (3L and 2L, respectively) at the University of Wisconsin School of Law. They are currently enrolled in the school's Law & Entrepreneurship externship course, led by previous “Who Wrote That Up For You?” guest, Professor Charles Von Simson. The course pairs them with startup companies and entrepreneurs, and the two students have chosen to complete their externship this year with Courtroom5.  

Melissa and Emma both shared their aspirations to help people as the motivating factor in joining the legal profession. The curriculum has helped them understand the complexity of the law and has driven their interest in using technology to increase access to the courts. At Courtroom5, they've learned a lot about the litigation process and ways to simplify rules and procedures so laypeople can understand and use them. They described their Courtroom5 project -- to help pro se litigants specify discrete unbundled services for lawyers -- as something that has improved their understanding of the practice of law.

Olivia Miller, a junior partner at the Chad Barr Law Firm in central Florida, described the pro se litigants she sees in small claims courts. In her experience, judicial assistants and clerks offer valuable information to help pro se litigants understand the process. Judges go the extra mile to ensure pro se litigants have time to express themselves and get a fair hearing. Still, most pro se litigants are disadvantaged because their opponents are represented by counsel, and lawyers know how to navigate those procedures at a higher level. Olivia advised pro se litigants to visit the court's website to find forms and basic instructions. She also recommended they spend time reviewing resources designed for lawyers, such as administrative orders and the preferences of their assigned judge.   

Samuel Tate worked as a court administrator for many years and witnessed the inefficiencies of court clerks and other staff answering the same questions from people with business in the courts. "What should I bring for jury duty?" and "Where do I park?" were among the daily questions that took time and resources away from other important duties and services, but people often used different words and phrases to ask these questions. Sam found a solution in conversational artificial intelligence (AI), a new technology that could be trained to perceive routine questions asked in different ways, something that could be delivered via chatbot.  

Sam is a co-founder of Tango Legal, an app developer that helps courts and law firms serve their constituents and clients using conversational AI. They also provide a wider set of applications to the private sector at Tango Technology. Sam is on a mission to keep people from having to answer the same question twice.

"Who Wrote That Up For You?" co-hosts Sonja Ebron and Debra Slone discuss cases in the news involving pro se criminal defendants. The case of Darrell Brooks, the man convicted of murder by driving a car through the Waukesha, Wisconsin Christmas parade, drew particular umbrage due to Brooks' pro se defense of sovereign citizenship, the notion that the court lacked jurisdiction over him because he had never consented to it and the court's spelling of his name was incorrect.   

Sonja and Debra also discussed the case of Trevor Summers, the Florida man who kidnapped, raped, and attempted to murder his ex-wife, then fired defense counsel in the middle of his trial. His defense, despite a boatload of evidence to the contrary, was that his ex-wife consented and that no crimes had occurred. Both Brooks and Summers were quickly convicted by their respective juries and will spend the rest of their lives in prison. Pro se litigants - whether civil or criminal - were advised to use available legal counsel and to find legal support for the positions they take in court.

Delaney Edge has wanted to be a lawyer for many years. She's a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a U.S. history major. In high school, Delaney shadowed a judge and a solo lawyer. In college, she interned with Courtroom5 and worked at the civil legal clinic on campus. She's now taking the LSAT and preparing applications for law school.   

Delaney understands the role of lawyers in society better than most practicing lawyers. She's driven by a desire to help the legal profession shape the future of the U.S.

Bernice Smith lost her daughter to a failed dialysis procedure. No lawyer would seek justice for her medical malpractice claim because her daughter's lengthy illness lowered expectations of a big payday. But Bernice wasn't interested in money. She was interested in finding out what had happened to her daughter and in making the people responsible acknowledge their mistakes. So she sued them on her own, and after a two-year fight, forced a favorable settlement. The experience of learning to navigate court procedures and collect the evidence needed to prove her case left Bernice inspired and happy that no lawyer had taken her case.

Charles Von Simpson is an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Law. He serves as a supervising attorney in the Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic, which assigns law students to work with entrepreneurs and inventors to develop and protect products and their businesses. Charles is also an entrepreneur, most recently as the founder of Feehive.io, a legal pricing tool that lets lawyers and clients collaborate on specific legal tasks for fixed fees.

Miguel Willis is executive director of the ATJ Tech Fellows Program and Innovator in Residence for the Future of the Profession Initiative at Penn Carey Law. Miguel returned to "Who Wrote That Up For You" to discuss his vision for the future of law and the legal profession, one that broadly guarantees access to justice and the rule of law while protecting the mental health of lawyers and reflecting the diversity of our population. But he also placed the crisis in access to justice within a human rights framework, viewing it holistically as something beyond courts and litigation. In Miguel's view, justice ultimately depends on the resilience of the community.

"Who Wrote That Up For You?" co-hosts Sonja Ebron and Debra Slone discuss the case of a homeowner who sued the company responsible for collecting his trash. Many have expressed surprise that someone would file a lawsuit over such a minor complaint. There are many seemingly trivial issues that could be resolved in the courts but are rarely viewed as causes of legal action. In fact, the latest "Justice Gap" report from the Legal Services Corporation finds that low-income Americans seek legal help for less than 1 in 5 legal problems they experience. Perhaps if more people have access to the courts and are able to resolve disputes there, we'd all be less concerned about the general sense of injustice in the culture.

Mike Whelan, Jr. is the author of "Lawyer Forward: Finding Your Place in the Future of Law," a guide for solo law firms struggling to build sustainable practices in a fast-moving legal industry. Mike sees the future of law from a supply-chain perspective based on his experience in logistics and as the owner of a solo law firm. He wants law firms and their clients to recognize that lawyers shouldn't do all the work in handling a legal matter, but it's important to understand which parts are appropriate for non-lawyers to handle. The future of law will be better for everyone when this challenge is overcome.

Jim Gibbs is the co-founder and CEO of Meter Feeder, a mobile app that automatically pays for parking when you park your car. The app was inspired by Jim's inability to find coins for parking meters, resulting in costly parking tickets and unwanted interactions with local traffic courts. Jim recalled his last corporate job and the moment his boss persuaded him to become an entrepreneur, reminding him that technical expertise alone would not make him rich. Meter Feeder has helped people avoid getting caught up in the civil justice system, so Jim encourages local governments to invest in his app to benefit their citizens and to better collect parking fees.

Patti Mazurkiewicz is a nurse and certified life care planner. She described the use of life care plans in personal injury litigation and the process of creating them. She explained that certification to become a life care planner includes courses and exams on the purposes, procedures, and ethics of estimating the medical and other needs of an injured person for the remainder of their life. Life care planning is used by both plaintiffs and defendants involved in personal injury litigation. While most parties seeking life care plans are represented, there is a significant number of pro se litigants amongst the clientele.  

Alison Peck is a law professor at West Virginia University and the author of "The Accidental History of U.S. Immigration Courts," an astonishing recollection of the origins and growth of the Justice Department procedures that decide whether immigrants stay or go. Professor Peck described the types of claims heard by these agency courts, the legal authorities relied upon to decide cases, and the adverse consequences for people who are denied the right to stay. Professor Peck urged people seeking asylum to consult a lawyer or the growing number of self-help resources available online. The book is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other fine bookstores.

Emily LaGratta at LaGratta Consulting is a lawyer, former public defender, and justice reform innovator. She helps judges and other court professionals reform their operations to benefit court users, primarily pro se litigants. Emily explained "procedural fairness" and its relationship to actual fairness. She also explained the other components of actual fairness in courts and some of the work she's doing to improve it.

Mark M. Bello practiced law for 25 years before founding a litigation finance company. In retirement, he began writing about a case early in his career in which he got justice for two victims who'd been sexually molested by a Catholic priest. It was easier to tell the story as fiction, and thus began a new career as a legal fiction writer. Mark is the author of several works of fiction based on the legal profession and politics, as well as children's books on bullying. Tune in to hear the raucous debate on legal principles and self-representation.

"Who Wrote That Up For You?" co-hosts Sonja Ebron and Debra Slone discuss new research on the characteristics of pro se litigants in U.S. federal courts. Law professors Roger Michalski and Andrew Hammond reviewed the dockets of 2.5 million federal cases over a 10-year period to identify the geographic, demographic, and economic backgrounds of the sizable population of people representing themselves in our courts. Their study, "Mapping the Civil Justice Gap in Federal Court," was published by the Wake Forest Law Review in June.   

The authors note that their findings "present pro se litigants as a radically democratic element in federal courts." This is supported by data showing the broad diversity of incomes, rural vs urban balance, and ethnicity. Sonja argued that federal courts hear only a tiny fraction of the nation's civil cases, but these results were likely representative of state courts, as well. Debra took a different view, that there were bound to be differences in the characteristics of state court litigants because the types of claims were different. Regardless, there is a need for more research in this area so that courts and court personnel better understand the people they serve.

Kenn Goldblatt, author of "The Pro Se Litigant's Civil Litigation Handbook," discussed his background as a paralegal and pro se civil litigant, and his desire to help others by sharing his knowledge. Kenn shared the benefits of the book for people handling their own litigation, including understanding the process and some of the options at each phase of a case. He often provides direction and services to pro se litigants who reach out to him for help. The book, published in 2016, is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and AuthorHouse.