subject: Top Reasons Not To Represent Yourself In Court [print this page] Choosing to represent yourself in court can seem like a cheaper alternative to hiring a solicitor however it may not be the best idea in practice. There is a reason why people hire top lawyers after all.
If you are intent on representing yourself in court you will need to prepare and know your case inside out, you will need to prepare a case summary in chronological order discussing all aspects of your case. By knowing your case inside out you will have a better chance of making the judge understand your case, it is very easy to get flustered in court as it can be a very tense atmosphere. If you are representing yourself you will need to be impeccably organised and calm.
If you were to represent yourself in court you would need to make sure you have all the necessary documents in order as it will look extremely unprofessional and armature if you keep the courtroom waiting. All documents should be put in logical order so the chance of becoming confused by your own notes is minimal.
It is important to always remain polite even if you are just representing yourself in a small claims hearing, the judge may seem friendly enough but you are still in a court of law therefore respect needs to be shown at all times to all parties. Another pitfall of representing yourself is whether or not you can trust yourself to remain silent when the other side is speaking and not interrupt.
Always remember that a small amount of legal knowledge can be beneficial but it can also be used by the other party to deal with more complex issues. If you do not have knowledge on complex legal matter then pretending you know more than you actually do can be damaging and result in you becoming confused by legal terms.
If the decision does not go to plan you can always appeal but unless you have a lot of legal knowledge you will probably find it hard to change the outcome. This is why it is possibly wiser to employ an expert who will have a full understanding as well as knowledge of similar cases.
