E1AR0002@SMUVM1.BITNET (10/20/86)
Proceeding without A Lawyer. "Pro se" is latin for yourself and in law means proceeding without a lawyer. We all know about small claims court. But what if your gripe is greater than a thousand dollars or whatever the limit is in your state. Is their anyway of avoiding forking over the lawyer's fees? Some state courts have a section set up for handling those people who are not lawyers but wish to deal with things themselves. In New York City, the civil court has a "pro se" section. It is much like small claims court. There is an opportunity for arbitration. However, one must have a process server deliver the summons. In Small Claims Court, the notice to the defendant is sent via certified mail. In the case of a corporate defendent, service is actually done to the "Secretary of State" for New York State. Since this must be a personal service, the cost is about $50.00 plus the filing fee. I know a computer consultant who successfully recovered his consulting fees from a firm this way. Sadly, Texas does not have any provision other than the Justice of the Peace court for items less than a thousand dollars. The Federal Government U. S. District Courts are set up to handle pro se cases. Quoting from Local Rule 13.7 for the Dallas area District court: "Any party proceeding on his own behalf without an attorney shall be expected to read and follow the local rules of this Court and the Federal Rules of Civil or Criminal Procedure, as appropriate in the particular case. The Court will require parties proceeding pro se to make a good faith effort to comply with these rules" Note that one does not have to comply with them, only make a good effort to do so. Also, magistrates will help a pro se plaintiff with various procedural matters. There is a small tax claims procedure for items under $10,000 in taxes. Note that for "Tax Court" one can appeal before a notice of deficiency is sent to you. Of course one can always pay the tax and go before the district court. This allows one to get a jury. Keep in mind that in some jurisdictions, corporations cannot represent themselves or use the small claims court. This might be a reason against incorporation. In such jurisdictions, a real person as opposed to a legal person has an advantage in pre-trial settlement negotiations since it would cost the corporation more to defend the case.