More than LIP service

Lord Justice Briggs’s ongoing consideration and review of reforms to the civil courts structure includes considering what steps could be taken to minimise the impact and struggles of the increasing number of litigants in person (LIP) in the court system. This is of particular interest as I am part of a working group in Bristol County Court, guided by DJ Cope, which is focused on what additional support can be given to litigants in person.

One suggestion I made, after a recent directions hearing over a possession case, was that my instructing solicitor could send a blank “List of Documents” form to the defendant to complete so that he could comply with the direction for disclosure. This would be sent along with a template for a witness statement to help him with the structure of the statements he would have to produce to refute the council’s claim for possession. I have also suggested that all court orders could contain a link