HACKER Q&A
📣 busymom0

Self represented litigants, what software do you use to write lawsuit?


Would you mind sharing what software you use to write lawsuit? I have tested Google Docs so far and while it's pretty decent, I am having problems with the numbered lists formatting and spacing as well as the citations in the footer.

Also how was your self represented litigation experience?


  👤 smt88 Accepted Answer ✓
Every lawyer I've ever interacted with has used Word, and the lists and citations worked well. Just use Word.

👤 giantg2
Good luck. Many courts look down on the self represented, at least with unconscious bias. It seems many judges don't know the laws or procedures, so you can end up with some bizarre circumstances (like them thinking you called them prejudice when asking to dismiss with prejudice).

👤 danieka
I’ve settled two GDPR cases so far over here in Sweden. Litigated both myself.

I write using Google Docs and agree with you. It’s suboptimal. I’d rather write in markdown, but some Docs features are too nice to give up, mostly sharing the document via a link letting others comment on my draft. If anyone knows of a MD-based solution that has some kind of collab feature I would be very interested.

My experience so far has been good. Two companies that were completely unwilling to take me seriously suddenly became very willing to discuss a settlement after I’d filed my claim with the court. I believe I ought to have won both cases had I gone to verdict. However I also have a gut feeling that the courts view me with some suspicion. In Sweden we don’t really have a tradition of litigation as a way of enforcing rights (we’re getting there) and seeking compensation for immaterial damages is sometimes looked upon as frivolous since these damages would not be compensated in Swedish legal tradition. So these kinds of damages are a new thing. But this is only a gut feeling since I haven’t gone to verdict.

One last thought. In class actions based upon the GDPR the claimants will be legion while the claims will be small. For example you might have 100,000 claimants each entitled to 300 EUR. As a lawyer, how do you manage all these clients. Since the claims are so low you can spend only very little time per client before the cost for your services become much larger than the claim itself. These cases would be difficult to take on “commission” for that reason. Is there some software for managing class actions?


👤 mytailorisrich
I'm pretty sure lawyers use Word like everyone else.