How and When to Be Your Own Lawyer: A Step-by-Step Guide to Effectively Using Our Legal System (Paperback)

~ (Author), Marvin Quittner (Author), Robert Schachner (Author) "responsibility of establishing a system that mirrored the system codified in the Magna Carta, including the all-important concept of due process. However, unlike England, which..." (more)
Key Phrases: received following accident, fact that the witness, most law libraries, Judge Duff, United States, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is a thorough, careful examination of the ins and outs of self-representation in a civil lawsuit. The authors open with a lesson on the judicial system, thereafter providing a realistic look at what to consider when deciding whether or not to proceed "pro se." Once the reader decides to go it alone, this book gives him or her the necessary law, procedures, and strategies to prepare a case and get it to court. The how-to instruction is augmented by anecdotes and historical perspective, making the text as interesting as it is practical. Well-rounded appendixes provide forms, definitions, and sample arguments. Highly recommended for public libraries.
- Joan Pedzich, Harris, Beach & Wilcox, Rochester, N.Y.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

From filing small-claims paperwork and using a law library to preparing a case and conducting a trial, readers will learn basic legal techniques to handle their own civil claims. Also included are sample legal forms, a concise dictionary of legal terms, anecdotes, and real-life case scenarios.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Perigee Trade; 2nd edition (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895299984
• ISBN-13: 978-0895299987
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,467,303 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Valuable, but not my first choice, February 28, 2003

By A Customer

Its probably 3 1/2 stars, but apparently, you need to do whole numbers. I read this book, and it definitely contains some good information on doing your own lawyering. However, i found that it was not terribly well organized, and I often got bogged down in some parts. It also left me with a number of open questions.

I guess if anyone is seriously going to do their own lawyering (which i intend to do), he will likely have to read more than one book on the matter anyway. I am glad i read this book, but imagine it could have been better.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An ethical advocate for the service of Justice and search for truth, July 29, 2006

By	Mohamed F. El-Hewie (Hackensack, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: How and When to be Your Own Lawyer (Paperback)

In comparison to Paul Bergman's legendry book "Represent Yourself In Court: How to Prepare & Try a Winning Case", this one is a legendary rival of a different flavor. The author entrusts his genuine instincts and writes as an advocate for the underdogs, needy, and less powerful in face of unfair, expensive, and complex system of justice. Unfairness stems from the persons in charge of delivering justice. The Author uses Judge Brian Duff as an example for personal effect on the service of justice.

Despite the critiques on the poor organization and trivial inaccuracies in the book, it serves as an informal, casual, and benign display of information that is easy to read and assimilate while time sneaks by. (Bergman book's strict organization renders its reading laboriously time demanding). Once every few pages, the author interjects the highlighted concepts in full-page tables.

The author convincingly achieves his goal that reason and logic could triumph if supported by simple know-how. In many of his anecdotes about litigants betrayed by incompetent counsels, the author makes the reader senses his insider's frustration with his own profession. He contends that his book was driven by the dilemma of the legal profession of: whether lawyers should be in it for self-enrichment or moral conduct?

It might be quite demanding to retrieve information from the book if you are in a hurry for a court appearance, since the book lacks clear and unified template. However, if you enjoy reading for relaxing and focusing on deep thoughts and strategies, this book has it. For example, it stresses on slow talking in clear and systematic manner in many effective ways. Slow, slow, and slow talking in front of the court is highly stressed for reporting and logical reasons of trying evidence and appeal. It then addresses the issue of not repeating evidence unless there is a specific need other than rehearsing it.

The author alerts the self representatives of the perils of objection to adversaries and explains reasonable situations when objection is a plus. He then stresses on the fact that the self-representative should realize that both the judge and the jury have mere cursory knowledge of the lawsuit at hand which requires the pro se not to assume any previous knowledge and to lay the foundation form beginning to end in logical fashion.

Ethos, pathos, and logos of Aristotle describe the elements of his closing arguments. Those are summarized as attitude of orator, his passion and emotion, and finally his logical analysis in summing up his case to the court. He emphasizes understatement and simple common sense as effective tools to abstract truth from a complexly intermingling situation.

The author addresses the science part of trying legal suits and left the art part to the reader to labor at. His strategies of searching for the truth extend far beyond material evidence to moral character, personal credibility, and evidence's relevance and credibility. He then devises a strategy of seeking the truth along all those dimensions of evidence.

Mohamed F. El-Hewie
Author of
Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK, February 8, 2007

By	Robin Smyth (Barhamsville, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: How and When to be Your Own Lawyer (Paperback)

A fantastic book that gives you the ins and outs of being your own lawyer. Highly recommended.