Can you believe it has been 5 years since the birth of the NSRLP? Who would have anticipated that the National Self-Represented Litigants (SRLs) Research Study conducted by Dr. Julie Macfarlane from 2011-2013 would have bloomed into this organization, and all it has accomplished this far.
With our motivated team of Windsor Law research assistants and professional staff, we’ve published 11 resources/primers which provide self-represented litigants (SRLs) with a better understanding of how to successfully navigate the legal system with reliable and well-researched tips, techniques, and recommendations. We have an active social media network highlighting Access to Justice initiatives worldwide, and our podcast “Jumping off the Ivory Tower” has recently launched its 3rd season featuring powerful interviews with visionaries, social justice warriors, and legal system “disrupters”.
What a ride it has been!
2013 Opening the Dialogue: The SRL Phenomenon
In May, 2013 we released the original research study at our first dialogue event, “Opening the Dialogue”. We invited a total of 60 people: 45 judges, lawyers, representatives of pro bono and legal aid organizations, regulators, and policymakers, along with 15 former or current SRLs. We spent two remarkable days sharing experiences and perspectives, and creating a concrete list of goals. This event proved the necessity of shared conversations and the power of open dialogue, especially when it concerns access to justice for everyone.
“There are so many good people doing what they can for people. There were a lot of “aha moments” for many of the participants on many levels. This is the beginning of dialogue and social change. There will be much more work to be done.” – 2013 Dialogue Event Participant
“I realize that we are all in this together to create a system of access” – 2013 Dialogue Event Participant
“The courage of the SRLs who presented and spoke at the dialogue was inspiring. It is now incumbent upon the participants to ensure that their voices are heard.” – 2013 Dialogue Event Participant
From those two days of conversation, the NSRLP was “born” as a spontaneous response to the energy generated and a felt need to ensure that the changes that the research identified as needed were carried forward to fruition. We published the 2013 Dialogue Event Report, which provides an overview of the work that was done during the event, including a “stereotypes exercise”, panels with both SRLs and justice system insiders, and working group discussions focused on specific questions related to SRLs and the justice system.
2018 Continuing the Dialogue
To celebrate our 5-year mark, we are going back to where it all began. From October 12 – 13 we are hosting a “Continuing the Dialogue” event at Windsor Law. We have used the same format as the 2013 event by inviting 45 justice system professionals and 15 SRLs to come together for 2 days of open discussion. The focus this time will be on how far we have come in the last five years, and what we need to do next.
Our event is small by design, to foster intimate conversation and concrete outputs, and because we are still a small nonprofit, with a limited budget – so we have a limited invite list. But we encourage ALL our followers and supporters to join us in the discussion online by tuning into Facebook Live interviews throughout the event, retweeting event quotes, by providing feedback to the questions being asking in our small working groups, and by sharing thoughts with our event hashtag, #SRLdialogue. We will be posting more information closer to the event date, so please keep your eyes open for updates.
Thank you for taking this journey with us. We can’t wait to see what’s next for the future of the NSRLP!