Today’s blog is written by Brandon Fragomeni, a 2nd year law student Research Assistant with the NSRLP.
After the publication of Dr. Macfarlane’s research report in 2013, SRLs have continued to contact the National Self-Represented Litigants Project. The NSRLP team decided to develop an “Intake Form” in SurveyMonkey, in order to continue to collect information from SRLs across Canada; we have since put out semi-regular reports on the new data from SRLs coming in every week. Our latest Intake Report, out today, presents data from 173 respondents, from surveys submitted between January 1st, 2018 and June 30th, 2019.
SRL demographic patterns
In the new Report, consistent with our previous Intake Reports, the majority of respondents indicated they were over the age of 50 (63%). Of the 168 responses to this question, only 3% indicated they were between the ages of 25 and 30, with no respondents under the age of 25. 
These responses raise several questions as to why such a small number of respondents under the age of 30, and why so many over the age of 50? It may be that individuals under the age of 30 are less likely to be involved in family or civil disputes. However, these numbers may also indicate the use of other methods of dispute resolution by individuals in this age bracket, including online dispute resolution services, working out a solution informally, or even larger numbers of younger people moving on and not bothering to try to resolve some types of conflict at all (sometimes described as “lumping it”). This is an area that needs further research to identify both the reasons for this age distribution, and alternatives to court-based dispute resolution.
We continue to observe high levels of respondents indicating that English is their first language (75%), with 67% of respondents indicating that they possessed a university degree, professional qualification, or college diploma. This high level of education (in 2017, 54% of Canadians in the general population had a university degree or college diploma) and the language preference of many SRLs – who nonetheless continue to consistently report miserable experiences (see below) – leaves us wondering how someone without French or English as a first language, and without higher education, would cope with the experience of representing themselves.
Over 45% of respondents indicated that their annual income was under $30,000 (the largest single respondent group) with another 21% making $30,000-$50,000 a year. 8% of respondents indicated that they made over $100,000. These numbers are consistent with previous Intake Reports. The majority of respondents indicated that they made less than $50,000, and written responses suggest that many SRLs struggle with the financial burden of representing oneself in a protracted litigation, with one stating, “I’m terrified, but like countless SRLs such as myself I’ve run out of personal funds and don’t qualify for assistance”.
Legal services and SRLs
90% of respondents indicated that the other side in their dispute was represented by counsel, underscoring the legal knowledge asymmetry that frequently exists in cases involving self-represented litigants. One SRL highlighted this dynamic, writing that, “It was a lot of pressure to deal with the prospect of handling everything by yourself, [knowing] that the defendant will be represented with the most experienced lawyer that they can find”.
Consistent with our earlier work, 68% of respondents indicated that they had worked with a lawyer at some point in their proceeding, and the majority of this group (81%) told us that this was a privately retained representative (numbers indicating that they were originally legally aided have fallen from 15% in 2017, unsurprising given that 51% of respondents were from Ontario, and Ontario Legal Aid programs have been significantly reduced during this period).
In terms of pro bonoservices, we see a drastic decline from previous Intake Reports. In the 2013 study, 64% of respondents indicated they had sought pro bonoservices. In our Intake Survey we ask specifically if respondents have received pro bono services. In 2016, 58% reported receiving pro bono services, but this dropped significantly in 2017 to 24% and in our new Report is just 8%. This suggests, at minimum, that pro bonoservices are less broadly available or less widely used than in previous years. We observe a similar, although not as precipitous, decline in relation to mediation services in this Report. The number of respondents reporting that had been offered mediation services fell from 45% in 2017 to 34% in 2018/9.
53% of those who had previously worked with a lawyer on their case appraised the services they had received as “poor”. Also disappointing is the observation that while numbers of SRLs reporting that they had been successful in accessing unbundled legal services were up to 29% from 25% in 2017, 50% of this group also described these services as “poor”. We often hear anecdotally from SRLs that unbundled services are still very expensive on an hourly basis. Further examination is required to understand more about what the sources of dissatisfaction really are.
McKenzie Friends
Self-represented litigants have the right to ask the presiding judge if they can bring a “McKenzie Friend[1]” with them to court. This person is permitted to sit beside the SRL at the front of the courtroom. A McKenzie Friend can provide a great deal of support during a proceeding or hearing; for instance, they can organize documents, take notes during the appearance, and provide emotional and moral support.Despite encouraging new pilot projects such as that in the British Columbia Provincial Court, the number of respondents who said they had “never” brought a support person to court with them and the number saying they “sometimes” brought someone with them have changed very little (to be fair, only 14% of this sample had their matter heard in B.C.). SRLs may be reluctant to bring someone to court with them because of how time-consuming this might be, but we are hoping future Intake Reports will show more “take-up” of the McKenzie Friend option.
The SRL Experience
In the final section of the Intake Form, where we ask respondents to tell us anything else they thought we should know about their experience, we continue to see many respondents indicating how stressful and emotionally trying their experiences as self-represented litigants are. Many describe how difficult the legal process itself is, particularly working through the vast amount of documentation and pressure to properly submit forms and paperwork, and they report, “problems with process and procedures which are either obscure or informal”. Several SRLs described feeling defeated and overwhelmed, while others described a feeling of intrinsic bias against them. These frustrations have led some respondents to say that they have lost faith in the legal system, with one stating that they were, “treated as though being self-represented is inherently an abuse of process”.
There are, however, some moments of positivity and encouragement in our new Intake Report. Many respondents offered guidance for future self-represented litigants, including strategies to stay calm and to, “keep the big picture in mind”. Others offered tips on how to manage documentation and navigate the trial process, including, “Reading and absorbing every legal resource, procedure, rule”, and to make use of university law libraries and the resources at their local courthouse.
We will continue to report on the lived experiences of self-represented litigants in Canada, and encourage SRLs to tell us their stories via our Intake Form. This data helps us immensely in setting priorities and planning for projects and resources at NSRLP, and provides evidence and context for the Access to Justice crisis for both justice system professionals and the public at large.
[1]McKenzie v McKenzie [1970] 3 WLR 472.
I am 60 and self represented. My son in law is 35 and decided to walk away, wasn’t worth the fight. I think by the time he gets to 60 he will understand that “the buck stops here” as in I simply won’t take it any more. I refer to being walked all over, stomped on, and then left for … as the system simply chugs along, caring not for the human carnage. Well I am fighting back and I won’t go away. It’s time to treat self represented (by circumstance not choice) with some human dignity. Maybe respect will come later.
well you have my respect, sir. Keep up the good fight
or Miss……..sorry!
You have my respect too Lorelei.
To fight this cancer of the existential tribalism within “the legal system,” SRL discrimination, Judicial persecution of SRL’S, Defacto double standards adjudged on SRL’S inter alia…takes courage and intestinal fortitude not to “say the words of one who kneels” to quote Paul Anka and Frank Sinatra.
This cancer on our society reaches all the way to the Supreme Court Gatekeepers and the Prime Minister and Justice Minister’s office who see SRL’S as an irrelevant group of upstarts and a “scourge” upon their comfortable lives and superiority complexes.
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms are merely lip service along with the CJC’s “Ethical Principles of Judges:”
Oh yes there exists a “Rule of Law!” . It’s their RULE OF LAW, and it doesn’t include SRL’S.
KEEP FIGHTING LORELEI YOU ARE AN INSPIRATION TO ALL OF US THAT SEE THE REAL TRUTH! We are living in the era of “The Best Liar” contest in which Trumpianism and Putinism is influencing all world leaders including our own to enter the contest! SNC Lavalin comes to mind and how social media has become the
“Best Liar” launching pad ever invented for our leaders to indoctrinate the weak minded with their poison! “Those of us with independent minds just looks and laughs at all that” to quote an English translation of Burns. Please do not CLUMP us with those moron SRL’S whose only purpose is to clog up the docket…we SRL’S are TRULY trying to make the Charter’s equality under before, and the benefit of the law for serious minded SRL’S who self educate, respect and learn the procedures of the complexities before them.
We should talk, Alex. I have seen your and others’ astute and credible comments on this and another blog. I have spent 5 years in a divorce that should have taken weeks – I have been through mediation, arbitration, more than a dozen court hearings, reports to the Law Society of Alberta, a hearing at the Court of Appeal and a meeting with the Justice Minister of Alberta to share my analysis of the issues, causes and solutions for the family justice system. I have also started a website (disrupt-divorce.com) to help people escape divorce with better mental and financial health and better outcomes for kids. Corruption/lack of transparency, accountability and oversight pervade the system. The saga of my file has been so outlandish that the media have now taken note – including a national broadcaster and the press. I’m being interviewed for a documentary later this week. They can help make change.
you cannot make peace with the ignorantly and blatantly hateful, You cannot obtain justice from the corrupt, And being heard when you are screaming for simple justice, is not going to happen unless we do something about ridding ourselves of the corrupt, Now,, when i first started posting on this site, i asked for this group to help to rectify the injustice in my case,, not one thing has occurred, silence in the face of corruption is the helping of it, So, fellow sufferers of this corrupt and dishonest court system in canada,,,who is interested in helping,, let them step forward,, Do i hear a hand up in the air?? NO?? well unless someone from inside the system decides it is time to change it,, it will continue to disgrace itself by its own contempt for the law and for even the basic idea of justice,
with all the statistics mentioned, you are ignoring the main issue,, the refusal of the legal system to listen to the self represented,, if you have no lawyer, sometimes even if you have one,, but one without any willingness to question evidence, how is our financial situation of any relevance,? The judicial system as a whole is not willing to operate with respect for justice, I heard a quote that bears repeating, If you see injustice, and do not stand against it,, you are supporting it, So. talk as much as you like,, fill all the forms out that you like,, you are now just gathering information,, but doing nothing about it,
i propose a new survey,, In the people who have been posting on this site over the last lets just pick a number of years,, how many have finally received the justice they were asking the courts for, It would be interesting to see if this is actually doing anything to help, or just wasting time,
My bitter experience since 2008. In conspiracy with the real estate broker, buyer and the lawyer to close the deal, I was misrepresented and cheated. After along time in 2018, 2 weeks trial totally ignoring me as SRL. After one year 1n 2019 the judge dismissed my claim. What she was doing for one year? Its her jurisdiction to sit on case. Its her power and authority. No one can challenge. I filed appeal against the judgement. The Appellate court has ordered for a deposit 200,000 as security cost. If I had 200,000 I had never been loosed my case. The Appellate Court does not bother to see my Factum and case laws. I had exposed completely all my financial record. My bank accounts all sources of income. I AM STOPPED TO HAVE AN EXCESS TO JUSTICE. I am appealing in Supreme Court. Hope they listen and give me EXCESS TO JUSTICE.