Every year thousands of people find themselves facing the battle of their life in court, alone and without help. They have to represent themselves in cases of divorce, contact with children or eviction from their homes. Under particularly distressing circumstances they must navigate a legal system where an individual without any previous knowledge can easily become confused by the complexities of the law.
The legal system has gone through big changes in the last few years, where reduced availability of legal aid has meant that thousands of people face the civil and family courts alone. Their access to justice is at risk as they often feel overwhelmed and struggle to represent themselves effectively in court.
As the Founder of the app 'Lawit', with UK legal qualifications and first-hand experience of the legal system, I have seen a pattern in which these legal aid changes can exacerbate the already difficult situation many individuals are in when facing court without economic means. Lawit is an app created to simplify how individuals without legal representation can navigate themselves to the correct court forms available through HM Courts & Tribunals Service. The app signposts you through the administrative process and can easily be downloaded on either an Android or iOS mobile phone and is free of charge.
Lawit does not provide legal advice, only process guidance.
The app contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.