Litigants going it alone because of free legal aid cuts

High costs and debt burdens see a growing number of people ditch the legal experts and fight their own case, finds Mick Clifford.

ALMOST one third of the cases in the Court of Appeal are run by lay litigants, according to the Courts Service. The figure illustrates how frequently litigants are representing themselves and not hiring legal counsel.

There are a number of reasons for this increase. The most obvious is cost. Since the recession, the volume of litigation, in relation to economic matters, has ballooned. Debt and dispute over debt have become big business in the courts.