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The Litigant in Person Support Strategy helps people without a lawyer in tribunals and courts

The Litigant in Person Support Strategy (LIPSS) is a national partnership of charities working together to improve the experience of people facing the legal process alone by improve access to information, practical support, advice and representation.

It is a collaborative project involving The Access to Justice Foundation, RCJ Advice, LawWorks, Law for Life, Support Through Court and Advocate. Working in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, these six organisations, while independent, come together to deliver on the aims of LIPSS (“the Partners”). 

Through these services, people can access help online, in person and over the phone. The journey of a litigant in person is not linear, people access help at different points and require support tailored to their legal matter and wider needs. Whether it be through using an online benefits calculator and letter writing tool, getting one-off of pro bono advice and representation, or having someone provide emotional support during their hearing, the Partners work to ensure that each or all these services are available for those who need them. 

Together LIPSS aims to ensure that:

  • Litigants in person know what support is available to them
  • Litigants in person can access appropriate practical and emotional support
  • Litigants in person have routes to free or affordable legal advice
  • The legal system is more responsive to the needs of litigants in person

Annual activities:

  • 1 million people benefited from Advicenow’s content (Advicenow is the one stop shop website for litigants in person and the public face of LIPSS. 85% of users identify as litigants in person)
  • Advicenow guides and resources reached vulnerable users - of those surveyed, 58% of users identified as disabled and 48% reported a household income below £1,100 per month
  • 260 pro bono clinics in the LawWorks Clinics Network provided free legal help and advice to people nationwide
  • 10,300 volunteers in the LawWorks Clinics Network handled over 75,000 enquiries and provided 48,000 people with free legal advice or information
  • 75,000 people received practical and emotional support from Support Through Court in 24 court-based units
  • RCJ Advice dealt with 9,601 civil enquiries and 9,366 family enquiries, helping over 7,500 clients
  • Through Advocate, volunteer barristers provided 742 pieces of pro bono legal work for litigants in person, including written advice and representation up to Court of Appeal
  • We represented the perspective of litigants in person through high level engagement with HMCTS and the Ministry of Justice, in particular the Reform Programme
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About us

The Access to Justice Foundation, PO Box 64162, London WC2A 9AN. enquiries@atjf.org.uk

The Access to Justice Foundation is a company limited by guarantee (No. 6714178) and a Registered Charity in England and Wales (No. 1126147) and Scotland (No. SC048584). Registered office: 10 Queen Street Place, London EC4R 1AG.