Assisted Pro Se Service

America Family Law Center is a nonprofit charitable organization that strives to resolve as many situations as possible nonconfrontationally without litigation or court involvement. America Family Law Center has attorneys to assist clients who need Assisted Pro Se help with a legal case. America Family Law Center’s Assisted Pro Se clients in good standing can get advice, guidance, and coaching from attorneys to answer questions and help them resolve their situation or legal case to obtain the best possible outcome.

The Texas Access to Justice Commission (TAJC) defines assisted pro se as “helping self-represented litigants help themselves with limited assistance from lawyers.” America Family Law Center is recognized as the leading, most advanced, and premier provider of Assisted Pro Se services.

Assisted Pro Se services are so highly encouraged that the Texas Access to Justice Commission created a Self-Represented Litigants Committee (“SRL Committee”) devoted to Assisted Pro Se service. Both the Supreme Court of Texas (SCOT) through the Texas Access to Justice Foundation (TAGF) and the Office of the Attorney General of Texas provide grant funding for several Assisted Pro Se services to organizations who are unable to operate their Assisted Pro Se service without the help of public funds. The state of Texas hands out over $23 million to at least 18 organizations who provide some form of Assisted Pro Se service.

To get more information about state funding or Assisted Pro Se services, you may submit open records requests to the Texas Access to Justice Foundation (TAJF) and the child support division through the Office of the Attorney General requesting any records related to grant applications, grant awards, and fund distributions.

A 2023 study conducted by the Texas Access to Justice Commission, at the request of the Supreme Court of Texas, found that “90% of the civil legal needs of low-income Texans are unmet.” And “5.2 million Texans qualify for civil legal aid.” According to state law, Texas Government Code, Sec. 51.941(e) and SCOT Misc Docket No. 98-9001, paragraph 5, a person must be at or below 125 percent of the poverty level to qualify for civil legal aid. This means, to qualify for and be eligible for basic civil legal aid, an individual household’s total income cannot exceed $18,225 per year based on 2023 poverty law numbers.

America Family Law Center’s attorneys and legal staff work with our clients to help get their case or situation resolved with the best possible outcome. Many family law cases are resolved through mediation, agreement, or by default – most do not require a contested court trial for resolution. Outside attorneys are typically available for an additional fee when a client wants to engage such an attorney for a contested court hearing or otherwise (any fees for a 3rd party attorney are between the client and that attorney and do not involve AFLC). America Family Law Center does not prohibit or discourage its clients from hiring an attorney to represent them in their cases. Still, any such engagement would be by and between the client and the attorney and would be entirely separate and apart from the Assisted Pro Se services provided by America Family Law Center.

People involved in an active legal case may need legal documents. Although America Family Law Center’s Assisted Pro Se service does not include drafting legal documents, several resources are available to those needing legal documents. Several websites offer online forms or online legal document drafting services, like LegalZoom.com, ContractsCounsel.com, LegalTemplates.com, and many others. Law libraries are often good sources of information and forms, but some feel they need to be a lawyer to know how to use a law library. Attorneys will frequently draft documents for people. In some states, paralegals may be allowed to draft legal documents. Depending on the case, America Family Law Center may be able to refer people to a legal document service that will draft legal documents. People are encouraged to search online for document drafting services, which may change frequently.

Working with America Family Law Center does not create an attorney-client privilege relationship; should it be considered to do so, clients expressly waive their right to any attorney-client privilege. America Family Law Center’s Assisted Pro Se services are not appropriate for people wanting legal services that would include an attorney-client privilege relationship. America Family Law Center strives to keep client’s information private and secure. If you want the information about your situation covered by attorney-client privilege, then America Family Law Center’s services are not for you, and you should seek assistance elsewhere.

America Family Law Center’s Assisted Pro Se service may not be appropriate for litigants with a contested hearing where evidence needs to be put into the record or where third-party witnesses need to be questioned or with a very complex case – these types of matters are typically not appropriate for pro se litigants, and an Assisted Pro Se service is probably not appropriate.

A report to the Supreme Court of Texas from the Texas Access to Justice Commission dated February 6, 2012, talks about the Assisted Pro Se Subcommittee and the work it is doing. This section reads as follows:

“The Assisted Pro Se Subcommittee is working towards expanding the availability of legal services for low-income pro se litigants. Assisted pro se programs are an important component of legal service delivery because they provide pro se litigants with some level of attorney assistance, although less than full representation. It is an efficient way to help many people while maximizing limited attorney resources.

Assisted pro se programs essentially offer pro bono legal services on a limited scope basis to low-income individuals who are unable to get an attorney through legal aid. Assisted pro se projects run the gamut from simple advice clinics to document preparation (such as drafting a demand letter for landlord repairs or preparing court pleadings) to settlement or hearing preparation. The underlying consistency in all assisted pro se projects is that the litigant ultimately represents him or herself in the legal matter.

Many pro bono programs in Texas already use this model as an efficient means of helping several low-income people with similar uncontested legal problems at one time, while preserving valuable attorney resources for more complex or contested legal issues. The most common example is an assisted pro se clinic for those with uncontested divorces. Pro bono and legal aid programs are often able to help ten or more low-income litigants at one time using only one or two attorneys to walk them through the process of completing forms, filing their case, obtaining service, and proving up their final divorce decree.

To date, the Assisted Pro Se Subcommittee has compiled a comprehensive list of assisted pro se programs in Texas. It has also finished its review and modification of the portions of an existing best practices guide that relate to assisted pro se programs and practices. The Subcommittee will now turn to offering technical assistance to programs who wish to learn more about assisted pro se projects or request help with starting a project.”

Call America Family Law Center and we will help you to determine if your legal situation is appropriate for Assisted Pro Se service.

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America Family Law Center
can be contacted by
phone or text at 214-516-7700
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