Goals/Conclusions

The Court, with enormous support from the bar and nonprofit organizations, has greatly expanded access for the self-represented. We have a number of targeted programs for self-represented parties. Those who seek assistance are generally able to find at least some guidance, either through the self-help desks or a clinic. Despite these efforts, the indisputable conclusion is that it is better to be represented by qualified counsel. The disparity in outcomes between self-represented debtors and those who have an attorney is vast. While many gaps have been plugged and many debtors are able to succeed without counsel, the Court’s goal is still to encourage attorney representation wherever possible.

The Court’s knowledge about BPPs’ role in our self-represented cases has increased, but is still not as comprehensive as we would like. It remains difficult to distinguish between “the good, the bad and the ugly.” There are still far too many debtors who never take advantage of the legitimate free legal advice services available to them, or who fall prey to fraud and exorbitant charges. Of approximately 38,000 self-represented parties in 2011, less than 25 percent were able to take advantage of the free legal assistance available. A substantial number of the rest obtain assistance from BPPs.

We have made significant progress in understanding the specific challenges of Court staff in addressing the issues of the self-represented population. Understanding what training the staff needs, and how to be most effective in responding to inquiries, is an ongoing initiative. We have provided appropriate resources physically and online to assist litigants in seeking relief at the Court properly and competently. Our ongoing initiatives should continue to reduce staff time spent processing incorrect filings, allowing staff to focus efforts on offering services providing the greatest benefit to litigants.

We will continue to measure whether our existing systems and programs are effective in addressing the needs of self-represented litigants, to evaluate whether the Court is utilizing ever-shrinking resources cost-effectively, and to target programs and services more precisely in the future. Very simply, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California must serve the largest self-represented population of any bankruptcy court in the country. We will continue to look for the best way to do this with the resources available.

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