For people handling their own case
A system built to help you take on the system.
Every document, date and person in one place — with AI tools that help you put your case together.
Where are you starting?
Free to start · No credit card · Not ready yet? See how it works
Your case file is private and belongs to you. We never sell or share it — only you and the people you choose can see it. Learn more
How it works
Everything about your case in one place, AI tools that help you build it, and one organized file you can hand to anyone you choose.
1. Load the whole case in
Facts, timeline, parties, documents, evidence and deadlines — in your words, in one place, with nothing left out.
2. Ask your own case file
Get answers pulled from what's in it, save the ones that matter, and keep a list of what you want to raise.
3. Share it with anyone
One link for your attorney, your family or an advocate — labelled, expiring, and revocable whenever you want.
≈3 in 5
About 3 in 5 people in civil court have no lawyer.
Source: Self-Represented Litigation Network
You're not the only one doing this alone.
Start my case fileThe hundred emails
You're about to send your attorney a hundred emails. Don't.
It's annoying for them. It's expensive for you. And after all of it, they still can't see what's going on — no timeline, no list of who's involved, no idea which papers exist and which don't.
So load everything here instead. Create a login, build one case file, and share it with anyone you want. They open one link and see the whole thing — and you stop paying attorney rates for the organizing, the document wrangling, and the emails.
One payment opens the case file, and it covers the lifetime of that case. A monthly subscription is optional — it keeps every case file live, retained and searchable. Nothing is charged per question or per document.
No hundred-email case
Your attorney stops digging through a scattered inbox, and stops asking you the same question twice.
Share with anyone you choose
An attorney, a family member, an advocate, a legal aid office. One link, the whole file, always current.
You keep control
Label who it went to, see when it was last opened, and turn it off the moment you want to.
<1/10
Pro se plaintiffs are less than one-tenth as likely to win as represented plaintiffs; pro se defendants about one-third as likely.
Source: University of Chicago Law Review
Being organized is how you close that gap.
Get my case file readyCommon situations
Pick the one closest to yours to see the step-by-step path.
Fight a Case
You're bringing a case
- “I need custody or a parenting plan”
- “Someone owes me money and won't pay”
- “A business or contractor wronged me”
You're starting the case yourself — a custody or parenting petition, money you're owed, or a business that wronged you. You file the complaint, serve the other side, and move toward a hearing or trial.
Start hereDefend a Case
You've been served
- “I'm being evicted”
- “I'm being sued over a debt”
- “I was served with papers and don't know what to do”
You've been served — an eviction, a debt lawsuit, or papers you didn't expect. You need to respond before the deadline, raise your defenses, and protect yourself.
Start hereHousekeeping
Records & admin
- “I need copies of my records”
- “Something on my file is wrong”
- “I have an administrative filing to make”
You need records, a correction, or a filing — the paperwork that keeps your situation in order, without a court fight attached.
Start hereDo the prep work. Hand it over ready.
You'll want an attorney for court. Everything before that, you can do yourself.
Getting a case ready — the facts, the timeline, the parties, the documents, the evidence, the deadlines — is the part that takes the hours and costs the money. Build it once in your case file, then hand your attorney one organized package to review.
Build the case file
Facts, timeline, parties, documents, evidence, and deadlines — all in one place, in your words.
Hand it over in one click
One button turns everything you supplied into an organized package your attorney can open and review.
Connect with an attorney where you are
Find an attorney in your state, ready to pick up a case that's already put together.
The problem
People who represent themselves lose. Over and over.
Not because they're wrong — because the system wasn't built for them. That's why we built ProSe Law: to help people representing themselves win.
32%
Protective orders granted to people without a lawyer — versus 83% with one.
Source: Temple Political & Civil Rights Law Review
3%
Federal cases won by people who filed without a lawyer.
Source: Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy
Why we built this
One of us has stood in court alone. The other has spent a career on the other side of the table.
Most people facing a court case can't afford a lawyer, and the system isn't built for the people who show up without one. We came together to change the odds.
Jay Gotra
Co-founder
I've been sued, and I've had to defend myself — in divorce court, in federal court and in civil court. I know what it feels like to open a stack of papers you don't understand, with a deadline you can't miss and no one to call. I've watched people representing themselves lose, not because they were wrong, but because they couldn't get organized in time. ProSe Law is the system I wish I'd had.
Jeff Padwa
Co-founder
Jeff is a Rhode Island attorney who has spent his career using the law to protect ordinary people. As Providence City Solicitor he created the city's Affirmative Litigation Unit, and he later served as Chief of Staff and General Counsel to the Rhode Island General Treasurer. He has been recognized for his contributions to the civil justice system. He joined ProSe Law because the people who need help most are the ones least able to pay for it.
92%
Low-income Americans get no or inadequate legal help for 92% of their substantial civil legal problems.
Source: Legal Services Corporation, 2022 Justice Gap Report
46%
46% of those who didn't seek help cite cost.
Source: Legal Services Corporation, 2022 Justice Gap Report
Most people can't afford a lawyer. You can start here free.
Start free