The Law Society of Northern Ireland, Ulster University (UU) and the Litigant in Person Reference Group have created a Charter to assist lawyers, Litigants in Person (LIP), judiciary and court staff to build working relationships and encourage better communication and conduct throughout the cases in which they are engaged.
As part of ongoing engagement with LIPS, UU held a Conference in December 2023 which was opened by Dame Siobhan Keegan, Lady Chief Justice. Many LIPs spoke at the event and referred to the trauma they endured both through the circumstances that had brought them into the legal system and the court process itself, together with the lack of empathy they faced when managing their cases. Similarly, the level of distrust and fear held by solicitors in dealing with LIPs was apparent. More information on this research into this topic can be found on the Ulster University website.
As a result the Society committed to working with UU to create a document to be entered into at the inception of a case between the legal representative and the LIP in an effort to bring the parties together to communicate more freely and dispel some of the fears on both sides, in the hope that this would lead to expectations being better managed and each party having an insight into how the other operates. The view was to alleviate common pain points encountered on each side and lead to greater efficiency in LIP cases progressing through the Court system.
Utilising UU’s Human-centred Design as a research method, a series of workshops gathered LIPs, solicitors, McKenzie Friends and other relevant stakeholders to work through the various issues encountered by all, out of which evolved the Charter for Effective Participation and Communication between Solicitors and Litigants in Person in Northern Ireland.
The Charter can be viewed in the link below.