Litigants in person in private family law cases

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) 2012 removed most private family cases from the scope of legal aid after April 2013. It was anticipated that the volume and proportion of litigants in person would increase as a result. This report presents findings from a study commissioned by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to provide evidence of the experiences and support needs of litigants in person in private family law cases. Litigants in person (hereafter LIPs) define those litigants who  represent themselves in court and include a range of litigants who may have received advice or representation at some point in their case. This study focuses on the experience of LIPs prior to the legal aid reforms in April 2013. It was designed to inform policy and practice responses to LIPs following the legal aid changes.