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Be ready for anything and a ton of headaches. At least in my experience judges are more understanding of procedural defects etc when dealing with pro se so pick and choose your battles on that front
I have a good one for you. When I did a criminal trial against a sovereign citizen pro se defendant, I made sure the judge took judicial notice of any administrative orders in our circuit regarding observing the same rules of decorum (addressing court, OC, jury, limits on arguments etc) and basic professionalism (no making faces, address court not OC etc) that apply to attorneys, as well as dress code. You should have something similar in your circuit. Find it and use it to rein in this "fool for a client" before your trial turns into a zoo. Your judge might appreciate your anticipation of any issues that may arise in this regard when it comes to making rulings in your favor, if I were a betting man. 😉
Coach
I have not litigated against many pro se parties in my normal civil lit practice but have done so a few times on pro bono matters.
I think it’s helpful to pick and choose your battles and to refrain from a desire to prove how terrible of a job the pro de litigant is doing. They are not an attorney so you can’t hold them to the same standards you would even the crappiest attorney bc the judge certainly won’t.
If a document is poorly worded, formatted etc - get over it. If there are procedural defects that have not substantially impaired your client’s case those might be ones to let go bc if you keep complaining to the court you will be seen as the petulant child not the pro se litigant.
By saving your complaints for the truly egregious issues the court will notice and be more inclined to act. I only wanted to flag issues that would be reversible error for the judge to not intervene, and when I did I would agree to allow the pro se litigant cure the procedural defects - waive deadlines for certain things etc if I felt the judge would be inclined to do so. This will buy you an enormous amount of credibility and good will from the court.
Also treat the pro se litigant with some measure of respect and not all attorney to attorney bluster or condescending better than thou attitude. For the most part pro as parties just want an opportunity to be heard and feel like someone will listen to them once they get it out of their system they are much more likely to drop their case or agree to a de minimis settlement.
Once you keep that in mind see it as the easiest case you can have and enjoy it.
Agree. Treat them with respect, and pick your battles. As much as litigators hate dealing with pro se parties, the courts hate it even more (and deal with a much higher volume). You will waste a lot of your clients money if you give into the pro se party’s shenanigans or nitpick small issues (the court will be inclined to overlook the latter). Instead, focus on finding a solid out for the court. Trust me, they want you to find a way out, whether through msj or some other manner.
Hahahaha. Good luck. Also, enjoy the hours boost because you’ll be dealing with tons of filings! Are they a sovereign citizen? If so, they’ll try and sue for your identity through the UCC.
Document every communication. Serve them with pleadings three different ways. Mail. Certified mail. Fax. Pony express. Something that gets a receipt. And have enormous patience.
I second the multiple methods of service. It’s an easy out for a judge to kick something for lack of service, so serving early and often is the best protection. We gave a pro se defendant a heads up when we were working to meet a particular pretrial deadline, as well. This allowed him to figure out what he needed to do and, and really helped our credibility with the judge.
Get a bigger retainer and keep getting them to acknowledge they are not represented by counsel
Even if they are alleging gobbledegook, assume that if a cause of action can theoretically fit the facts pleaded, the judge will find that cause of action. This is true if the facts fit more than one potential cause of action, you will need to assume the judge will infer all of them, and you need to address all of them in your dispositive motion.