Navigating the Maze: U.S. Court Opens Do-It-Yourself Help Desk

"This way, someone has a chance to talk to a lawyer to understand their rights and the federal court system," Roodman said. "People might come and the staff lawyer will explain they really don't have a federal case."

If the help-desk lawyer thinks there is a valid case, he or she will help prepare the complaint and related papers and filings.

"When you see people struggling so much to get their rights vindicated, we want to be able to help them do that," Hibbler said.

Staff from the nonprofit organization Illinois Legal Aid Online, which offers a Web site guiding pro se litigants through filings, also helped design and implement the help-desk program. A computer terminal specifically for litigants to access the legal aid Web site was recently installed in the federal courthouse.

"The computer asks them questions, and then you click a button and behind the scenes all the forms are filled in," said Lisa Colpoys, executive director of Illinois Legal Aid Online.

Last year, more than 1,000 pro se cases were filed in the Northern District of Illinois. Many involved employment discrimination or other civil rights issues. But there have also been cases involving patents or auto accidents.

"There's a fairly large variety where you can have federal jurisdiction," said Chicago Bar Foundation Executive Director Bob Glaves, mentioning student loans, bankruptcy and administrative issues with Social Security. He said it would be very difficult for "one attorney to be familiar with all these areas," but under the program, the help-desk lawyer has the staff and the ability to work with other lawyers.

Ed Grossman, executive director and co-founder of the Chicago Legal Clinic, added that it would be "nearly impossible" for a lay person to successfully complete and win a federal case. "It's a big long shot that anyone could wend their way through that without an attorney," he said. "It would be like me trying to take out my own kidney."