Someone who files a civil case on his or her own behalf is often referred to as
a pro se or pro se litigant (pronounced pro say). "Pro se" is a Latin phrase meaning
"for oneself." If you are a pro se litigant, the resources listed below are intended
to be helpful to you.
The rules, procedures and law that affect your case are very often hard to understand.
With that in mind, you should seriously consider trying to obtain professional legal
assistance from an attorney instead of representing yourself as a pro se party.
The staff of the Clerk's Office can help you by answering questions about procedures,
but they are prohibited from giving you legal advice. This means, for example,
that the Clerk's staff cannot do any of the following:
- recommend a legal course of action or suggest ways to help you win your case;
- predict how a district or magistrate judge may decide any issue;
- interpret the meaning of any judicial order; or
- interpret the local rules of this Court, federal procedural rules, federal statues,
or case law.
Although Court employees cannot give you legal advice, a free self-help assistance
program is available to pro se litigants. For information on this program, click here.
For a copy of a written guide to filing a civil case in federal court without an
attorney, click here.
For a table that summarizes the basic instructions for filing a civil case, click here.
For a list of forms often used in federal civil cases, click here.
For a link to information maintained by Illinois Legal Aid Online that discusses
filing a federal case without a lawyer, including a program that helps you fill
out forms you may need,
click here.
For more information on a settlement conference assistance program for pro se litigants,
click here.