When should I not represent myself?

When jail, parental rights, appeals, immigration consequences, or complex assets are involved — or whenever the other side asks you to sign something final. Exhaust legal aid, bar referral services, law clinics and limited-scope options first.

Do I get a free lawyer for criminal charges?

If you face jail time and cannot afford counsel, you have the right to appointed counsel — tell the court you need a public defender.

What is limited-scope representation?

Hiring a lawyer for part of a case — drafting a key filing or coaching before a hearing — at a fraction of full-representation cost. Many lawyers offer it if asked.

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DocketX / Can't afford a lawyer

The cases we tell you not to handle alone

A site built on honesty owes you this page most of all. Self-representation is real and works for many cases — and there are situations where the downside is severe, permanent, or both, where our advice is to exhaust every path to counsel before standing alone.

The list

Criminal charges with jail exposure — you have a right to appointed counsel if you cannot afford one; ask the court. CPS involvement or termination of parental rights — the stakes are permanent. Appeals — technical, deadline-ruled, and unforgiving of procedural error. Immigration consequences — outcomes in other cases can trigger them invisibly. Complex divorces — retirement division, businesses, hidden assets. Anything where the other side's lawyer proposes you sign something final.

Finding counsel with little money

Legal aid first (income-based, below). Bar lawyer-referral services offer low-cost initial consultations. Limited-scope representation buys the critical hours. Law school clinics take real cases with supervised students. For criminal matters: the public defender is a real lawyer — ask for one.

Free and low-cost help, right now

Legal Services Corporation — find free legal aid near you by ZIP code; eligibility is income-based.
ABA Free Legal Answers — post a civil legal question and a volunteer lawyer answers, free, income-qualified.
TexasLawHelp.org — plain-language guides and court-approved Texas forms.
Texas Judicial Branch self-help — the courts' own resources for people without lawyers.

Free tools

What we built for exactly this

DocketBuster

Sits beside your live hearing in any state and explains each step in plain language, with the real rule behind it.

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Citation checker

Verify any case citation against 18.1 million real ones, free, before you rely on it.

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The rules, verbatim

Eviction, small claims, custody procedure and more, with the controlling rules quoted word for word.

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The honest limit

When you really should have a lawyer

Some situations carry consequences that are hard or impossible to undo, and handling them alone is genuinely dangerous: criminal charges that risk jail, cases involving child protective services or termination of parental rights, appeals, immigration consequences, and complex property or custody disputes. If your case is one of these, exhaust the free options above and the state bar's lawyer referral service (referral consultations are typically low-cost) before going alone. We would rather lose you as a user than watch you lose something that mattered.

Not legal advice and not a law firm. We never promise outcomes: self-representation carries real risk, courts dismiss cases on procedure, and the honest version of help includes saying so. If you qualify for free legal aid, take it.