Our cofounder Sonja Ebron loves to talk about pro se litigants. Her half-hour interview on Pro Se Nation began airing on Princeton (NJ) community television last week. Pro Se Nation’s host, MaryLynn Schiavi, is a former pro se litigant. She sued her employer in 2007 for several claims, including wrongful termination.
Like many facing court alone, she lost, but the lessons stayed with her. MaryLynn turned lemons into lemonade with Pro Se Nation TV. Courtroom5’s Sonja Ebron has represented herself for decades in everything from traffic court to civil racketeering claims. She lost a lot but also learned a lot along the way, enough to lead our design of an automated litigation platform that helps others.
She and MaryLynn covered a lot of ground in their interview (see video below), including:
- the most challenging situations Sonja has faced as a pro se litigant, and why she chooses to go pro se;
- the reaction of friends and family when they discovered Sonja was representing herself in court;
- her treatment by lawyers, judges, paralegals and others in the court system;
- how and when Courtroom5’s founders decided to create a resource for pro se litigants, and what the service entails;
- two really important pieces of advice for all pro se litigants; and
- her thoughts on how the court system could improve to provide greater access for people in court without a lawyer.
Here’s Sonja (cheesing hard) on Pro Se Nation:
The program premiered on Princeton Community TV on Thursday, June 14th (2018) at 7:30 p.m ET. It is set to air on Mondays at midnight and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. for the next several weeks. Add Princeton Community TV to your Roku to catch the stream. If you’ve got a story to share about your experience in court, reach out to MaryLynn Schiavi at Pro Se Nation and tell the world.
