How to File a Lawsuit Without a Lawyer

"First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers," says a character in Shakespeare's Henry VI, but you don't have to hold to such extreme views to recognize that an attorney is expensive. If you decide to file a lawsuit without a lawyer, do extensive reading and research on your court's self-help website before you prepare your summons and complaint.

If you talk to an attorney about filing a legal case for you, she can help you determine whether your position is viable, whether you still have time to file your lawsuit and where you should file. If you plan to act without an attorney, this is research you must do yourself. The best place to start is on your court's self-help website, if it has one. Most court websites have a lot of good information that will help you figure out these basic questions. Some courts have staff available that can answer your questions and get you started in the right direction. You can also hire a paralegal to help you.

If you want to file a lawsuit on behalf of your business and not yourself personally, you'll have to get an attorney. Most states don't allow corporate entities to represent themselves in court.

To file a lawsuit, you have to prepare the opening documents. These are called the summons and the complaint or the petition. The court usually provides fill-in-the-blank forms that you can, and sometimes must, use. In the complaint, you name yourself as the person bringing the suit – the plaintiff – and identify the people or entities you are suing, called the defendants. You also must include facts that give a general description of the circumstances and the types of injuries or damages you suffered. The document called the "summons" tells the defendants how long they have to respond to the complaint by filing their own documents. In some jurisdictions, you complete the summons yourself; in others, the court generates the summons after you file the complaint.

A complaint must state a "cause of action" against the defendant. This means that you have to do something more than merely complain about someone's actions. The facts you describe must constitute a legal claim over which you can sue. For example, you may be furious because your upstairs neighbors vacuum at 7 a.m. on Sunday mornings, but unless this is illegal in your city, you probably can't state a legal cause of action or recover any damages. If you have doubts about whether your issues state a legal cause of action, it may be wise to run your complaint by an attorney before you file it.

Every state has different rules about how to sufficiently plead a cause of action. Some states require more detail than others. Check those self-help sites or your local laws before filing to make sure you've done what you need to do.

"Service" in the context of a lawsuit has a particular meaning. It means that you have to deliver the legal documents to the other parties in a manner set out by law. Summons and complaints are usually personally served on the other side when an adult who is not a party to the lawsuit hands the documents to the other party. The person serving the papers signs a "proof of service" document, stating when and how she served the documents. File the summons and complaint with the court either before service or after service, depending on the rules of your jurisdiction.