When a person gets sued by like a major corporation or a big organisation like the RIAA, what stops the person from going to court himself if he feels he had enough evidence to prove his case without paying for high-priced lawyers?
Also I assume the state doesn't provide you with a lawyer in civil suits right? Which seems that if its true, that if the poor/middle class man was sued by a rich man for whatever reason, the rich man will win because the poor man will just settle because he cant afford the defense lawayer.
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I mean its not like as if the judge is gonna say to you "You cannot defend against these charges unless you have hire a lawyer". Of course if you had the money, it would be much better to hire a lawyer.
I have several years of law training, yet I'd still retain a lawyer if I was sued by a walking wad of cash. Even if you think the case is yours, you'll probably lose over technicalities. Courts are very formal.
Unfortunately, judges tend to look poorly upon people who represent themselves. I suspect it's because most people who represent themselves are terrible at it, even if they think they're the second coming. They ramble on about irrelevancies, try to convince the judge with polemics (good for a jury, but it'll only piss off a judge), miss paperwork, etc.
The only way to effectively hold down a case with little money is to do most of the research yourself, and hand it to your lawyer to clean up and represent. Even if you have the money, you should never rely on a lawyer to do research or properly develop a case, because they won't. Trust me on this.
If they try to bargain with the other party, be very careful, because they're just trying to wrap up your case for quick cash. If they come back with something unacceptable, don't let them convince you otherwise. They're not on your side, and don't forget it.
Lastly, 3/4 of lawyers are inept fools. Don't believe what they say without at least two other opinions (don't let the others know you're comparing opinions) and doing the research yourself. Also make certain to always read any paperwork they submit before they submit it, because I've seen some disgustingly terrible mistakes that probably destroyed their client's case.
>>1
In most countries it's totally legal to represent yourself in court. As much as they might look down on you, it's your right. It's also about as smart as climbing Everest without a local guide, but none the less it's do-able. If you're a lawyer. But from what I hear most lawyers get a mate to help them out in representation as the lone gunman doesn't make friends or influence the jury or judge.