The Legal Situation (United Kingdom)
Legal Aid has been steadily reduced by governments of all stripes, in both issues to be covered and rates paid for services. Some 90% of the UK population lacks access to local Legal Aid (The National Community Law Project) and so more people will face taking another party to court, or defending oneself, without the benefit of solicitors or barristers – they must do so as Litigants in Person (LIP). Judges will generally give LIPs extra leeway, and even a little help, but the fact remains that increasing numbers of people have to face the legal system by themselves.
There are efforts to counter-balance this, e.g. the CLOCK organization, which, in Canterbury, is manned by Law students, trained to offer help to LIPs. This help is not advice in the law. It is about directing people to the right place, alerting them to use the right forms, and to follow the right procedures, and to help organize what the LIPs want to say.
There are limits to how many people CLOCK can help, and it is situated at Canterbury Combined Court, so people generally are only aware of it at the late stage of actually being in the court building.