Help on way for self-representing civil case litigants
An AmeriCorps volunteer will travel to Libby from Kalispell at least monthly, starting this coming Wednesday, to help guide self-representing litigants through civil legal matters.
Figuring out which forms to fill out, how to complete them correctly and where and when to submit them can be a daunting task for people new to the legal system, so as part of the Justice for Montanans Project, Nat Jacob will be available to help anyone, free of charge, with civil legal matters.
It is estimated that statewide at least one party in over half of every family law case, which includes divorce, child custody and orders of protection, is a self-represented litigant.
“The need is significant everywhere,” said Bonnie Olson, Flathead County’s district court administrator and Jacob’s site supervisor. “There’s a ton of people that don’t have the resources to pay for attorneys but they have legal needs.”
Jacob’s service area includes Flathead and Lincoln counties. He helps lighten the load at Flathead County’s self-help law center, which was established January 2008, and will begin visiting Libby on a monthly basis. He will adjust his schedule according to interest, coming additional days if need be or even setting up in Troy and Eureka.
Jacob can’t offer legal advice because he is not an attorney, but he can direct people through civil legal matters.
Funded by the Montana Supreme Court Self-Help Law Program with support from the federal AmeriCorps Direct Program, Jacob and five other volunteers began training in Helena last fall to ultimately offer legal guidance statewide.
Jacob then continued to receive instruction from Olson, Kandy Satterlee, resource officer at Flathead County’s self-help law center, and Peg Allison, Flathead County’s clerk of court.
“We wanted to make sure that by the time Nat hit the road he would be able to provide meaningful assistance,” said Lonnie Browning, Self-Help Law Program administrator for the Montana Supreme Court’s Office of the Court Administrator. “And he’s backed up by a lot of people who take access to justice very seriously.”
Jacob and the other AmeriCorps volunteers receive a stipend that runs out in August, but Browning is optimistic that the federal government will agree to support the program long-term. The state grant administrator made a recommendation last week to the federal government to continue funding the program for a second year of the grant cycle.
“I’m hopeful that we’re not talking about two years, we’re talking about a decade,” Browning said. “I don’t want this to stop suddenly at the end of the summer.”
Jacob will be available Wednesday on the second floor of the Lincoln County Courthouse, 10 a.m.-noon and 1-3 p.m. To schedule an appointment, contact Jacob at 406-437-2029. For information about days and hours of operations, contact the district court at 293-7781, ext. 269.