Someone who files a civil case on his or her own behalf is often referred to as a pro se or pro se litigant (pronounced pro say). "Pro se" is a Latin phrase meaning "for oneself." If you are a pro se litigant, the resources listed on this page are intended to be helpful to you.
The rules, procedures and law that affect your case are very often hard to understand. With that in mind, you should seriously consider trying to obtain professional legal assistance from an attorney instead of representing yourself as a pro se party.
Obtaining Legal Assistance
You can contact a lawyer referral service to be connected with an experienced lawyer in your area. In Chicago and Cook County, you can contact the Chicago Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service at (312) 554-2001 or https://lrs.chicagobar.org.
Outside of Cook County, you can contact the Illinois State Bar Association IllinoisLawyerFinder at (800) 922-8757 or https://www.isba.org/public/illinoislawyerfinder.
The Hibbler Pro Se Federal Court Help Desk is a free self-help assistance program is available to pro se litigants. It connects pro se litigants with volunteer attorneys for 45-minute appointments. The Hibbler Help Desk is not staffed by court employees. The Uptown People's Law Center staffs the Hibbler Help Desk and to make an appointment, please visit this webpage.
Illinois Legal Aid Online is an organization that provides online information regarding filing a federal case without a lawyer, including a program that helps you fill out the forms that you may need.
Clerk's Office
The staff of the Clerk's Office can help you by answering questions about procedures, but they are prohibited from giving you legal advice. This means, for example, that the Clerk's staff cannot do any of the following:
- recommend a legal course of action or suggest ways to help you win your case;
- predict how a district or magistrate judge may decide any issue;
- interpret the meaning of any judicial order; or
- interpret the local rules of this Court, federal procedural rules, federal statues, or case law.
You may contact the Clerk's Office at (312) 435-5670. More information is available on the Clerk's Office page of this website.
Pro Se Electronic Submission
Pro se litigants are not permitted to e-file new cases on CM/ECF. All new cases must be filed using the court's Pro Se Filer Submission webpage or alternatively, by paper with the Clerk's Office.
Applications are typically processed within 3-5 business days of receipt. Once your application is approved you will receive your CM/ECF login ID and password for the District Court, Northern District of Illinois via the email address that you provided on this form.