Can a Lawyer Take Over My Trial If I’ve Been Representing Myself? California’s Pro Bono Jury-Trial Program for Self-Represented Plaintiffs

Every year, Californians carry their own civil cases toward a jury trial and then face the part of the case that is least forgiving of inexperience: picking and persuading a jury. This office built a limited pro bono program for short trials. A self-represented plaintiff may send a written inquiry early for preliminary factual screening. In rare, carefully selected cases, Attorney David L. Milligan — Board Certified in Civil Trial Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy — may later substitute in, after the mandatory settlement conference has failed and while at least five days remain before the applicable pre-trial document deadline, to prepare the required pre-trial documents and try the case to the jury through verdict at no attorney’s fee. The five-day interval is the firm’s acceptance criterion.

This article explains how the program works in plain terms. The controlling description — every criterion, exclusion, and condition — lives on the program page itself: Pro Bono Jury Trials for Self-Represented Litigants. If anything here and there could ever be read differently, the program page controls.

Quick readiness check

A potential fit is a California civil jury trial for a self-represented plaintiff, expected to take about one to three days, with a short witness list, manageable exhibits, and a case that will be ready on the existing schedule. For preliminary screening, identify the trial date and estimated length; the type of case; the number of witnesses and exhibits; the status and date of the mandatory settlement conference; any pre-trial-document due dates in the court’s order or instructions, if known; and what work remains. An early inquiry does not by itself reserve the firm, guarantee acceptance, begin an engagement, protect a deadline, or start a full case workup.

Who qualifies for an engagement — every one of these must be true

• A California civil case set for a jury trial — not a bench trial, not an arbitration — with the jury already demanded and the advance jury fees already paid (Code of Civil Procedure § 631), verified from the court’s docket.
• You are the plaintiff, representing yourself in propria persona.
• The mandatory settlement conference has already been held and failed before the firm accepts and enters the case. Preliminary screening may occur earlier.
• At least five days remain before the applicable pre-trial document deadline when the firm is retained, so the firm has a preparation window. That interval is the firm’s acceptance requirement, not a universal California filing deadline; the actual dates governing a case come from applicable court orders, rules, and instructions. A passed applicable deadline almost certainly disqualifies the case.
• The case is small: genuinely preparable in days — roughly a one-to-three-day trial, a short witness list, a manageable set of exhibits.
• Every required trial subpoena is already served before engagement — witnesses, records (subpoenas duces tecum), and foundational witnesses such as records custodians. Serving or curing subpoenas is outside the offered scope, and the firm accepts only a matter it reasonably determines can be tried competently and diligently with that work excluded.

What the engagement is — the trial, only the trial

If the firm accepts a case, the client and the firm sign a written limited-scope agreement, and the firm becomes counsel of record when its substitution is filed. The agreed services cover preparing the required pre-trial documents and trying the trial setting then scheduled through verdict or another conclusion of that setting. They do not include discovery, earlier litigation, a retrial, a continued trial date, post-trial motions, costs, enforcement, or appeal. If the scheduled trial concludes or is continued, the firm will promptly file a then-effective signed substitution or seek relief through the applicable court procedure. The firm remains counsel of record until the substitution or relief order is filed, served, and effective, and will take reasonable steps required to avoid reasonably foreseeable prejudice. Any further representation requires a new written agreement.

The condition that surprises people: the firm does not fix cases

This program does not include seeking a continuance to repair the case, serving or curing trial subpoenas, seeking expert-designation relief, reopening discovery, or repairing earlier litigation. The firm accepts only a matter it reasonably determines can be tried competently and diligently with those tasks excluded, and the written engagement records the client’s informed consent to that scope. Expert testimony may be excluded when the predicates of Code of Civil Procedure § 2034.300 are met; other evidence, admissions, and prior rulings may also limit the trial. If circumstances materially change after the firm appears, the firm will consult the client and comply with its professional duties and applicable court procedures. A material change does not automatically expand the engagement to excluded work or a full case workup; the firm may seek withdrawal or other appropriate relief. Clients who already need excluded work should seek full-service counsel before trial. No outcome is promised, predicted, or implied.

What “pro bono” covers — and what it does not

No attorney’s fee is charged for the trial. Costs are different, and they are all the client’s: jury fees (already posted, plus the daily fees during trial), the court reporter (arranged and paid in advance by the client), witness fees, exhibits. The firm pays and advances nothing. And the program exists to try cases — not to raise settlement offers: inquiries must state their settlement history and confirm a genuine intention to try the case to a verdict. The decision to settle always remains the client’s; offers are relayed promptly. If the client settles, scheduled trial work ends, but the firm will complete the limited representation and any required transition under applicable court procedure.

How to ask — and what to expect

Inquiries are accepted in writing only, through the contact form, with “PRO BONO TRIAL” at the start of the message. You may inquire before the mandatory settlement conference for preliminary factual screening, or promptly after it fails. An early inquiry does not by itself reserve the firm, begin an engagement, protect a deadline, or start a full case workup. Acceptance still requires a failed settlement conference and the firm’s five-day interval before the applicable pre-trial document deadline. Because of the volume expected, the firm responds only to inquiries it is actually considering: if you do not hear back, the firm is unable to take your case, and no reply is coming — please do not follow up or call. Keep preparing to try the case yourself, and do not wait on this office for anything.

Common questions

Full criteria, scope, and conditions: Pro Bono Jury Trials for Self-Represented Litigants.