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Pro Se Cafe', Statewide, Orlando, FL (2026)

06/14/2026

You speak to several lawyers. You ask them all the relevant questions. The one you select sounds knowledgeable and articulate, looks you right in the eyes and says they will help you, and adds that they know/went to law school with/has lunch with/is friends with, the Judge/GAL/opposing counsel etc. You pay them their retainer, sign the retainer agreement, a few months go by and it looks like the lawyer is working diligently on your case. But then there is a shift, you ask questions, but are not being answered, no motions are filed, no hearings are set, no movement on your case is being made, no one is responding to you. It is like a totally different person emerged. Did I just get scammed you think? Well, maybe you didn't but there are other things that factor in to your representation that most people don't think of when they hire an attorney. 1) Clients appear difficult when they have more than one attorney, which encourages keeping your attorney. Many times when clients start to have dissatisfaction with their attorney and start talking to people, looking this up on the internet, and otherwise researching this, they start to realize this. 2) It will cost a client more time and money to get a new attorney rather than keeping the current one. Attorneys know this, and again this will be a big factor in encouraging a client to stay with an attorney even if the are very unhappy with the attorney 3) bar associations generally are not concerned with run of the mill bar complaints and unless egregious, the complaints will get dismissed and worse the bar associates ate biased, targetung certain lawuers while lawyers who make “donations” to the bar get no repercussions 4) the practice of law is one that is extremely regulated. Only lawyers can give legal advice, represent a person, and assist others with legal matter in general. People almost need representation and without it they would be generally lost. The list goes on but these are some of the main issues.

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05/31/2026

self-represented litigants (and attorneys) who use AI are required to certify that legal authorities cited in filings are accurate.

Responding to the growing use — and misuse — of generative artificial intelligence in court filings, the Florida Supreme Court has amended statewide court rules to require attorneys and self-represented litigants to certify that legal authorities cited in filings are accurate. The amended rules,...

04/18/2026

GALs, mediators, parenting coordinators and other family court professionals, why you might not be getting the best person suited for child advocacy. Your attorney recommends a GAL, they send you a list of mediators, they have a selection for almost any professional that you 'need' for your case inevitably costing several more thousands of dollars that you now don't have to use to support your children. Said professional starts working with your family and you have many questions, "why do I feel like they aren't listening to me?" "why do I think this person is on the other parents 'side'?" "why am I feeling like my hard earned money is not being well spent?" and the list goes on. Now I am not saying that this scenario happens all the time. There are professionals with integrity out there. I am a mediator and was a GAL. My concern was to my job well. There are others out there. But here are some things that are common and occur in the 'family law industry'. 1) Attorneys have referral circles. These GALs, mediators, and other professional are ones they typically recommend all the time on most every case. There are many issues with this. First, referrals go both ways, so if your attorney is referring people to these professionals, they are referring people right back. They are in a symbiotic relationship to both earn money. Now both of these individuals could be the best in their field and are just passing along another competent professionals name, or they could be linked financially. This is not to say that these people don't know what they are doing, but family law is not a 'one size fits all' mentality. Different families have different issues and finding a professional that is aligned with your family issues is of utmost important. Say for example you have a parent who is a substance abuser, you want a professional that understands that dynamic, or a mental health issue, personality disorder etc. What about your kids? Do they have any diagnoses or special needs? What a professional that works closely with special needs children and truly understands and empathizes with them? There is a lot to consider and typically selecting a professional for a family is an individualized approach. 2) Who refers, and who pays this professional can have an impact on their decision. This is sad, but true. Also, if this professional has a pro se parent on one side and a parent with an attorney on the other, advocating with the represented parent will ultimately bring in more income to this person. Because (see number 1) they may become a referral source. And of course if they speak volumes about how wonderful their client is or supports the client's position, is it not reasonable that the attorney will recommend this professional again? 3) The ability to pick a professional that the Judge has a rapport with. Mediators aren't applicable here, this is typically for a professional that will testify or present evidence to the Court. So if I am an attorney that knows the family court Judge just absolutely respects and loves person X, I am going to have them in my referral network, and have my client pay for them and let the GAL do the talking to the Judge. More likely I will let the GAL side with my client and the other side will settle. When it comes to paying the GAL, I never recommended to my client that the other side paid them. That is too risky. Money talks. Either split or pay. And these are things that should not be occurring when we are talking about CHILDREN and their ADVOCACY. But we live in a capitalist society and money touches everything, including family court and children.

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03/31/2026

“There once was a litigant pro se,

Who let an AI lead the way.

It briefed every claim,

Cited cases—by name,

That vanished by morning’s next day.”
Many pro se individuals falsely rely on AI and think that this helps their case in court. It does not. The issue is that your AI only knows the legal information that you feed it. It is not to say that AI can't be helpful. It can supplement legal knowledge, However, if you don't know the law, you most likely won't be able to feed it the correct information to get it to work properly for you. Many courts have already implemented restrictions and notice requirements for AI and soon, I believe most all Courts will have these. If you are pro se and need assistance with drafting, discovery or evidence/exhibit organization, mediation, divorce coaching, or speaking appropriately in Court, we are here to help. https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-news/fourth-dca-takes-aim-at-ai-generated-slop-in-pro-se-filings/?fbclid=IwY2xjawQ4wwFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETEyUFVubE1ZdEtNMml6U1Njc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHrtbGMMZm1sm7TiE0XeLMI0h_y-LvUUhtIfEn2KMmNz15jS5YgmXm8DnMwVG_aem_jNKjIfcdj2yNEhFFLi2aag

The Fourth District Court of Appeal is growing more frustrated with self represented litigants submitting what one judge calls “AI-generated slop.” A March 25 opinion begins with a description of a business dispute, and siding with the plaintiff, affirms a trial court’s enforcement of a settle...

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