The Pro Se Paralegal Assistance Plan
If you are handling a case yourself — a grievance appeal, a civil rights complaint, a postconviction motion, a records fight with a facility — you have probably already run into the real problem. It is usually not that you do not understand your own situation. Nobody understands it better than you do. It is that the system expects the paperwork carrying your case to look a certain way, arrive in a certain place, by a certain date, and nobody hands you the instructions. That gap is what this plan closes.
What you get
Document preparation. Complaints, motions, grievances and grievance appeals, records requests, notice letters, declarations, and supporting exhibits — prepared, formatted, and assembled the way courts and facilities expect to receive them.
Legal research support. Finding the rules, deadlines, forms, and authority that apply to your situation, and giving them to you in plain English so you can make your own decisions with real information in front of you.
Case organization. A timeline of what happened, an exhibit set that is indexed and readable, and a file a judge can follow without hunting. Cases are lost on disorganization more often than on the law.
Deadline tracking. Grievance appeal windows, notice deadlines, filing dates. We keep the calendar so a deadline does not pass while you are waiting on a phone call.
Attorney oversight. The work we prepare is subject to oversight by a licensed attorney.
Keep this prominent, not in the footer
We are not attorneys and we are not a law firm. That is not a technicality, so here is exactly what it means for you.
We do not give legal advice. We will not tell you whether to file, what claim to bring, or whether your case is strong. We do not choose your strategy — those decisions are yours, and they stay yours. We do not appear in court or speak for you. We do not predict outcomes, and anyone who does should worry you.
What we do is make sure that the document carrying your case is not the reason it fails.
Who it fits
People who are proceeding pro se — representing themselves — and want the paperwork done right. Families supporting someone inside who is filing on their own. People with a matter an attorney has declined, or one they would rather handle themselves — a declined case is not always a weak case; often it is simply not the kind of matter a contingency-fee practice can take on. Anyone facing a filing deadline who does not want to gamble on getting the format, the court, or the service requirements wrong.
If your situation is one where you really should have a lawyer, we will tell you that — and we can connect you with one of the attorneys we work with instead. We would rather send you to the right place than sell you the wrong thing.
How it works
1. Tell us what is going on. Use the intake form or call. There is no charge for reaching out and no obligation.
2. The scope-of-work interview. We go through the situation in detail: what has happened, what has already been filed, what the deadlines are, and what documents the matter actually needs. This is where the real work of the plan starts, because most people arrive unsure what they need and leave knowing.
3. A written scope and a quote. You get a plain-English description of exactly what we will prepare and what it costs, before any work begins. Pricing is quoted after the scope interview, and we match competitors' rates. No surprise invoices.
4. We prepare, you review, you file. You review and approve every document. You make every decision. You sign and file, because it is your case.
5. We stay with the file. Deadlines tracked, appeals prepared, records requests followed up, exhibits kept in order as the matter develops.
What it costs
We quote after the interview rather than posting a price list because the honest answer depends entirely on what your matter needs. A single grievance appeal and a full civil rights complaint with an exhibit set are not the same job, and a price list that pretends otherwise is either overcharging for the first or underdelivering on the second. You will know the full scope and the full cost in writing before any work starts, and we match competitors' rates.
Common questions
Can I really represent myself? Yes. The right to proceed pro se is real, and people do it successfully. It is harder than having a lawyer, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. What makes the difference is preparation, organization, and not missing deadlines — which is exactly where support helps most.
Is this the same as a lawyer? No, and we will not pretend otherwise. A lawyer gives you legal advice, decides strategy with you, and speaks for you in court. We do none of those things. We prepare documents and support your research so that your own decisions get carried out properly on paper.
Why not just use forms I found online? Sometimes a form is genuinely all you need, and if that is your situation we will say so. The trouble is that free forms are often for the wrong court or an outdated rule, and they cannot tell you what has to be attached, where it goes, or when it is due. A correct form filed in the wrong place is still a missed deadline.
What if my case needs a lawyer? Then we say so, and we can connect you with one of the attorneys we work with. That happens regularly and it is not a failed sale — it is the right outcome.
Start with a conversation
We will tell you honestly what the plan can do for your situation, what it would cost, and whether you would be better served by talking to an attorney instead. No charge for the first conversation. No obligation.
Tell us what's happening → Think you need an attorney instead?
Prisoner Legal Aid LLC provides legal document preparation and legal research support services, and connects families with independent licensed attorneys. We are not a law firm, we are not attorneys, and we do not provide legal advice, select claims, or determine legal strategy. All decisions in a self-represented matter remain those of the person representing themselves. Attorneys we work with are independent and are not employees of Prisoner Legal Aid. You are free to consult any attorney you choose.
