Caution: Don't try this at home... or in Court

Yesterday I was in the courthouse and ran into a former client. I was concerned the moment I saw him because I could not imagine why he would be there unless he was in trouble. When I recently represented this young man, he had finally obtained a valid Illinois Driver's License and avoided any jail time.

We greeted each other and I asked him why he was there. He told me he had decided to represent himself on an old case and that the case I had with him was attached. I asked him what happened and he said that he decided to go to jail for a few days to finish all of the obligations of the cases. I asked him why he did not contact me when the cases were consolidated and he was sheepish. I will admit that I read him the riot act because he had watched too much People's Court and Law and Order and figured he could get as good a result for himself as I was able to get for him. Much to his dismay, he was about to lose his driving privileges. I explained to him that once he negotiated with the judge to let him meet all his obligations by going to jail he had jeopardized his driving privileges.

Folks, I know from time-to-time experienced lawyers make it look easy, that does not mean you should try it yourself. You are held to the same standard when you represent yourself , pro se, and that is not usually a wise thing to do. I have had the displeasure of even watching a lawyer represent himself and plead guilty to a criminal misdemeanor. This will jeopardize his law license. I tried to stop him, but he thought he knew better because he was a lawyer, there is good reason for a judge to always remind a lawyer in these circumstances of the old saying, "S/He who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client." So if that is true for those licensed and trained in the practice of law, what do you think that really means for you?