Judge Maritza Braswell, a federal magistrate in Colorado, has noticed a significant increase in lawsuits filed by people without legal representation. According to a new study analyzing 4.5 million federal civil cases from 2005 to 2026, the proportion of self-represented litigants rose from 11% in 2022 to 16.8% in 2025. Within these cases, the number of filings more than doubled from pre-2023 levels. Judge Braswell attributes this rise to the growing use of AI tools by individuals to draft legal documents.
'I do correlate that to AI in part because I see AI use,' she says. AI is helping people without legal training better articulate their arguments, making court documents more legible and easier for judges to process. However, while AI is expanding access to justice, it does not seem to improve the chances of winning a case. 'It turns out that mounting a lawsuit is a complex, multifaceted task.
Not all of it is just drafting text,' says Joshua Levy, one of the study's authors. The study also found that people without lawyers are still more likely to lose their cases than those with legal representation, even with AI assistance. Online communities are emerging to teach self-help legal strategies using AI, such as drafting legal documents with tools like Microsoft Copilot. In Vermont, the number of cases filed by people without lawyers rose from about 45 per year before 2022 to over 1,100 in 2024.
Despite these changes, the legal system remains challenging, and many self-represented litigants now approach the court with more confidence due to AI support. Judge Braswell notes that while AI is helping people navigate the system, it also introduces new complexities, such as the potential for hallucinations and errors in filings. Courts are also grappling with questions about the responsibilities of AI in legal contexts, including whether chatbots should be held to the same ethical standards as human lawyers. These issues highlight the growing intersection between AI and the legal system, as courts and lawmakers seek to understand the implications of AI-driven legal assistance.
Source: mittr
