As Abraham Lincoln astutely observed, “a man who represents himself has a fool for a client.” These days, however, self-representation is not uncommon and may be necessary for those who cannot afford a lawyer. In December 2016, the Chief Administrative Judge issued Administrative Order 285/16, which estimated that, on an annual basis, 1.8 million people attempt to represent themselves pro se in civil actions in New York state courts. To help address the problem, the order:

declared it the policy of the Unified Court System to support and encourage the practice of limited scope legal assistance in appropriate cases, and to encourage judges and justices to permit attorneys to appear for limited purposes in civil cases under the following circumstances: