It was Abraham Lincoln who supposedly said, “A man who represents himself in court has a fool for a client.” That may or may not be true but sometimes it’s unavoidable and now there’s help for those who choose this path.
People who find themselves involved in a civil court case without a lawyer now have a new place to turn for help at the Guilford County Courthouse in Greensboro.
Guilford County on Thursday, Aug. 13 opened a second location of its Legal Support Center – a program designed to help people representing themselves understand court procedures, find the right forms and figure out what they’re supposed to do next.
The new center is located in Room LG60 of the Guilford County Courthouse at 201 S. Eugene St. in downtown Greensboro.
It isn’t a free law firm and the people working there won’t act as lawyers or give you legal advice.
What they will do is help people navigate a legal system that can be daunting even when you know what you’re doing – and can be considerably more daunting when you don’t.
The center provides step-by-step information about court procedures, helps people determine which forms they need and explains the forms so they can fill them out correctly.
It also directs people to court-approved legal and community resources.
The assistance is geared toward those handling their own civil cases, including family law matters, housing disputes and other civil legal issues. The center doesn’t provide assistance with criminal cases.
The Greensboro center is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Guilford County’s first Legal Support Center opened in the High Point Courthouse in July of 2025. According to county officials, 272 residents have received assistance at that location since services began last year.
The High Point center, at 505 E. Green Dr., Room 140, is open Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The Guilford County Board of Commissioners got involved in the project after then-Chief District Court Judge Teresa Vincent presented the idea to the board in January 2024. Later that year, the commissioners allocated $544,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act-enabled county funding to get the program up and running.
Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston said this week that the opening of the Greensboro office was the result of cooperation between county government, the courts and community organizations.
“When this idea first came before the Board in January 2024, we understood its potential and committed to moving it forward,” Alston stated in the county’s announcement of the opening.
Alston also credited District 7 Guilford County Commissioner Frankie Jones with working with Vincent and court officials to help move the project forward.
Jones said the High Point location demonstrated that there was a demand for the service.
“Opening the Greensboro Legal Support Center is about making sure access to our court system is not determined by whether someone can afford an attorney or knows how to navigate a complicated legal process,” Jones stated.
The county is working on the program with Guilford County District Courts and Court Support for Families, a North Carolina nonprofit that helps people navigate the court system, particularly in family law matters.
The idea behind the program is relatively simple: People are legally allowed to represent themselves in court, but that doesn’t mean they necessarily know which document to file, where to file it, which deadlines apply or what the terminology on the forms means.
Those mistakes can also create additional work for the courts when documents aren’t completed properly or cases are delayed because required procedures haven’t been followed.
Guilford County describes the centers as resource hubs for self-represented litigants, with navigators who explain how the court system works, assist with legal paperwork and refer people to legal assistance and other agencies when appropriate.
The concept isn’t unique to Guilford County. Wake County opened a Legal Support Center in the Wake County Courthouse in January 2023. It also serves people representing themselves in civil matters and provides forms and information involving common issues such as family law and housing.
Charlotte has operated a SelfServe Center for people representing themselves in family law matters, offering forms and instructions for issues including divorce, child custody, child support, domestic violence, small claims and name changes.
Similar courthouse self-help programs operate around the country. Minnesota’s court system has self-help centers for people without attorneys; Washington has courthouse self-help programs and California courts have long provided self-help services for people representing themselves.
The North Carolina Judicial Branch also operates an Equal Access to Justice Commission that works on ways to help residents with civil legal problems who don’t have attorneys navigate the court system.
So, while the new Greensboro center won’t tell someone whether they should sue their landlord, fight for custody or take some other legal action, it can help considerably with the next question people frequently face once they’ve decided to go to court: Now what?
