By Michael Phillips | Father & Co.

Family court—and civil court more broadly—runs on an assumption that everyone who enters already knows how the system works. How to read dense legal rules. How to write motions in the right format. How to track deadlines. How to speak clearly under pressure. How to stay regulated while your family, finances, or future are on the line.

For many people, that assumption is false.

As artificial intelligence tools become more common, courts face a choice: treat AI as a threat to fairness—or recognize it as an accessibility tool that helps people participate at all. For self-represented litigants, especially those navigating court without counsel, AI is not a shortcut. It is often the only bridge to meaningful access.

The Reality for Self-Represented Litigants

Millions of people appear in court every year without a lawyer, not by choice but by necessity. Legal representation is expensive, civil cases do not guarantee counsel, and family court in particular sees a high volume of unrepresented parents and caregivers.

Courts still expect these litigants to:

• Understand complex legal language
• Draft clear, properly formatted filings
• Follow strict procedural rules
• Manage timelines, evidence, and hearings
• Stay composed in emotionally charged settings

For people with ADHD, PTSD, learning disabilities, neurological conditions, cognitive overload from trauma, or simply no legal background, this is not a level playing field.

AI does not give them an advantage. It gives them a chance.

What AI Actually Does in Court Contexts

Used responsibly, AI helps people meet expectations courts already impose but rarely support.

Common uses include:

• Translating legal language into plain English
• Organizing facts, timelines, and exhibits
• Structuring motions and responses coherently
• Checking formatting and procedural compliance
• Preparing outlines for hearings
• Reducing cognitive overload and executive dysfunction

This mirrors accommodations courts already recognize in other forms—extra time, interpreters, assistive reading tools, or flexible procedures. AI simply delivers that support more efficiently.

AI Is Not “Practicing Law”

One of the most common objections is that AI use amounts to unauthorized legal practice. In reality, AI does none of the things only lawyers are allowed to do.

AI does not:

• Represent anyone in court
• File documents on its own
• Make binding legal decisions
• Replace judicial authority

It helps people understand the process and communicate their own facts and arguments more clearly. Functionally, it is closer to spellcheck, speech-to-text, or a legal self-help guide than to an attorney.

Courts already allow assistance from friends, templates, legal clinics, and online resources. AI is simply a modern extension of help that the system quietly relies on every day.

The Fairness Problem No One Wants to Name

Here is the uncomfortable truth: restricting AI use does not create fairness. It enforces inequality.

Well-resourced parties already benefit from:

• Teams of lawyers
• Paralegals and clerks
• Professional drafting and review
• Institutional knowledge of the system

Self-represented litigants are often scrutinized for any sign of help—especially when their filings look “too polished.” The result is a two-tier system where assistance is normalized for those with money and suspect for those without it.

That is not fairness. It is gatekeeping.

Accessibility and Due Process Are Not Optional

Accessibility standards have always evolved alongside technology. Electronic filing, remote hearings, digital exhibits, and screen readers were once controversial, too.

AI is simply the next step.

For many litigants—especially those impacted by disability, trauma, or prolonged stress—AI may be the difference between being heard and being erased by procedure. Denying its use without offering real alternatives raises serious questions about access and due process.

A Better Way Forward

Courts do not need to embrace chaos to handle AI responsibly. They can:

• Recognize AI as a potential accessibility accommodation
• Allow transparent, disclosure-based use rather than bans
• Focus on substance over polish when reviewing filings
• Clearly prohibit fabricated evidence while permitting drafting support
• Train judges and clerks on accessibility-first technology policies

None of this lowers standards. It modernizes them.

The Bottom Line

Expecting people to navigate a highly technical legal system alone—without tools—is not neutral. It is punitive.

AI does not undermine justice. Used appropriately, it supports participation, clarity, and dignity for people who are already navigating one of the most stressful experiences of their lives.

The real risk is not that someone gets help.
The real risk is that without it, many never get a fair chance to be heard.

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