The short version

Every guide on this site, reduced to twelve lines. Print it and put it where you will see it at 11pm. Each line links to the guide behind it when you need more than the line.

Prints on one A4 page. Nothing below it needs a lawyer to read; everything below it is better with one.

All guides

Self Rep Ready · The short version

Steady → Triage → Organise → Verify → Prepare → Act. In that order.

Steady before you act. Check first for any court date or formal deadline; then nothing needs answering angry, today. The first 48 hours · Calm Spine
Itemise anything built to overwhelm. One row per item, a name for what each one is. Itemise an overwhelming schedule
Name files by what, whose, date, permission. The record is the file that left. File-naming conventions
Keep compelled and privileged material in its own folder. Never feed it to a tool. Clean, confidential or compelled?
Verify every fact and citation against the source. Never cite from memory. Verify a case citation · Confirm the factual spine
Write boring, factual, and as if a judge will read it. Build a clear legal letter
Say the limit in the same sentence as the concession. Limited consent
Confirm verbal exchanges in writing, the same day. Example letters · Correspondence log
Ask in writing; keep the refusal; let the pair be the record. Subject to privilege and the rules of evidence. Request → refusal → exhibit
Know who set the date. An order, a rule, or a letter are not the same thing. Orders, directions and deadlines · Hearing-eve checklist
Prepare for mediation to fail; know your three numbers; guard the release. Mediation without dependence
AI may organise, draft correspondence and red-team. It must never generate, alter or rephrase affidavit or witness evidence (this site's safety rule; NSW courts prohibit it and others have their own rules), and do not rely on law it produces until you have verified it. Check your court's AI rules. Separate your AI roles · What is an affidavit?

Verify with a senior professional conduct and litigation solicitor. General information only, not legal advice. Written for readers in Australia, with NSW rules quoted where a rule is quoted; rules differ between courts and states. If you can get a lawyer, even for an hour, do. selfrepready.com · Last reviewed: September 2026 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0