The Book — Coming

Be YourBest Lawyer.

The definitive guide to representing yourself in English and Welsh courts.

Drawing on two years defending a £40 million High Court claim without representation — against two counsel and one of the City's oldest law firms — this will be the most honest, practical and complete guide ever written for litigants in person.

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Eugene Pienaar
Be YourBest Lawyer
The complete guide to representing yourself in English courts
Coming Soon
Coming
What's inside

A book that doesn't pull its punches.

Not an academic textbook. Not a collection of general legal principles. A practical, honest guide written by someone who has lived it.

01
Nobody Cares About Your Case More Than You Do

Why the truth that's often used against litigants in person is actually their greatest strength.

02
Mediate, Don't Litigate

Why court is the last resort — and how to approach mediation as seriously as a trial.

03
Understanding the Arena

Civil procedure, case management, directions — the framework that keeps a case alive.

04
The Witness Statement

How to tell your story clearly, evidentially and persuasively — without undermining yourself.

05
Position Statements, Bundles and Chronologies

The documents that signal to a judge — immediately — whether you are to be taken seriously.

06
The Hearing

Courtroom procedure, judicial etiquette, cross-examination, and keeping your head under pressure.

07
Strategy, Psychology and Wellbeing

How litigation destroys people — and how to protect yourself while fighting as hard as you need to.

08
The £40 Million Case — What I Learned

A frank account of two years defending an enormous claim alone. The mistakes, the victories, the lessons.

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"The book I wished existed when the £40 million claim landed on my desk."
— Eugene Pienaar, Author
EP
Eugene Pienaar
Solicitor · MBA · Founder, Be Your Best Lawyer

Eugene Pienaar was admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 2002. He holds an MBA with Distinction from Oxford Brookes and an LLB from the University of Natal, where he won the prize in Evidence. For two years he defended a £40 million High Court claim representing himself — against two counsel and one of the City's most prominent law firms. He built Be Your Best Lawyer so that what he learned does not die with his case.

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