Blind Justice UK: Supporting access to justice for the uninitiated and intimidated
Updated: 4 days ago
I want to tell you about Blind Justice UK, the charity founded by Edward Romain, and why Fraxinus Business Associates is a strong supporter of the work they do.
What Blind Justice UK does
Blind Justice UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (number 1217562). It gives free legal information, plain-language guidance on court procedure and independent case reviews to people who are navigating the civil courts without a lawyer. It also publishes research on legal regulation and how the justice system works in practice.
It is clear about its limits. It does not give legal advice, conduct litigation or provide representation, and where someone needs a regulated lawyer, it says so. I respect that honesty. In a regulated profession, knowing where your service stops matters.
The person behind it
Edward Romain founded the charity after his own experience as a litigant in person. Romain originally trained as a barrister and qualified as an Associate of CILEX. He told the Law Society Gazette in February 2026 that he had left the law with an idealised view, and was startled by the injustice he saw when he found himself in the County Court and then the High Court without a lawyer.
Consequently, Romain built the free and fabulous Litigant in Person Navigator and chairs the Legal Panel at WhistleblowersUK.
Lived experience and professional training are a strong combination.
Why this work matters for access to justice
Access to justice is more than having a court to go to. It means being able to use it.
For people who are ineligible for legal aid and cannot pay for a lawyer, the process itself can be the barrier: the forms, the deadlines, the documents and the rules nobody explains.
Blind Justice UK works on that barrier. Its study of litigants in person, reported by the Law Gazette, looked at 20 anonymised cases and found missing or unprocessed documents in 92% of them. The charity says its evidence was published by the Justice Committee. The Gazette report carries a line that sums up the aim: "Justice should be blind but it should never be inaccessible."
The help is practical too. In August, Legal Futures reported that the charity had won £19,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund. Edward said it supports 41 litigants in person and would use the money to help a further 40 to 50, through a 12-month project in Brighton with caseworker time and monthly drop-in sessions. His stated aim was to "equip people who are priced out of law".
That is what turns a right to a hearing into a hearing someone can actually take part in. It also keeps the system honest, because evidence from people at the sharp end shows where it fails.
Recent coverage
February: the Law Gazette on the study of litigants in person.
April: Joshua Rozenberg on the charity's survey of 50 law firms and how they promote consumer reviews.
September: the Law Gazette on AI chatbots recommending firms fined or shut down by the SRA.
October: Legal Futures on the charity's letter before claim for judicial review, and on 23 October that the SRA agreed to reconsider one matter.
You do not have to agree with every conclusion to see the value of someone asking careful, evidence-based questions of the whole system.
What law firms can learn from Blind Justice
Clients who understand the process make better clients, and complaints are easier to resolve when people feel they were told the truth at the start. The charity's work is a reminder to keep our own houses in order: clear client care, honest marketing and reviews, and a complaints process people can follow.
Coming up
On Tuesday 10 November, Blind Justice UK, Oxford's Faculty of Law and Mansfield College are holding a public panel on legal information, chaired by Joshua Rozenberg KC (Hon). It is free, in person and online, and registration is essential.
Edward's book, Alone in Court, is also due for publication on 3 November.
Learn more
You can read more about the charity and its research at blindjustice.org.uk.
And if you run a small law firm and would like an independent view of where your own controls stand, I offer a free health check, with no obligation.
The contact page is an enquiry form, so please put "free health check" in the message subject and I will pick it up straight away.
Ashley Barwick is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and a Law Society accredited Lexcel Consultant. This post is general information and does not constitute legal advice. Fraxinus Business Associates is not authorised to provide legal advice.
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