I brought an arbitration claim without a lawyer, because a lawyer would have cost more than an eventual award. I had no clear picture of what arbitration was when I filed. I didn't know what I didn't know.

What I found out is that it is every bit as rigorous as a court case: deadlines that do not move, procedural rules I had to go and find myself, and experienced counsel on the other side who does this for a living. I am not a lawyer. I organize things for a living.

After a rough start I turned to AI, and realized I should have done it much sooner. What came out of that was a method — find the rules that govern you and read them yourself, check every source before you rely on it, keep a record that holds.

Digital Dame Systems is where I write that method down. These are the guides I wish somebody had handed me when I began.

Not legal advice. One self-represented person's account of how she worked.