Trial judges dealing with unrepresented litigants must ensure the litigant understands what is happening at trial but have no duty to advise them how to conduct their case; the adversary tradition is not qualified by self-representation. Pre-trial directions requiring filing of evidence are mandatory instructions, not options, and repeated non-compliance will justify rejection of late evidence even where the party is self-represented. Expert reports must be explicable in their own right — a report that depends on barrister advocacy to explain its thrust is uncompelling. A represented litigant has no right to share the advocacy role with retained counsel at a hearing ('splintered advocacy'), and departure from this principle is exceptional.
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