Why CourtReadyGuide exists

People are losing cases not because they were wrong. Because no one taught them how to show up.

Most people who walk into a courtroom without a lawyer are not doing it because they want to. They are doing it because they cannot afford one. And the system does not pause to teach them the rules.

The story behind it

Watch the founding story.

What it is

A working attorney's actual prep system. Not a legal-forms website.

Every framework in CourtReadyGuide is one I use with paying clients. The objection scripts, the cross-examination worksheets, the exhibit foundations, the hearing prep checklists. All of it comes from fifteen years of criminal defense work.

The difference is that instead of charging by the hour, I packaged the frameworks so anyone facing court alone can use them. Print them, follow them, and walk in with the same preparation my clients get.

Who it is for

For anyone walking into a courtroom without a lawyer.

Start here

Get the free courtroom checklist.

Fifteen things judges wish self-represented people knew. A one-page checklist you can print or save to your phone before your next hearing.

Get the checklist

CourtReadyGuide is an educational resource. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Amanda Bynum is licensed in Arizona. Built to work in any courtroom. Copyright 2026 CourtReadyGuide.

About CourtReadyGuide

Court should not be a guessing game.

I have spent sixteen years inside courtrooms. I have watched thousands of people walk in unprepared, get talked over, and walk out wondering what just happened to their life.

CourtReadyGuide exists so that stops happening to you.

Who I am

Sixteen years. Thousands of hearings. One clear pattern.

I am Amanda Bynum. I have been a licensed trial lawyer since January 2010 — more than 16 years of watching real people navigate real courtrooms.

I started as a public defender, then became a criminal defense attorney running my own firm. Along the way I trained new attorneys, taught trial advocacy, and served as a law school professor. I have watched brilliant, capable adults get flattened in court not because their case was weak, but because nobody told them how the room actually works.

That is the gap CourtReadyGuide closes.