About the Academy
A compass for people who have to speak for themselves in court.
Granite Compass Academy turns the procedures of New Hampshire's courts into plain, step-by-step teaching — so someone facing a hearing, a protection order, or a debt claim can walk in prepared instead of outmatched.
Our purpose
Knowing what happens next changes everything.
Granite Compass Academy is an education and resource platform for people who are handling their own legal matters. The court system assumes you already know its vocabulary — how to caption a pleading, what a return date is, when an answer is due, how to serve the other side, what to say when the judge asks why you're here. When you don't know, the process itself becomes the punishment.
We exist to close that gap. Every course, video, webinar, and worksheet on this site is written to be understood by someone who has never set foot in a courtroom: what the step is, why it exists, what it looks like when it's done correctly, and the mistakes that get filings rejected. Our instructors teach the same material to audiences at community centers, libraries, domestic violence organizations, and recovery centers around New Hampshire.
The Academy is built by the Law Offices of Brendan Cahalin, PLLC — a New Hampshire firm that works with self-represented parties — together with educators and community partners who serve the same people. We are not a law firm's marketing page and we are not a directory of links. We are a teaching platform: a guide, a navigator, and a teacher for the road through court.
What's inside
Four ways to learn with us.
A video lesson library
Short, plain-language lessons on filing, serving, responding, and appearing — arranged by subject so you can find the part of the process you're stuck on.
Full courses by topic
Structured courses on family law, domestic violence protection, housing, small claims, criminal defense, and consumer debt, with the guides and checklists that go with each one.
Live events and workshops
Free in-person trainings at community centers, libraries, domestic violence organizations, and recovery centers across the state — plus live webinars.
A resource and community hub
A curated library of forms, guides, and New Hampshire resources, and a forum where self-represented parties trade what they've learned with people who are a few steps ahead.
Who it's for
Written for the person at the table.
- People representing themselves in a New Hampshire court, with or without prior experience.
- Survivors navigating protection orders and family law matters alongside the organizations supporting them.
- Parents, tenants, consumers, and neighbors facing a hearing they can't afford to hire out.
- Advocates, caseworkers, librarians, and community staff who sit beside someone and need accurate answers.
An important boundary
The Academy is educational. We do not give individualized legal advice, we do not represent anyone, and taking a course does not create an attorney-client relationship. What we can do is make sure you understand the process before you have to use it. For advice about your specific case, speak with a licensed New Hampshire attorney.
Start where you are.
Watch the free lesson library, take a full course on the topic in front of you, or come to a workshop and ask your question out loud.
Cookies at the Academy
We use cookies to keep you signed in and to remember your preferences. With your permission we also use analytics cookies to understand which lessons and pages help people most. The site works either way. Read more in our about page.