I had a pro bono client who represented himself and won his eviction case. If cat's stats (TM) are true, that is a rare result. Still, the slumlord continued to pursue him, and that's where we came into the case. We whipped the slumlord's ass pretty good, if I do say so myself. But most poor people don't have access to a white-shoe law firm and just throw up their hands and give up, flee, move, etc.
I'm a little dubious about whether most landlords are using "white-shoe law firms" for eviction proceedings. EDIT - nvm i misread. your tenant had the white shoe law firm. not the slumlord.
But speaking of Cat's Stats, he said between 51-75% of self-represented tenants lost their case. if something like 40ish% of self-represented tenants are winning, it doesn't really seem that rare.
. Especially when you factor in the logical self-selection element (if you know you ought to be evicted, there's less of a chance of you showing up to court, getting representation, etc.).