I can speak based on my own experience, because I was a courtroom lawyer for thirteen years before I went to work at Legal Aid Ontario. Although the evidence is anecdotal, it's universally agreed that unrepresented parties in the courts make the courts much less efficient. It imposes a real extra duty on the judge to try to make sure the party understands what is going on in the courtroom. The judges often feel in some ways that they have to wade into the conflict in order to make sure the process is fair. It certainly makes proceedings much longer.
On October 31st, 2006. See this statement in context.