Complaint Dismissed! You're Not a Lawyer!
What to do about the non-lawyer representing the small corporation or the LLC? The corporation and the LLC are legally separate entities, and like any other person, must be represented in court by a licensed attorney. In Minnesota a non-lawyer can represent an LLC in Conciliation Court (small claims) and housing court. This makes sense as an exception to the rule.
In my experience there are two situations where non-lawyers try to represent clients.
The Threat from the non-lawyer! The pretend lawyer threatening action if the client doesn't do something - usually pay some money.
I once received a threatening call from a person representing herself as calling from the law department of a company trying collect a debt from a client. It became obvious during the conversation that this person was either 1. not an attorney, or 2. a very bad attorney. When I asked directly if she was an attorney she would not give me a straight answer. The woman was calling from Texas and I reported her to the Texas Bar Association for the unauthorized practice of law.
The Small Corporation or LLC Owner Representing the Company
The general rule is that the non lawyer can't represent a corporation or an LLC in court. Since the party to the proceedings is the company, the company can't be represented by other than a licensed attorney. So when the owner(s) try to represent the company, they immediately create a problem for themselves and their company. In a recent case the Kentucky Court of Appeals just dismissed the case when the case was initiated by a non-lawyer representing the corporation. The trial court judge told the plaintiff to get an attorney to continue - and it did. But the Court of Appeals said no! The filing of the complaint was the unauthorized practice of law and the complaint must be dismissed. So even getting a lawyer later did not save the company. This seems like an appropriate remedy.
The Kentucky case was an eviction action, and in some states a company is not required to have attorneys in these limited types of actions.
There is a lesson for all small businesses. Know the rules before you start a legal action. Talk to a lawyer!
