Imagine this: you`ve just started the business you`ve been dreaming of for years. You`ve hired a lawyer to file all the documents needed to start your business, and you now have a business that is legally recognized by Texas law and, more importantly, brings you income. While there are these exceptions that allow companies to represent themselves without a lawyer, the prevailing wisdom is to hire an experienced business lawyer for all legal disputes. To be clear, in almost all cases, a duly banned lawyer must represent a company in court. But Ohio law maintains a narrow exception for contract cases filed in small claims court, where there is a $6,000 cap on damages ($3,000 at the time of the Pearlman case) and Ohio`s rules of evidence and procedure do not apply. These cases are naturally less formal, favourable to se and generally low-risk. As a rule, companies must be represented by a lawyer. While a company has the power to take legal action or defend itself, a lawyer must represent it. Although a business is a “person” under the law, ultimately it is a “person” created by the corporate laws of the State in which it is registered.
The people who work in the firm are the ones who make up the company, but allowing them to represent the company if they are not lawyers would be an unauthorized legal practice. Combine that with the well-established rule that a person cannot represent another person in court unless they are admitted to the bar, and you have the basis of the Ohio State Bar Association`s argument against Pearlman. If you watch enough TV or movies, you`ve probably seen dramatic court scenes where a person accused of a crime says they will represent themselves, fight for justice, and prove their innocence. In our judicial systems, you have the right, as an individual, to represent yourself. Depending on the nature of the case, you may also be entitled to a lawyer under the law (usually in criminal cases). But what about your business? Can you represent your business in court if you own it? The short answer is no. Unlike natural persons who can represent themselves personally as litigants, directors or members of a company who are not qualified lawyers do not enjoy the right to be heard before the courts and therefore cannot represent the company. This also applies if the company is a one-member corporation or has only one general manager. If a company is suing in a New York small claims court, it should consult with a lawyer. Can a general manager or a member of a corporation represent the corporation in court? No, except in exceptional cases.
New York courts allow partnerships and law firms founded as professional corporations to represent themselves in court. Gilberg v. Lennon, 212 A.D.2d 662, 664 (2d Dep`t 1995). Thus, a company is a person in the eyes of the law and is entitled to its day before the courts – lawyer or non-lawyer. As the 99% owner of his business, Pearlman certainly had the right to put himself in his place, didn`t he? On the other hand, a company is an artificial person with a legal personality distinct from its shareholders, directors and officers. During the foundation, members throw their own personae for the persona of the company so that they can enjoy the many benefits that the foundation has to offer. But in doing so, they are renouncing the right to an audience that they would have had as individuals. As an artificial person, the company cannot introduce itself or speak through a representative of any kind. She may be represented only by a qualified lawyer. Separately, the court may allow a person who is not a lawyer to represent a company in “exceptional circumstances.” While the Supreme Court provided no indication of what might be considered an “extraordinary circumstance,” it concluded that the following factors alone do not meet the threshold: that is, if a company does not hire lawyers, it cannot, except in exceptional circumstances, assert or defend a claim in court.
Courts are regularly confronted with cases where there is simply no way to provide legal representation.