Full question:
Here is a legal argument that I feel is flawed. What is your thought? Argument: 'A Limited Liability Company is a Corporation and the Law has for many years required that a Corporation must be represented by an Attorney.'Rebuttal: 'A Limited Liability Company is NOT a Corporation. Single Member LLC operate like a Sole Proprietor with an additional layer of protection against liabilities attributed to the LLC and therefore the Single Member CAN appear in Court to represent the LLC just as a Sole Proprietor CAN represent himself in Pro Se. If there is more than one member of the LLC then, yes, an Attorney is needed because the interests of more than a single person must be adequate represented and one of the members can represent the interest of another without a license to practice law. Please tell me your thoughts; this one is bugging me...Please answer for the Michigan, North Carolina, and Generally.
- Category: LLC
- Date:
- State: Michigan
Answer:
The analysis made by the courts focuses on the artificial nature of the entity, rather than the number of interests represented or the number of officers\members and adequacy of representation. Because corporations are artificial entities that can only act though their agents, courts often have a general common law rule, recognized by courts in other jurisdictions, including all federal courts, that corporations appearing in court proceedings must be represented by an attorney. A corporation is a separate legal entity. It's artificial so it can't represent itself. Only an attorney can represent someone else in court. So an officer who is not an attorney cannot represent a Corporation. While a natural person who is not an attorney may appear in propria persona, a corporation is not a natural person and can neither practice law nor appear or act in person. In court, a corporation can act only through licensed attorneys. A corporation cannot appear in court by an officer who is not an attorney.
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