Business Litigation Is Not A DIY Matter

The Internet can be a great resource and with all the available information it is tempting to think about trying new endeavors without professional assistance. Just make sure to cross off "appearing in court on behalf of a corporation" as one of those activities.

An article on allbusiness.com asks "should you hire an attorney?" Do it yourselfers rejoice? Not so fast. The first sentence of the article is already leading to a road for trouble:

The only time you should always be represented by an attorney is when you appear in a criminal matter.

STOP! This statement is far too simplistic. Most notably, in Michigan, a corporation (as well as varoius other entities) may not appear in court without representation of a licensed attorney.

Longstanding Michigan law is that non-attorneys who violate this rule are engaged in the unauthorized practice of law. An ethics article from the Michigan Bar, which arose from the context of a landlord-tenant dispute where one the parties was not an individual, plainly spells out the law:

Lay officers, directors, partners and employees of corporate or partnership entities may not represent the entity in court proceedings or sign court documents without engaging in the unauthorized practice of law.

But that is not all, oh no, that is not all.

Michigan lawyers confronted with a non-lawyer appearing in court for a corporation or partnership have an ethical duty to bring the fact to the attention of the tribunal. Informal ethics opinion RI-10.

Likewise, Michigan judges are also under an ethical duty to prevent the unauthorized practice of law.

A separate ethics opinion reaches the same result in the context of a corporation or partnership which is involved in court proceedings relating to criminal matters or in response to ordinance violations:

We find no pertinent difference between the handling of civil matters and the handling of criminal matters by a layman representative of either a corporation or a partnership.

A layman appearing for a corporation or a partnership in response to an alleged violation of an ordinance is engaged in the unauthorized practice of law.

These ethics opinion are all in line with the Michigan Court of Appeals opinion in Peters Production, Inc. v Densick Broadcasting Company which held that a non-lawyer officer or shareholder may not appear in court on behalf of the corporation:

An individual may appear in propria persona; a corporation, however, can appear only by attorney regardless of whether it is interested in its own corporate capacity or in a fiduciary capacity.

Besides the practical reasons to work with an attorney, such as an attorney's specialized knowledge of the substantive law and the procedural rules, in some cases you must work with an attorney in order to avoid the potential consequences of engaging in the unauthorized practice of law.

Have questions about the boundaries of what is permissible by a non-attorney without running afoul of the law? You can start with the source by viewing the statutes MCL 600.916 and MCL 450.681, or, better yet, post a comment or e-mail me to continue the discussion.