If I filed a complaintfor my boss, can I also appear in courtfor him?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If I filed a complaintfor my boss, can I also appear in courtfor him?
His company is a taxicab service and one of his drivers owes him under $5000. I filed a complaint with the courts. He would like me to appear in court instead of him. Is that possible?
Asked on October 11, 2011 under Business Law, Maryland
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
It depends by what you mean by "appear."
Can you represent him, or the company, in court, as a lawyer? No--not unless you are an attorney. Only lawyers may represent other people, or corporations, or limited liability companies, etc. So if he does not want to show up personally to represent himself--which he can only do if the company is a sole proprietorship--he'll need to get an attorney. He'll have to get a lawyer if the company is a corporation or LLC, even if he also shows up--again, only attorneys can represent corporations or LLCs.
If you have an attorney, however, you'll still need someone from the company to show up to testify to the facts (e.g. how much is owed, and why). If you have knowledge of the facts, you can be the person who goes to court with the lawyer; there's no law saying the boss or owner has to be the one who shows up to testify. Again, the requirement is that you have to have personal knowledge, though.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.