Law Office of Ryan C. Young, PLLC
Richmond Business Attorney
I have personally seen the conversation below play out multiple times while waiting on my case to be called.
Judge: Next case, ABC Corporation v. XYZ, LLC.
Attorney for ABC (“Attorney”): Your honor, my name is Thomas Jefferson VI and I represent the plaintiff, ABC Corporation.
Member of XYZ (“Member”): Hello, I am the member of XYZ, LLC.
Judge: Mr. Member, are you authorized to practice law by the Virginia State Bar?
Member: No, I’m the owner of the LLC!
Judge: Sir, it doesn’t matter if you are the owner. If you are not authorized to practice law in Virginia, you must hire an attorney to represent your company.
Typically, the above conversation ends with the LLC or Corporation owner/manager looking very confused and red in the face. Many look incredulous and cannot understand why they would ever need to hire an attorney to represent their corporation. As an owner of the company, don’t they have the authority to represent the LLC/Corporation in a Virginia court? Unless they are licensed by the Virginia State Bar to practice law in Virginia, the answer is a clear “no.”
Virginia follows the majority rule which states that an LLC or Corporation is a separate and distinct entity from the owners. To clarify, a non-attorney couldn’t represent their neighbor in a Virginia court. The rules are exactly the same for LLCs or Corporations. If the non-attorney tries to represent the LLC/Corporation, they are committing a crime in Virginia. Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-3904.
In Virginia, as in most states, only licensed attorneys may practice law. Lawyers have a monopoly over the practice of law within their state. Anyone who is practicing law without a license may be prosecuted and found guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. That is not the only possible negative outcome. Alternatively (and the more likely scenario), a Virginia judge might rule that the LLC or Corporation is not present and enter some unfavorable ruling on the return or hearing date.
Bottom line: If you are an LLC or Corporation and you are involved in litigation, you should hire an attorney at the earliest date possible. Otherwise, you could end up with a decision or Order which is not favorable to your company.
*All characters or companies appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons or companies, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
If you have legal questions concerning your LLC or Corporation, contact business attorney Ryan C. Young to discuss your particular needs.
