MUST AN LLC BE REPRESENTED BY AN ATTORNEY IN A LAWSUIT? - Answering and defending a complaint

Sep 19, 2026

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MUST AN LLC BE REPRESENTED BY AN ATTORNEY IN A LAWSUIT? explains how Wisconsin law treats corporate and LLC representation in court. It describes a situation where an LLC response was stricken because it was not a proper, signed answer by an attorney, leading to a request for default judgment after the deadline. The text cites Wisconsin Supreme Court reasoning on invalid notices of appeal and unauthorized practice of law, then warns that prompt, attorney-supported filings are critical to preserving the ability to defend and avoiding higher costs.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time1 min

AccessFree to download

LLC representation in lawsuits

Proper answer requirements and attorney signature

Unauthorized practice of law and corporate representation

Exceptions and risks for LLCs

MUST AN LLC BE REPRESENTED BY AN ATTORNEY IN A LAWSUIT? A small business man recently called and indicated that a limited liability company he ran had been sued. He had ﬁled a response to the allegations of the complaint with the court and sent a copy to the attorney for the plaintiﬀ . The plaintiﬀ’s lawyer immediately ﬁled a motion to strike the answer and for default judgment on the basis that the response was not a proper answer to the complaint because it failed to follow the requirements of an answer, and because it had not been signed by an attorney. Since the time to ﬁle a proper answer had expired, the plaintiﬀ asked the court for a default judgment. About ten years ago, the Wisconsin Supreme Court was asked whether a notice of appeal by a corporation signed by an oﬃcer of the corporation who was not an attorney was valid. The court concluded that it was not a valid notice of appeal, and therefore, the appeal was dismissed. There were primarily two bases for that decision; ﬁrst, under Wisconsin statutes, a corporation, except in small claims court, must be represented by an attorney, and second, in that case, the notice of appeal ﬁled by a person who was not an attorney was determined tobe the unauthorized practice of law, that is to say, the practice of law by someone other thana licensed attorney. Wisconsin, like most states, imposes penalties for the unauthorized practice of law. The unauthorized practice of law is a crime which may result in ﬁnes or imprisonment and may be punished as a contempt of court. While an individual is permitted to represent himself or herself in a lawsuit, a corporation isnot an individual. Only a person authorized to practice law may appear in court for a corporation. The only exception is small claims court. Limited liability companies have been permitted to exist in Wisconsin for approximately 15 years. LLCs attempt to combine some of the advantages of the partnership form of doing business and the corporate form of doing business. In many ways, LLCs attempt to avoid some of the formalities required of corporations. There are, however, risks when avoiding those formalities if, for example, there is a dispute between the owners, or, as in this recent matter, if a member of an LLC attempts to respond to a complaint. In this recent matter, a proper answer was ﬁled within a day after our ﬁrm was retained. In addition, written arguments were made to the court relating to the discretion to be exercised by the trial court as to whether a default judgment was appropriate. Prompt action in ﬁling a proper answer was one factor considered by the court. Signiﬁcant costs were incurred in order to regain the ability to defend this lawsuit. Whether an LLC could avoid this holding relating to corporations has not been directly addressed by the Wisconsin appellate courts. We of course would recommend that your business not be the business that has to make those arguments. Those arguments were unsuccessful ten years ago in a slightly diﬀerent factual situation. In our recent case, attempting initially to avoid the cost of hiring an attorney resulted in substantially higher costs and the risk that the defendant would be barred from defending the lawsuit.

FAQs

Why was the LLC’s response struck in the described case?

The court motion asserted the response was not a proper answer to the complaint because it failed to meet answer requirements and was not signed by an attorney. As the filing deadline passed, a default judgment was sought.

What did the Wisconsin Supreme Court decide about a corporate notice of appeal signed by a non-attorney?

The court concluded it was not a valid notice of appeal and dismissed the appeal. The decision relied on statutes requiring attorney representation for corporations (except small claims) and the determination that the signing person was engaging in unauthorized practice of law.

What does the document say about representing yourself versus an LLC in court?

Individuals may represent themselves, but a corporation is not an individual. The text states that only authorized legal practitioners may appear for a corporation, with the main exception being small claims court.

Sep 19, 2026

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