The following question was submitted to John Roska. He is an attorney and writer. His weekly newspaper column, "The Law Q&A," ran in the Champaign News Gazette. Please note that this article has been edited by ILAO staff.

Question

A friend asked me to cover a court date for him because he was out of town. It was just a “status check” to set the next court date. The judge refused to let me do anything because I’m not a lawyer. My friend got defaulted and lost his case. I know I couldn’t represent him at a trial. Why couldn’t I be there just to find out the next court date?

Answer

Only lawyers can go to court for someone else. It’s the law.

The Illinois Attorney Act says, “No person shall be permitted to practice as an attorney or counselor at law within this State without having previously obtained a license for that purpose from the Supreme Court of this State.”

If you’re not a lawyer, you can only go to court for yourself. You could maybe go for your spouse.

In 1839, the Illinois Supreme Court said the Attorney Act protects the public “against the practices of those who might seduce their confidence and induce them to trust the latter in the management of important interests.”

The court thought that the public was vulnerable to “the mistakes, the ignorance and unskillfulness of pretenders.” The pretenders would be the people without a law license.

That’s why the judge wouldn’t let you appear for your friend. Also, for example, a non-attorney can’t help you with a real estate closing.

But people can always represent themselves. The Attorney Act says, “Plaintiffs shall have the liberty of prosecuting, and defendants of defending in their proper persons.”

For federal courts, federal law says pretty much the same thing. It says, “In all courts of the U.S. the parties may plead and conduct their own cases personally or by counsel.”

Spouses can represent each other but only when they get sued together. When they’re both defendants, one spouse can show up and the other won’t be defaulted.

Parents cannot, however, represent their minor children. A parent can be their child’s named representative on court papers. But they still cannot be their in-court representative. An Illinois court said that “one not authorized to practice law may not represent a minor in a court of record.”

The same applies in federal court. One case said this “helps ensure that children rightfully entitled to legal relief are not deprived of their day in court by unskilled, if caring, parents.”
In court cases, you can represent yourself or be represented by a lawyer. Even for simple and routine matters, you can’t go to court for someone else without a law license.

Some federal and state agencies allow non-lawyers to represent others at administrative hearings. For example, non-lawyer representatives are allowed at Social Security and Unemployment Benefit hearings. But they're not allowed at Workers' Comp hearings.

In some private arbitration proceedings, non-attorneys are allowed.    

Federal bankruptcy law also allows non-attorneys to prepare bankruptcy petitions. But they're still prohibited from actually going to court.