Can A Person Appear In Court On Another's Behalf Via Power of Attorney
No. One common area of confusion concerns an agent’s ability to act for the principal in “claims and litigation.” An agent may hire counsel to pursue or defend claims on the principal’s behalf and may make litigation decisions regarding settlements and other matters. However, one thing that an agent cannot do is appear in a lawsuit “pro se” for the principal. This means that the agent cannot bring or defend a lawsuit on the principal’s behalf without a lawyer, even though the principal would be entitled to appear pro se in his/her own behalf.
The reason for this is that Judiciary Law § 478 prohibits the “unauthorized practice of law,” whereby a non-attorney appears on behalf of anyone other than himself in litigation. Even though an agent with a power of attorney is referred to as an “attorney-in-fact” for the principal, he/she is not someone hired by the principal to act as an “attorney” as defined by the Judiciary Law.