Absolutely, and I won’t. But the rules in that state require that a non-attorney representative have personal knowledge of the facts of the case. I do, but such a restriction would pretty much limit my representation to friends or family until I become a real lawyer.
And then, I totally agree. I’ll pawn them off to a friend at a discount. Part of the problem was that I didn’t want to let them down and have a judgment entered against them. That’s personal involvement which is bad…
Not in my first case, but I’ve felt that way in other court appearances.
As for my first case, it was kind of a letdown.
It was an eviction matter. The tenants in the rental house had long since quit paying rent, and were selling off the appliances for money with which to buy drugs. The landlord wanted an eviction, and he wanted it now. I was prepared; I knew my arguments; and had statute and caselaw citations, the landlord’s affidavit, the Affidavit of Service upon the tenants from my process server, and the landlord himself, just in case.
And on the appointed day … the tenants didn’t show up in court!
It was a default victory. The judge lobbed a couple of softball questions at me, more for appearance’s sake than anything else, I think; and granted the eviction order. When the process server went to serve the eviction order, he reported back that the tenants were in the process of moving out. So while all my preparations may have been for nothing, the landlord was happy, and that’s what matters.
It is likely to happen that you will make a fool of yourself in a small matter that at the time appears to be a huge matter. Make sure to laugh with everyone else. “Fortunately, I keep my feathers numbered in case of emergency.” Foghorn Leghorn.