Friday, August 22, 2008

Can someone who is not a lawyer represent me outside of court? -

I am a property manager/landlord and I am trying to assist my friend who has unfounded charges from another landlord, but when I talk to this other landlord about them, he says I cant represent my friend because Im not a lawyer. I thought with it being outside of court, that wouldnt apply. Am I able to help my friend? Or does she have to see a lawyer?

All you need is for your friend to send them a letter authorizing you to represent them in these matters. It is a basic power of attorney that is only good for this one reason. Have your friend get it notarized and you should be good to go. If they still refuse to talk to you then your friend has a legal leg to stand on showing that he did act in good faith while trying to communicate with the other party.

sure, If your friend wishes. I would not advise it.

Ok.. You can HELP in terms of Mediation. Trying to remedy the situation, HOWEVER, if it goes to court, she needs a lawyer. I know you are trying to help, but, just make sure you don t make the situation worse for your friend. Choose your words carefully. They could come back to haunt you in the end.

The landlord has every right to refuse to talk to you.

You can serve as a business manager, agent, etc. for your friend outside of court at any time. The issue that you might have is that without a power of attorney to show that you are in fact his representative, you won t get to talk on his behalf. If I was the other party in this case, you would not be able to speak to me about your friends business without this document. I think you will find this pretty standard.

Sorry but it is a case of language here. Representing and helping are being interpreted differently. I will gladly clarify. Only an attorney may represent someone in court. The key word here is REPRESENT-as in being a legal agent. I am, for example, a RE broker and can give LIMITED LEGAL advice OUTSIDE a court but I MAY NOT represent anyone in a court though I can be called as an expert witness. Then, there is the point of HELPING a friend. Yes, of course, you may help whomever you wish if that person accepts your help. PROBLEM is--those whom you talk to might refuse to talk to you if the issue is legal--because they might provide confidential data to you. IF you can get a quot;limited power of attorneyquot; from your friend you want to help, then most quot;contestors-litigantsquot; will talk to you. --I suggest if a friend has unfounded charges against him-her--and you are not specifying what the charges are and how they are hurting the friend--it is hard to guide you. there are accusations that are legal to make and others that are not [slander and freedom of expression]. my email is kkemper1@mindspring.com if you need more help.

Tell him you are his agent....simple as that.....if you have an agent/employee working for you, they can also represent you in court...who cares what the other LL says. You can talk to him or you can have anyone talk to him. Don t talk....send letters stamped by the court...then you will have the paper trail if you have to go to court.

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