Answer: Yes. If your business has been served with a lawsuit you need to hire an attorney for your business to respond in court. When a person is sued, or served with a lawsuit, they have the option to appear on their own behalf in court to answer the charges. A business, however, is a fictional person in the eyes of the law, and only a licensed attorney can represent a business in court under the Arizona Rules. The law recognizes a corporation or LLC as a different person from the owner or officer, and since the corporation itself cannot appear in court, it cannot appear to represent itself. Although in some scenarios such as small claims matters the Plaintiff may not know any better and therefore may not raise the issue, technically Arizona law requires that a business be represented by legal counsel.
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