Can I Have an Attorney in Small Claims Court?

Hi, my name is Kayla Banzali. I’m a civil litigation attorney at Robinson & Henry. A question that I get asked a lot is, “Can I be represented by an attorney in small claims court?” And the answer is yes and no. When a plaintiff files a small claims court case, they cannot be represented by an attorney initially. However, once the defendant is served, if they would like to get an attorney, then they have an opportunity to do so, so as long as they’re giving the plaintiff proper notice, and then once the defendant gets an attorney, then the plaintiff also has an opportunity to get an attorney, even though it’s small claims court. Again, my name is Kayla Banzali and I’m an attorney at Robinson & Henry.