Do I Have to Hire a Lawyer to Defend a Civil Lawsuit?
Considerations When Hiring a Lawyer for a Civil SuitIf you are sued individually (meaning it is you as a person named in the lawsuit and not your business) you have the right to represent yourself (this is called proceeding pro se). There are significant risks to this, because even a simple misunderstanding of the procedural rules can seriously disadvantage you, and without knowledge of the substantive law you may miss important defenses.
If your business is named in the suit, it must be represented by a licensed attorney in order to present any defenses or counterclaims in the lawsuit, and your business can be defaulted (meaning the court enters a judgment against it) if you do not have a lawyer to appear on its behalf. Often if a small business is sued both the individual owner and the business are named, especially in wage and hour cases which allow for personal liability. In that case you don't usually need two different lawyers- the same attorney can represent you individually and your business. Learn more here about what to expect as a defendant in a civil lawsuit. |
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Meet Our Trial Attorneys
Emily Smith-Lee is the owner and founder of slnlaw. She is a 1996 graduate of Boston College Law School. She was previously a partner at the Boston office of a large international firm, where she worked for thirteen years, with a focus on complex business litigation. In 2009, she started the firm that became slnlaw. She has been recognized as Massachusetts Superlawyer each year since 2013, and in 2018 earned recognition as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's Lawyers of the Year for a precedent-setting victory at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. She has written a book on employment law: Rules of the Road, What You Need to Know About Employment Laws in Massachusetts, and helped thousands of clients with business and employment disputes. Emily has handled cases at every level of the state system, in the federal trial court, and before the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
Elijah Bresley: Eli is a 2014 graduate of Seton Hall Law school, and has worked with slnlaw since 2020. He previously worked for a boutique employment law firm outside of Boston, and then for the Labor and Employment department of a large Boston firm. He also spent a year clerking for the judges of the Superior Court in Hartford, Connecticut. Eli has successfully defended numerous employers in the MCAD, and litigated other business and employment disputes throughout the state court system and in the federal trial court.
Sharleen Tinnin: Sharleen is a 2010 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, and has been with slnlaw since 2023. Prior to joining slnlaw, she worked with King, Tilden, McEttrick & Brink, P.C. on complex civil litigation matters. She previously worked for the United States Department of Justice, and received an "Excellence in Justice" award in 2017. Sharleen has litigated both plaintiff and defendant cases in the state court system, MCAD, and the federal trial court.
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