## Facts

- Tammy Poore sought judicial review in the Delaware Superior Court after an administrative decision involving her unemployment-compensation claim.
- Fox Hollow Enterprises, Poore’s former employer, participated in the Superior Court appeal as the opposing party and filed an answering brief.
- Poore learned that the lawyer who prepared the answering brief was not admitted to practice law in Delaware.
- The lawyer acknowledged he did not hold a Delaware law license and had not been admitted in the case through Delaware’s pro hac vice procedure.
- Poore filed a motion to strike Fox Hollow’s answering brief on the ground that the brief was filed through unauthorized legal representation.
- Fox Hollow argued that the out-of-state attorney should be allowed to represent it even without Delaware admission because Fox Hollow was organized as a limited liability company.

## Issues

1. May a Delaware limited liability company be represented in Delaware Superior Court by an attorney who is not licensed in Delaware and has not been admitted pro hac vice?

## Decision

- The court granted Poore’s motion to strike Fox Hollow’s answering brief.
- The court held that Fox Hollow, as an artificial entity, could appear in the Superior Court only through counsel authorized to practice in Delaware.
- Because the attorney who prepared the answering brief lacked Delaware admission and had not been admitted pro hac vice, the filing was treated as improper.

## Legal Principles

- Artificial entities, including limited liability companies, cannot appear in Delaware courts except through an attorney authorized to practice in Delaware.
- Preparing and filing a brief on behalf of an entity in Delaware litigation constitutes the practice of law in Delaware.
- An attorney not admitted in Delaware may participate only if properly admitted pro hac vice and associated with Delaware counsel, consistent with Delaware court rules.
- An entity’s organizational form (such as an LLC) does not create an exception to Delaware’s requirements for attorney admission and authorized representation.

## Conclusion

Poore v. Fox Hollow Enterprises holds that an LLC must be represented in Delaware Superior Court by counsel authorized to practice in Delaware, and the court will strike an answering brief prepared by an attorney who lacks Delaware admission and has not been admitted pro hac vice.


Poore v. Fox Hollow Enterprises, 1994 WL 150872 (1994)