Definition: A notice of appearance is a written document addressed to a court and all parties involved in a given legal procedure that confirms participation in it. It is a document filed that states the will to participate in the process.
What Does Notice of Appearance Mean?
These written documents are normally filed by attorneys. Nevertheless, individuals can issue notices of appearance on their own. The main purpose of these notices is to make sure updates about everything that is going on in the court are submitted in a timely manner. Attorneys must also file these notices to be accredited as someone’s legal representative. Once the notice is filed, all new developments in the case must be directed to the attorney or the individual that presented the notice of appearance. Businesses are often represented by third-party attorneys, assisted sometimes, by legal officers that are in the company’s payroll or in other cases, it is the other way around.
In both cases, each of the involved parties must file a notice of appearance in order to be properly certified as the business legal representatives. Failing to present a notice will exclude the party from being updated with court’s procedures being executed and that will put them in disadvantage to develop a proper defense argument.
Example
Molly is a 38 years old woman that had some issues with her credit cards. It appears she took more debt than she could pay and ended up being bankrupted. She had to file a bankruptcy motion at the court and her hearing was scheduled for next week.
She hired an attorney to represent her in the case and the first thing this professional did was to file a notice of appearance where he presented himself as Molly’s legal representative during this procedure. Her lawyer will be notified about the case’s progress and he will keep Molly updated about everything that is going on
