Garnishments against employees place a greater burden on payroll personnel, but are generally something that most employers have learned to manage. You do the calculations, make the withholding, and then send the money and the garnishment answer to the court. Yet companies with Georgia employees now have an additional hurdle when responding to garnishment actions – working with attorneys.

Every individual has the right to represent himself or herself in court. Yet corporations, limited liability companies, and the like are not individuals; they are artificial entities created under state law. Thus, while corporations act through individuals, no one individual can embody the corporation. As a result, corporations appearing in superior and state courts in Georgia must be represented by an attorney (although they may be represented in magistrate court by their non-attorney officers or managers). Although this requirement has existed for many years, it has generally not been applied in the context of garnishments.