The
Professional Organization of Agents, Chartered, usually called "
POACh," is a
non-profit organization, founded by
K. Kay Shearin, a suspended Delaware lawyer, that advises people on how to represent
themselves (that is, act
pro se) or other people (usually as an "attorney in fact" under a
power of attorney) in formal legal matters, including litigation. The organization's thesis is that people with legal problems often cannot hire a
lawyer to represent them -- because of the expense or simply not being able to find one willing to do it -- but they have the right under the
common law to appoint anyone to represent them in legal matters. (It should be noted that most United States jurisdictions consider representation of other persons or entities, when carried out by persons who are not attorneys, to constitute the unauthorized practice of law.)
The field of law that deals with representing people in business and/or legal matters is "agency law," and the representative may be called an "agent," an "attorney at law," an "attorney in fact," a "conservator," an "executor," a "guardian," a "personal representative," a "procurator," a "receiver," or a "trustee." Such a representative is a "fiduciary" for the person represented (often called the "principal"), so agency law covers fiduciary responsibility, too.
POACh defines its mission as helping people who are acting as representatives only one time, such as being executor of a parent's will, or as a career, such as working as an agent for authors or celebrities.
External link to POACh webpage : http://www.poach.org
