Honest question, trying to make it in good faith: would, in another scenario, an eight-year-old be able to sue someone? Lawyers are always being retained for $1 in the movies. Say a little girl (aged 8 as in the example) runs a lemonade stand and has access to a dollar. She has a grievance that can be remedied by a lawsuit. Can she go to a lawyer, get an appointment, be represented for $1 (assuming that is legal; if it's not let's set aside the matter of cost) and have the lawyer litigate on her behalf? Or would she need to involve her parents? Say they have no knowledge and the lawyer does not contact them, he just goes to court and files on behalf of the 8-year-old child. Let's say it's civil, like a property thing, but something she owns and can show she bought with her money, being infringed against. Would that even work?