---
title: clsLegalPerson
summary: Represents a legal person (individual) reference-data record used across attorney, worker, and firm associations in the legal domain.
status: draft
owner: SAIF Case Management team
last_reviewed: 2026-08-21
library: SAIF.Business.Claim.Legal
reference_type: embedded
---

# clsLegalPerson

Represents a legal person (individual) reference-data record used across attorney, worker, and firm associations in the legal domain.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| **Base class** | `clsBusinessBase` (`SAIF.Framework.Core`)† |
| **Source file** | `SAIF.Business.Claim.Legal\TableMaint\clsLegalPerson.vb` |

## Public members

### Properties

| Member | Signature | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| `UpdateDate` | `Property UpdateDate() As Date` | Date the legal-person record was last updated. |
| `UpdateUser` | `Property UpdateUser() As String` | User ID that last updated the legal-person record. |
| `CreateDate` | `Property CreateDate() As Date` | Date the legal-person record was created. |
| `CreateUser` | `Property CreateUser() As String` | User ID that created the legal-person record. |
| `FirstName` | `Property FirstName() As String` | Legal person's first name; required together with `LastName` per [BR-CLM-LGL-014](../../business-rules.md#br-clm-lgl-014-legal-person-requires-last-and-first-name). |
| `LastName` | `Property LastName() As String` | Legal person's last name; required together with `FirstName` per [BR-CLM-LGL-014](../../business-rules.md#br-clm-lgl-014-legal-person-requires-last-and-first-name). |
| `Name` | `ReadOnly Property Name As String` | Formatted `"LastName, FirstName"` display name. |
| `LegalPersonID` | `Property LegalPersonID() As Decimal` | Identifies the legal person; assigned from `LEGAL_PERSON_SEQ` on creation. |
| `UserID` | `Property UserID() As String` | System user ID associated with the legal person, if any. |
| `Ssn` | `Property Ssn() As String` | Social security number of the legal person. |
| `PreferredName` | `Property PreferredName() As String` | The legal person's preferred display name. |
| `MiddleInitial` | `Property MiddleInitial() As String` | Legal person's middle initial. |

### Methods

| Member | Signature | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| `CanDeleteLegalPerson` | `Function CanDeleteLegalPerson(inPersonSeq As Decimal) As Boolean` | Checks whether the legal person is referenced by attorney conflicts, outcome staff, or legal-person-type records before allowing delete, per [BR-CLM-LGL-015](../../business-rules.md#br-clm-lgl-015-legal-person-cannot-be-deleted-while-referenced). |
| `NewLegalPerson` (shared) | `Shared Function NewLegalPerson(inDataportal As IDataPortalInfo) As clsLegalPerson` | Factory that creates a new, unsaved `clsLegalPerson`. |
| `GetLegalPerson` (shared) | `Shared Function GetLegalPerson(inDataportal As IDataPortalInfo) As clsLegalPerson` | Factory that retrieves an existing `clsLegalPerson`. |

### Constructors

| Member | Signature | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| `New` | `Protected Friend Sub New()` | Framework-invoked constructor that registers business rules; instances are created through the `NewLegalPerson`/`GetLegalPerson` factory methods rather than directly. |

## Protected internal members

The following members exist in source but are not part of the class's public surface; they are documented here for completeness rather than in the "Public members" section above.

| Member | Signature | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| `AddBusinessRules` | `Protected Overrides Sub AddBusinessRules()` | Registers this class's business rules (last-name/first-name presence validation) with the framework rule engine. |
| `Load` | `Protected Friend Sub Load(inDataPortalInfo As IDataPortalInfo, Row As clsResultSet.DataRow) Implements ILoadable.Load` | Populates the object from a result-set row. |

## Inherited public members

The following members are inherited from `clsBusinessBase` (`SAIF.Framework.Core`) and are not re-declared in this class:

| Member | Kind | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `Save` | Method | Dispatches to the correct `IBusinessCriteria` CRUD SQL based on object state.† |

## Related SQL

- [DB-CLL-061](../../sql/SQL-061-legalperson.md)

## Related operations

- [Manage attorney and legal-person reference data](../../operations/manage-attorney-and-legal-person.md)

> **Note:** Statements marked with `†` are derived from dependency library
> documentation via the Legends CLI. They describe inherited behavior from the
> indicated origin library and should be verified if the dependency version changes.

## Sources

- `SAIF.Business.Claim.Legal\TableMaint\clsLegalPerson.vb`