In an LLC, a member and a manager, what’s the difference? – California Legal Services Answer

Written by: Andrew Gale - Orange County - Small Business Attorney

Does a manager of an LLC need to be an individual? Two Legal positions in an LLC, a member, and a manager, what’s the difference?

Two Legal positions in an LLC, a member, and a manager, what’s the difference? 

Hi, good morning my name is Andy Gale, I am a Corporate Attorney, based in Orange in California. I specialize in helping small businesses manage their corporations all the way from formation all the way through to dissolution.

One of the services that we offer at our office is just to be able to call us up and ask us a quick question. I had a client call me yesterday afternoon and he wondered whether or not a manager of a limited liability company needed to be an individual person.

For those of you not familiar with limited liability companies, there are two legal positions within the company. There is a member and that’s the person who would own the company and then there’s a manager and that’s the person who would take care of the day-to-day operations of the company.

So the question is, whether or not a manager needs to be an individual?

The quick answer is no, a manager does not need to be an individual. A manager could be an individual and or it could be a company. It could be one of the members, one of the owners of the company. It could be one of the members or a subset of all of the members. Lastly, it could be a third-party company that actually offers professional management services.

I hope that information helps you out and gives you a little bit more clarity as it did with my client when you are trying to figure out who it is who is going to be running your company.