Tag Archive for: Florida Bar Hearing Defense Lawyer

What Do Lawyers Charge to Represent You at a Florida Bar Hearing?

Soreide Law Group charges $3,500 for representation of student Applicants before the Florida Board of Bar Examiners for an investigative hearing and $4,500 for out of state attorneys applying to the Florida Bar. For Formal Hearings before the Board we charge between $7,500 to $10,000, depending on a number of factors such as, if there are depositions that will be needed, the complexity of the issues, the number of witnesses that need to be prepared, and if you are a student applicant or an out of state attorney.

Many attorneys would never publicize their rates because many do what is commonly referred to as “value billing,” meaning that they charge their clients the maximum that they perceive they can afford. There is a huge disparity in what people charge even for an investigative hearing which ranges from $2,500 to $15,000, which is based off my knowledge of what applicants have shared with me.

As an attorney who has represented applicants before the Board for over a decade and having done hundreds of appearances in character hearings before the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, I am well justified in being at the top of the range. The purpose of this post is to inform the public that there are several (including myself) seasoned attorneys that charge below $5,000 for an investigative hearing. It pains me to hear from an applicant who is heading to a formal hearing who paid $6,000 or more to an attorney that touted his “reputation” and years of experience as his reason for his outrageous billing only to learn that the attorney under prepared the client and offered little to no evidence to the Board in support of their client at the hearing.

Buyer beware that you have other options that offer substantial value and maximum efforts on your behalf for their services. Don’t get oversold on someone having a good “relationship” with the Board because the Board is evaluating YOU and not the attorney sitting next to you.

For a FREE consultation for your investigative or formal hearing before the Florida Board of Bar Examiners call 888-760-6552.

If you feel Soreide Law Group isn’t the right fit for you we are happy to provide names of other reasonably priced, highly skilled attorneys who regularly appear before the Board.

Character and Fitness are Significant When Applying to The Florida Bar

Honesty is always the best policy when applying to the Bar.  Character and fitness play a significant roll in being admitted to the Florida Bar.

In order to become a fully licensed member of Florida’s Bar, law school graduates must have a clear character and fitness inquiry.  This step is often underestimated, but can make all the difference in whether or not a graduate will be admitted.  Bar applicants must possess good character and show clear and convincing evidence that they possess the requisite degree of good character to sit for the bar exam and be admitted to the Florida Bar.

During the process of admittance, applicants fill out a lengthy questionnaire with personal information about their past such as job losses, arrests, academic misconduct, traffic tickets, bankruptcies, and in some cases mental health history, to name a few.  Even if the applicant might consider something “minor,” it could become a major issue in the admission process.  It is most important to disclose all information asked, and honestly.

In some jurisdictions, applicants with a criminal history, academic misconduct or financial issues, may not be allowed to take the bar exam.  In other cases, they may be able to sit for the bar but then must attend a hearing concerning their fitness.

If you’ve been called before the Florida Bar for an Investigative or Formal Hearing, Soreide Law Group will represent you at the hearing and help you navigate through the process.  It can be very daunting and your future is on the line.

Soreide Law Group represents those individuals seeking admittance to the Florida Bar, and existing lawyers, for both Investigative Hearings and Formal Hearings in front of the Florida Bar.

Call for a no-cost consultation with an experienced Florida Bar Defense Attorney if you have an upcoming Investigative or Formal Hearing with the Florida Bar. We travel to all locations throughout Florida to appear before the Board of Bar Examiners. Call Soreide Law Group at:  888-760-6552.

January 2015 Florida Bar Hearing Defense Attorney Tip

Recently I returned from representing my clients in Investigative Hearings before the Florida Board of Bar Examiners in Tallahassee, Florida. In many of the Investigative Hearings before the Board I noticed that many applicants to The Florida Bar had past due or delinquent financial obligations. When my clients make me aware of delinquent financial obligations, I immediately begin to work with each applicant to make sure they become extraordinarily pro active with their creditors.  We focus on eliminating or substantially reducing financial obligations and making all accounts current.
The Florida Bar is not a debt collection agency. However, they do not want to see applicants “turning their back” on their creditors. All of this relates back to law firm trust accounting and the notion that if you can’t manage your own financial situations, you should not be allowed to manage a law firm’s escrow account.
For more ways to evidence financial rehabilitation and tips on how to prepare for Investigative and Formal Hearings before the Board of Bar Examiners visit our website or call Florida Bar Hearing Defense Attorney Lars Soreide at (888) 760-6552 for a consultation at no cost. We travel to all locations throughout Florida to appear before the Florida Board of Bar Examiners.

Florida Bar Defense Attorney Hearing Tip of the Month

Having just returned from the Orlando meeting before the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, I think it is important to emphasis to applicants the importance of fiscal responsibility.

The Florida Board of Bar Examiners is not a debt collection agency nor do they work for your creditors. If you are admitted as an attorney in Florida, you can immediately open a trust account and will be responsible for managing the account and making sure you follow all the bar rules concerning trust accounting. It is clearly a red flag if as a non-attorney applicant there is strong evidence of not being able to manage your own financial affairs.

One particular creditor the Florida Bar does not want to see you turn your back on is the Internal Revenue Service. If you owe the IRS money and you can’t afford to pay them at the time, make a payment plan or offer what you can afford. If anything, this at least evidences some financial responsibility that you can resolve your own debts and come to a resolution.

Many times creditors will accept pennies on the dollar and I work with and advise my Florida Bar hearing clients on how to resolve the vast majority of their debts prior to their hearing. While sitting before the Board it is best to not have anything delinquent.

For more information speak to a Florida Bar hearing defense lawyer at the Soreide Law Group.  We represent those seeking admittance to The Florida Bar, and existing lawyers, for both Investigative Hearings and Formal Hearings in front of The Florida Bar. Please call (888) 760-6552.

Florida Board of Bar Examiners Investigative Hearing Defense Attorney Tip for the Month of July

Recently I returned from successfully representing three applicants before the Florida Board of Bar Examiners in Jacksonville, Florida.  All three were admitted, but what stood out in my mind from the trip, was  a question one of the Panel members asked one of my clients. The applicant (happily now a Florida attorney), was asked by a Panel member to, “rank in order of importance the reasons why you think we called you here.” I thought that was a great question, and had my client not been adequately prepared and ready to go, might have blown it.
The notice of Investigative Hearing listed items dating back to the teenage years of the Applicant, ranging from a number of offenses. The one thing that the Applicant was correct in pointing out was that the Board cared the most about the non-disclosure of one of those events on the Florida Bar Application. The Board knows that all Applicants have at some point in their lives had some trouble whether criminal, financial, academic, with an employer, or otherwise. They care more about that as a law student, or lawyer applicant from another jurisdiction, that you would potentially hide one of those infractions from them which is clear evidence of a lack of candor. It is important to consult an experience attorney before attending a hearing before the Board so you are not caught off guard with a question like this.
If you have an upcoming Investigative or Formal hearing with the Florida Bar, call  Soreide Law Group at (888) 760-6552 for a consultation with an attorney at no cost. We travel to all locations throughout Florida to appear before the Board of Bar Examiners.

Florida Bar Investigative Hearing Defense Attorney Tip of the Month June 2014

Are out of state attorneys applying to the Florida Bar subjected to a higher level of scrutiny than first time applicants? There is no quantifiable data that can answer this question, but it is my opinion that yes they are.
Having personally represented over a hundred applicants before the Board, I see out-of-state attorneys applying to the Florida Bar for the first time, being called in for investigative hearings for what would normally not spark any further inquiry for first time new lawyer applicants. The logic behind this may be that retirees, typically from up North, who move down here should retire, and the Bar has an interest in retirees not “hanging a shingle” which would cut into the livelihood of existing Florida attorneys.
Either way, whatever the logic is, if you are licensed and practicing in another state and applying to the Florida Bar, it is wise to consult a Florida Bar Hearing Investigative Hearing Defense attorney to review your application before filing, and to not represent yourself if you are called in.
Licensed attorneys tend to want to represent themselves due to the fact that they have litigation experience in their respective area of law.  In most instances, the field of expertise they are licensed in does not translate to an administrative hearing, and a consultation with an attorney who routinely practices in this area is recommended.
If you have an upcoming investigative or formal hearing with the Florida Bar, call Soreide Law Group for a consultation at no cost with a Florida Bar Hearing Defense Attorney at (888) 760-6552. Our attorneys will travel to all locations in Florida to appear before the Board of Bar Examiners.

Florida Bar Hearing Defense Lawyer’s Tip of the Month for May 2014

After just returning from Tampa, after another successful administration of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, I returned with the thought that no crime is too old for the Board to inquire about. Time is a mitigating factor when it comes to bad acts, but it doesn’t mean the Board won’t want to learn about all the details of some youthful indiscretion even though, for example, you may have been still in high school.

The focus of the Board of Bar Examiners should be the status of your present character and Florida Bar Rule 3-12 (Determination of Present Character) (a) and (b) both consider the age and recency of the conduct at issue.

To be on the safe side, depending on the egregious nature of the past conduct (no matter how old), it may be wise to consider going above and beyond just being prepared to discuss the past crimes in detail. You may want to consider doing some meaningful community service to offer as evidence of rehabilitation.

Florida Bar rule 3-13 (g) considers all community or civic service. Florida Bar rule 3-13 (g) goes on to further state that, “the requirement of positive action is appropriate for applicants for admission to The Florida Bar because service to one’s community is an implied obligation of members of The Florida Bar.”

For a free consultation with a Florida Bar Hearing Defense Lawyer to help you meet your burden of proof that you possess the requisite good character to practice law in Florida, call Soreide Law Group at (954) 760-6552. We travel to all hearing locations throughout Florida of the Board of Bar Examiners.

Florida Bar Defense Lawyer’s “Tip of the Month” for January 2014

If you have a substantial amount of unpaid debt and you have an investigative hearing before the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, you should attempt to resolve as many of those debts as possible before your investigative hearing. Create a file for each debt you maintain so you can show a record of communication with your creditors. Phone calls should always be followed up with a letter.
The Florida Bar is not a debt collection agency and their interest isn’t in seeing you pay all your bills, but they want to see you not turn your back on your creditors, and be financially responsible.
In my experiences defending applicants in investigative and formal hearings, I have found that creditors are willing to sometimes settle for as little as 5 to 10 cents on the dollar. Even if you can’t pay it off and reduce the principal amount, at least put in place a written payment plan so the debt is not current while you are before the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. You don’t want to have a current problem when you sit before them at the investigative hearing. You want only a past problem that you have professionally and responsibly resolved.
For more valuable tips and information, visit FloridaBarHearing.com or call and speak with Lars Soreide at (888) 760-6552.
Soreide Law Group, representing Florida Bar Applicants throughout the State of Florida.

Florida Bar Investigative Hearing Schedule 2014

The bar hearing defense firm of Soreide Law Group, (888) 760-6552, is reporting the tentative upcoming bar hearing meeting calendar for the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. Fort Lauderdale was added as a meeting location this year for the first time.  Soreide Law Group, and bar hearing defense lawyer, Lars Soreide, are located in Fort Lauderdale and travel regularly to all meetings of the Board of Bar Examiners for clients who have investigative and formal hearings before the Board.
January 9-11, 2014- Orlando;
March 13-15, 2014 Tallahassee;
April 10-12, 2014 Fort Lauderdale,
May 15-17, 2014 Tampa Bay
July 10-12, 2014 Jacksonville;
Sept 18-20, 2014 Orlando;
Oct 23-25, Fort Lauderdale; and
November 20-22, 2014 Tampa Bay.