Tag Archive for: investigative hearing character and fitness considerations

Florida Bar Hearing

How a Florida Bar Applicant can conduct a Proper Background Check

When applying to the Florida Bar the number one reason that Applicants find themselves the subject of an investigative or formal hearing is due to “lack of candor”. In most instances this can be totally avoided by conducting a thorough background check on yourself. If something is left off your Florida Bar Applicantion the examiners may suspect that it was an intentional act of deceit and you were concealing bad facts that you didn’t want them to learn. Sometime it is an innocent mistake such as leaving off a summer job that you may have forgotten about from 6 years ago but after being contacted by the Florida Board of Bar Examiners your former employer may not have had very nice things to say about you which would lead the Board to think it was a deliberate act. Here are three things every Florida Bar Applicant must do before applying.

  • Pull your credit from at least three different credit reporting agencies. You will see what you had that fell into collections and you may not even know it. Better you explain the error to the Board of Bar Examiners than have them find out and contact you about it. Also someone could have stolen your credit and destroyed it so it’s best to find this out on your own to do damage control.
  • Get your employment history through the social security administration’s website. If there was ever a withholding they are aware of the job. They won’t have any info on unpaid internships but this is a good starting point to help you piece together your work timeline.
  • Pay for a background check. Background checks are not even expensive and are done through services such as lexis-nexis accurint. This data base searches history for criminal, civil, foreclosure, bankruptcies, prior address history, corporate affiliations, among other areas the bar is concerned with. Our firm offers this at only $99 and will even credit the money back to you should you retain Soreide Law Group to represent you at any investigative or formal hearing. It is a must with any background check. It doesn’t negate items 1 & 2 because you have to be a debt collection firm to be able to pull bar applicants credit, those are free items anyone can do now.

When applying to the Florida Bar treat this like your first case. Character and Fitness is a critical decision making factor on if you will be admitted to the Florida Bar and some would say even more difficult than passing the Florida Bar Exam. If you have any questions on the above feel free to contact Lars Soreide, Esq., at (954) 760-6552.  We offer a free consultation and travel to each hearing location of the Board of Bar Examiners.

What is “Disqualifying Conduct” When Applying to the Florida Bar?

The following information was obtained on the Florida Board of Bar Examiners website. The result of the conduct listed here is often the reason our firm is called on when an Investigative or Formal hearing is requested by the Board of Bar Examiners.

“Pursuant to  rule 3-11 a record manifesting a lack of honesty, trustworthiness, diligence, or reliability may constitute a basis for denial of admission. Any of the following may be considered by the board to be a basis for further inquiry before recommending admission:

  • Unlawful conduct
  • Academic misconduct
  • Making or procuring any false or misleading statement or omission of relevant information, including any false or misleading statement or omission on the Bar Application, or any amendment, or in any testimony or sworn statement submitted to the board
  • Misconduct in employment
  • Acts involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation
  • Abuse of legal process
  • Financial irresponsibility
  • Neglect of professional obligations
  • Violation of an order of a court
  • Evidence of mental or emotional instability
  • Evidence of drug or alcohol dependency
  • Denial of admission to the bar in another jurisdiction on character and fitness grounds
  • Disciplinary action by a lawyer disciplinary agency or other professional disciplinary agency of any jurisdiction
  • Any other conduct which reflects adversely upon the character and fitness of the applicant”

This ends the information obtained on the Florida Board of Bar Examiners website.

Soreide Law Group represents those seeking admittance to the Florida Bar, and existing attorneys, for both Investigative Hearings and Formal Hearings before the Florida Bar. For more information about our services please call (888) 760-6552.

Florida Bar Hearing Defense Attorney’s Tip of the Month for April 2014

If you have a history of drug or alcohol abuse it is important to consider the benefits of enrolling in Florida Lawyers Assistance before you appear in front of the Board of Bar Examiners for an Investigative Hearing. The Florida Bar is widely known as the toughest in the country when it comes to character and fitness evaluations. However, the Bar does not view a dependency problem as a character flaw, but rather as a treatable disease.
Many Applicants may be concerned that enrolling in Florida Lawyers Assistance of “FLA” would be evidence of bad character, while the exact opposite is true. The Board of Bar Examiners is not comprised of medical professionals who can assess the nature of any dependency disorder,  so they must rely upon FLA to do so for them. If enrolled in FLA the enrollee will have to abstain from all drugs (non prescribed) and alcohol and be subjected to random screening. This gives the Board the level of comfort they need to obtain to be able to conditionally admit you for a finite term with permanent admission to follow a successful term at FLA.
If enrolling make sure to enroll far enough out that you can have a meaningful interaction with FLA such as successfully completing several drug screens and obtaining a sponsor.  If however you feel that you do not have a dependency problem but your bar application may evidence otherwise, it is possible as an alternative to have a Florida Lawyers Assistance approved doctor conduct a chemical dependency evaluation and produce a report that may be offered at your investigative or formal hearing as evidence of no chemical dependency problem.
For more information or questions concerning this post you can contact Lars Soreide, Esq., at (954) 760-6552. Defending Florida Bar Applicants throughout Florida.

Investigative Hearing Character and Fitness Considerations

 
If you must attend an investigative hearing before the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, the Board will consider your present character and fitness. This is codified in Florida Board of Bar Examiner Rule 3-12.
 
3-12 Determination of Present Character.
 
The board must determine whether the applicant or registrant has provided satisfactory evidence of good moral character. The following factors, among others, will be considered in assigning weight and significance to prior conduct:
(a) age at the time of the conduct;
(b) recency of the conduct;
(c) reliability of the information concerning the conduct;
(d) seriousness of the conduct;
(e) factors underlying the conduct;
(f) cumulative effect of the conduct or information;
(g) evidence of rehabilitation;
(h) positive social contributions since the conduct;
(i) candor in the admissions process; and,
(j) materiality of any omissions or misrepresentations.
Florida Bar Defense Lawyer, Lars Soreide, is available to represent you at an investigative or formal character and fitness hearing before the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. Call 888-760-6552 for a free consultation or visit our website at: https://www.floridabarhearing.com.