You’ve been convicted of a crime, and now you’ve decided to defend your professional license in front of your license review board on your own. In addition to the demands of your job and your daily life, successfully defending your license will require hours of extra work each week. Professional license defense firms like Unlock Legal, based in Orange County, California, will take care of that work for you. But if you want to defend yourself, here’s what you’ll need to do to avoid some common mistakes:
File your Notice of Defense Immediately
After your licensing board accuses you of professional misconduct, you’ll have 15 days to respond to the accusation in order to contest it. If you miss the deadline, you’ll be hit with sanctions, and you won’t be able to fight them. You’ll also need to meet the 60-day deadline to file a Statement of Issues denying the accusation if you want to contest it.
Show Remorse
If you’ve been convicted of a crime, you’re going to want to show the license review board that it won’t happen again. Acknowledging the severity of your mistake will show the board that you will work to prevent it from happening again in the future. Showing appropriate remorse in your personal statement could increase the chance that you’ll walk away with no or less severe sanctions. Make sure you pay great attention to detail in the personal statement you include in your mitigation packet.
Don’t Overshare
As you craft your narrative about the underlying criminal matter or misconduct accusation, you’ll want to avoid sharing too many details about the case. If you’re fighting a criminal conviction, you’ll already be including most of the information the board needs in your mitigation packet. Telling the board more about the case than they need to know can hurt your chances of a favorable outcome.
Consider Renegotiating Your Settlement Offer
If your licensing board offers to settle your case, take a breath before accepting the offer. You can try to renegotiate the sanctions included in terms of the settlement, including the number of years you’ll be on probation, the amount of money you’ll owe to pay the fine, or the number of classes you’ll need to take.
While people have successfully defended their professional licenses in front of review boards, they may not have gotten the best result. Why take the time and stress to defend your career yourself when you can have an experienced professional license defense attorney do it for you? Miranda McCroskey and the team at Unlock Legal have spent years successfully defending the livelihoods of licensed professionals, including nurses, engineers, and realtors. Not only have we successfully earned desirable outcomes, but also our knowledge of the process and the people involved offer you an edge in your defense. Contact our team here or call us at 949-988-4444, and we’ll help you unlock your license.
