Posted on June 26, 2019
Recreational marijuana use has been legal in California for a few years now. With marijuana shops seemingly popping up everywhere, you may have thought of giving cannabis a try. If you’re a licensed professional, you might want to think twice. Unlock Legal, an Orange County-based professional license defense firm, wants you to know that recreational marijuana use can still put your occupational license in jeopardy. Isn’t Recreational Marijuana Use Legal Now? Yes. California voters legalized recreational use of marijuana in 2016, and shops that sell marijuana for recreational use began legally operating 2018. Since then, people 21 years old or
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Posted on June 13, 2019
Thinking about what can happen to your nursing license if you’re convicted of a crime can be one of the most nerve-wracking parts of the criminal trial process. When you’ve worked for years to earn your nursing license, the thought of losing your job and career over a DUI or drug conviction could be frustrating and demoralizing. Unlock Legal, an Orange County, California-based professional license defense firm, wants you to know that the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) can hand down disciplinary action other than a complete revocation of your license. The BRN generally will take action against you
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Posted on May 28, 2019
If you crash your car, your mechanic is not going to handle both your insurance claim and the repair work. So if you’re a licensed professional who is accused of a crime, why are you going to call a criminal defense attorney to fight the crime and the licensing board hearing? Unlock Legal, an Orange County, California-based professional license defense firm, will help defend your professional license — and your career — while the criminal defense attorneys work to keep you out of jail. Many criminal defense firms don’t even consider how a criminal conviction could lead to the loss
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Posted on May 28, 2019
Will My Prior Dui Keep Me from Getting a Real Estate License? You have completed all the requirements necessary to obtain a real estate license in California and invested a large amount of time and money in preparing for exams. But as the Department of Real Estate conducts its background check, there’s just one thing that’s causing you anxiety — a past DUI conviction. Do you really need to worry? Don’t worry; the Unlock Legal team can help you out. California’s Department of Real Estate requires that applicants be “honest and truthful” when applying for a real estate salesperson license,
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Posted on May 21, 2019
Last September, former Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 2138, a law that seeks to remove barriers for occupational licensing for the roughly eight million Californians living with criminal records. Under the new law, a licensing board cannot revoke, deny or suspend a license due to an individual’s past criminal convictions if the conviction is older than seven years, or it is not substantially related to the duties and functions of the occupation at hand. These changes do not apply, however, to felonies, sex offenses or relevant financial crimes. Before AB 2138, if an individual was convicted of
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Posted on May 7, 2019
Have you run into trouble with your occupational license and need assistance? If so, you need to seek the counsel of a knowledgeable, professional license defense attorney. But, you may be wondering, what is a professional license attorney and what do they do? Professional license attorneys are lawyers who practice administrative law, a type of law that deals with the regulation and operation of procedures within government agencies. As occupational licenses are handled and overseen by governmental boards, a professional license defense lawyer is primarily an administrative law attorney who focuses on matters regarding occupational licensing. In California, over 200 job roles
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Posted on April 29, 2019
Has your licensing board launched a disciplinary investigation against you? If so, it’s likely that if settlement is not reached you’ll be facing a board hearing. These trial-like proceedings occur to help the licensing board or Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) come to a resolution in your case, and they can be an intimidating experience. The team at Unlock Legal, an Orange County Professional License Defense firm, wants you to know that there are steps you can take to prepare for your appearance. Contact a Professional License Defense Attorney It’s imperative that you reach out to an experienced license defense attorney
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Posted on April 23, 2019
It’s a situation that has many licensed professionals stressed and filled with anxiety – when something you have done or failed to do, led to the suspension or revocation of your professional license. The team at Unlock Legal has worked on behalf of suspended nurses to get their nursing license reinstated faster. We’ve also helped nursing students who have prior convictions secure a license when a board told them that it wouldn’t be possible. Why Do Nursing Licenses Get Revoked? The nursing board can revoke a nurse’s license for a variety of reasons. Some of the most common reasons include
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Posted on April 23, 2019
If you’ve been accused of professional misconduct and are facing disciplinary action, you will have to appear before your licensing board for an administrative hearing. An administrative hearing, also referred to as a board hearing, is a trial-like court proceeding that takes place before a governmental agency or regulatory board. Although hearings are similar to traditional criminal or civil court trials, they differ in that they are almost always conducted as bench trials. The Unlock Legal team, an Orange County, California professional license defense firm, wants you to understand all of the components of an administrative hearing: What Happens During
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Posted on October 18, 2018
The first place my clients usually hear about the opportunity for a Stipulated (negotiated) Settlement is in the Statement to Respondent. The Statement to Respondent notifies the Respondent that they can contact the attorney for the Board or the Agency to negotiate a settlement offer. In addition, the Statement to Respondent suggests that obtaining legal counsel is optional and not necessary. From a licensing lawyer’s point of view, attempting to negotiate with the attorney for the Board or Agency without a lawyer is like representing yourself if you had a DUI charge in criminal court. You can do it, but
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