After working hard in law school and passing a rigorous bar exam, it is now time to apply for admission to the Florida Bar and become a practicing lawyer. Attorneys are admitted to the practice of law in Florida by the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, a branch of the Florida Supreme Court. The Florida Board of Bar Examiners is made up of lawyers and civilians.
When applying for the Florida Br, applicants must complete a lengthy application that will attempt to determine their moral character and their ability to serve as an attorney in the state of Florida. After completing your application, the Board of Bar Examiners will examine your answers and information to determine your moral fitness. The determination of your moral character will include analyzing your past criminal history, previous disciplinary problems at your undergraduate institution or law school, material omissions or misrepresentations from your application, license revocations and more. Richard B. Marx can provide skilled opinions on ethical issues that may affect your bar admission.
The following issues usually arise during the admission process: past criminal convictions, too much personal debt, lack of good moral character, and complaints from an outside source. The most important thing to do in this process is be honest, cooperative, polite and make their job as easy as possible.
Most times when there are questions about your moral character, the Board of Bar Examiners has an investigatory hearing to try and assuage the Board's concerns. Thorough preparation for this conference is necessary to show the Board that you have rehabilitated and that the misconduct in your past has been left there. This is also true for reinstatement proceedings.
At these hearings the Board of Bar Examiners considers evidence of candor and honesty, respect for the law and rights of others, fiscal responsibility, and records of fidelity and trustworthiness in other professions as evidence of moral character. Richard B. Marx assists Florida Bar applicants in preparing for this examination and answer questions regarding the Board of Bar Examiner admissions proceedings.
If you receive an adverse moral character determination from the Board of Bar Examiners they will file Specifications which are reasons that the Board believes will disqualify you from being admitted to practice law in the State of Florida. Should specifications be filed against you it is not a lost cause. You have the right to respond to the specifications and have a formal hearing to demonstrate that either the Specifications are untrue or that you have become rehabilitated and are morally fit to practice law in the State of Florida. Richard B. Marx is a Florida Bar Admissions Attorney who can prepare you for such a hearing. He has experience with the manner in which the Florida Board of Examiners operates and understands that the Board of Bar Examiners can be confusing and intimidating for applicants and knows that unless the applicant is properly prepared, the results for the applicant could be catastrophic. Richard B. Marx helps the applicant prepare and get ready for these hearings by learning about the applicant's background, behavior, character, education, employment as well as other salient factors to help prepare the applicant for making the best possible presentation before the Board of Examiners to demonstrate that the applicant is a morally fit individual and is a proper candidate for admission to the Florida Bar.
Even if you receive an adverse moral character determination from the Board of Bar Examiners after the Formal Hearing, the fight is not yet over. The Board of Bar Examiner's decisions may be appealed directly to the Supreme Court for the State of Florida. Richard B. Marx has experience and has had successful results in the Florida Supreme Court in appealing the adverse ruling of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners.
If you are facing or believe that you may be facing difficulties in admission to the Florida Bar, you have come too far and worked too hard to be rejected for no other reason, other than you did not understand or you were not prepared for the process. Call Richard B. Marx today for a free consultation.
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