If you hold a professional license in the state of California, it is essential to understand that a criminal conviction can have significant consequences against that license.
How A Criminal Conviction Can Affect Your Professional License
If you are or have been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony, your licensing board will receive a notification letting them know of your conviction. In certain professions, such as lawyers, you are required to notify the licensing board about your conviction within a specified period of time, and you can be punished for a failure to notify.
The type of sentence you have and the circumstances which led to the conviction are often significant in determining what discipline you may face on your professional license. You will most likely be given a criminal defense attorney, but you will also want to have an attorney specializing in professional license defense on your team. The more attorneys and professionals on your team, the more prepared you are and better rehabilitated to get your life back on track.
Consequences Of Discipline Against Your Professional License
The consequences of discipline against your professional license can be far-reaching and life-changing. You may find that a disciplinary measure against your license can result in the loss of professional liability insurance coverage, as insurance companies may look at you as a higher risk client. While you may not lose coverage altogether, you could likely see a significant increase in insurance premiums.
Any suspension for an extended period of time can affect your personal and professional life that may be hard to recover from. With a suspension comes the inability to make an income that is expected of a particular profession. That inability to make income can lead to increasingly difficult financial burdens that will exist until any disciplinary measures have expired. Professional license disciplinary actions are also usually a matter of public record. A reasonably simple search allows anyone to research whether their prospective lawyer, real estate agent or mortgage broker has ever been disciplined by their state licensing authority in any way.
These records are also often permanent. In order to best understand how to avoid finding yourself on one of these public databases, it is important to seek the advice of an experienced attorney who can best guide you. If you have questions related to the potential consequences of a criminal conviction on your professional license, give us a call at SJ Harris Law Office to help.
Sj Harris Law Free Consultation
At S.J. Harris, we understand that your professional license is your livelihood. This is why we want to offer you a FREE 30-minute consultation. We understand that your case requires privacy and confidentiality. Everything that is discussed with an S.J. Harris Lawyer will be held confidential even if you choose to go with another attorney. Let us help you today. Call us at (310) 361-8585 or contact us on our website for a free consultation.
