Ethics Lawyer David C. Carr can help you pursue your license to grant you the ability to practice law once again. When your career is on the line, be sure that you are doing everything possible to protect your future. I am as committed to your needs as you are, and I have the experience to defend them.
What Reinstatement Looks Like
Returning to active status is not easy. Under current rules, an attorney has to wait for five years from the date of the disbarment or effective date of the resignation to apply for reinstatement. As part of the process, attorneys must prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that they have been rehabilitated from the misconduct that led to the disbarment or resignation; they must show the passage of the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE), that they possess current learning and ability in the law, and that they possess current good moral character.
The last requirement is the most difficult one, requiring the demonstration of a “sustained period of exemplary conduct.” Also, the attorney must reimburse The State Bar for all disciplinary costs and Client Security Fund payouts. Reinstatement petitions are almost always vigorously opposed by The State Bar, represented by lawyers from the Office of Chief Trial Counsel.
Reinstatement to practice is a major project not to be undertaken lightly. Reinstatement in most cases requires a minimum of a year of planning and preparation before the petition is filed.
Attorneys who are actually suspended from practice for two years or more are typically required to establish their rehabilitation and current learning and ability in the law in a “mini-restatement” proceeding under Standard 1.4(c) (ii) of the Standards for Attorney Sanctions for Professional Misconduct. This proceeding is less onerous than a full reinstatement. The burden of proof is a preponderance of the evidence, not clear and not convincing, as in a full reinstatement.
Begin Fighting For Your Future Today
Call me at 619-696-0526 to schedule a consultation on your petition for reinstatement.