University of Florida/Levin College of Law Application Review
After they receive your Bar application, the Florida Board of Bar Examiners looks for discrepancies between the law school application, which was completed years earlier, and the Bar application.
It’s a candor landmine that’s completely avoidable, with the right guidance and preparation at the outset. This means your law school application is the place where you first demonstrate candor, or lack of it.
For example, if an applicant has been arrested for shoplifting, but the charges were dropped, the Board still wants to know about that incident in the Bar application.
Does the law school application require disclosure of arrests, like the Bar application does? Then full candor means answering the question with all sides of the incident, not just the applicant’s perspective.
That’s why careful reading of the application questions, and gathering documents related to incidents that require explanation, is critical.
Elizabeth Conan reviews UF Law School applications before submission for strengths, weaknesses, and accuracy.
If a prospective UF Law student is concerned about past conduct, Elizabeth can offer advice about steps to take that could help mitigate an adverse impression on the UF law school admissions panel.
Florida Bar Application Review for UF Law Students
It’s critical that an applicant demonstrate full and complete disclosure on the Florida Bar application. A step in that direction is gathering documentation ahead of time, and taking the time necessary to ensure the Bar application is in the best shape possible before submission.
At times, applicants may feel that negative information does not need to be disclosed because it falls outside the scope of a question, for example. It’s always dishonest to omit information that might impact the Board’s decisions about admission. If a bar candidate can’t be completely honest about themselves while completing the Florida Bar application, how can they be trusted to be completely honest in the courtroom?
The risks associated with silence are too costly. When in doubt, disclose.
Elizabeth Conan is available to screen UF Law students’ Florida Bar applications for candor issues before they’re submitted to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. She offers guidance on full disclosure, and solutions that could help mitigate any concerns about negative information.
Elizabeth has revised and strengthened hundreds of Florida Bar applications since 2008. Contact her confidentially to schedule a Bar application screening.
Florida Board of Bar Examiner Investigative Hearings
Through investigative hearings, the Board gives UF Law applicants an opportunity to put troubling past conduct into context, and to explain why it would not impact their character as a Florida attorney, if the Board decides to recommend admission.
Each of the following situations might call an applicant’s character & fitness into question, but none of them will necessarily preclude an applicant from practicing law in Florida:
- blemishes in academic credentials
- financial struggles and poor credit
- law enforcement contacts, detentions, criminal charges
- living with an addictive disease or mental illness
- lawsuits or other claims/complaints
- employment problems
- poor driving history and DL suspensions
Explaining these incidents fully and candidly at an investigative hearing demonstrates an applicant’s honesty and integrity. Applicants can use the investigative hearing to provide evidence of personal growth and demonstrate rehabilitation.
Fear of the unknown is highly stressful, but an Elizabeth Conan can answer questions and shed light on the Board’s hearing procedures to quell that fear.
