University of Miami School of Law Application Review
The Florida Board of Bar Examiners reviews your Miami law school application when it conducts its background investigation.
If you didn’t disclose something on your Miami Law application that should have been disclosed, the Board will want to know why, and may issue a Notice to Appear for Investigative Hearing to get the answers.
Lack of candor is an avoidable problem. To be fully candid, an applicant must give all the other sides of the story, not just their own.
For example, an arrest for shoplifting must be disclosed on the Bar application, even if charges were later dropped. An arrest also may need to be disclosed on the law school application. Getting copies of all store security reports, and relating the narrative in your answer, will help ensure a candid response to application questions.
Elizabeth Conan reviews law school applications for weaknesses and can help Florida Bar applicants correct those issues long before they become a problem with the Florida Board of Bar Examiners.
If a future Miami Law student is worried about a blemished past, Elizabeth offers solutions that could help present the law school application in the best possible light, putting the applicant closer to admission, and possibly preventing issues before they arise with the Florida Board of Bar Examiners down the line.
Miami Law Students’ Florida Bar Application Review
The ideal Florida Bar applicant can clearly and fully explain all sides of circumstances that have been identified as troublesome by the Florida Board of Bar Examiners.
Sometimes applicants don’t feel they need to be honest because they’re “technically” answering the application question. For example, maybe the misconduct happened a year or two outside of the scope of the question, leading applicant to believe that a serious incident need not be disclosed.
That’s troublesome to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners for a myriad of reasons. The bottom line is that it’s deceptive to omit information that could potentially impact the Board’s admission recommendation. If a future lawyer cannot be completely honest about themselves while filling out the Florida Bar application, how can they be trustworthy in the courtroom?
When in doubt, disclose, because the risks associated with silence are too costly.
Since 2008, Elizabeth has reviewed and strengthened hundreds of Florida Bar applications. Contact her confidentially to schedule a Florida Bar application review, before submission.
Elizabeth Conan offers pre-submission screening of Florida Bar applications, and she can offer advice that could help mitigate concerns about a negative past.
Florida Board of Bar Examiner Investigative Hearings
When the Board issues a Notice to Appear for Investigative Hearing, applicants are given an opportunity to put “red flagged” past conduct into context and explain why that conduct would no longer affect their character as a Florida attorney, if admitted.
A Florida Bar investigatory hearing also presents the opportunity for an applicant to showcase their understanding of candor and demonstrate to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners how the applicant has rehabilitated to move past their negative experiences.
While the situations listed below could call an applicant’s character into question, they don’t necessarily preclude an applicant from Florida Bar admission:
- academic suspension, probation or other school-related discipline
- bad credit, charge offs, bankruptcies
- arrests, police detentions and criminal charges
- living with mental illness and/or an addiction
- legal claims/ brought against applicant
- job terminations
- drivers license suspensions
Explaining past misconduct fully and honestly at an investigative hearing demonstrates an applicant’s integrity. Applicants can use the Florida Board of Bar Examiners investigatory hearing to introduce evidence supporting personal growth and rehabilitation from prior misconduct.
Elizabeth Conan is skilled in helping law school students gain admission to The Florida Bar. She understands what evidence needs to be submitted to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, and what the Board is looking for in amendments to the Florida Bar application.
