Florida Board of Bar Examiners Character & Fitness Attorney

The Board determines whether an applicant has “good moral character” that would enable them to practice law in Florida with reasonable safety to the public. The Board’s investigation includes obtaining and reviewing documents from crime databases, credit agencies, academic records, employment records, court records, IRS records, DMV abstracts, and applicant’s references, to name a few.

Issues that concern the FBBE are not limited to misconduct involving dishonesty (such as academic honor code accusations/violations), employment misconduct/terminations (particularly those involving theft/misrepresentations and/or a pattern of terminations for cause), criminal history (even if the charges were dropped), financial irresponsibility (such as payments returned for insufficient funds and matters referred to collections), military service discipline/discharge under other than honorable conditions, repeat traffic violations, and failure to comply with court orders.

Typically, personal misconduct in a range of situations triggers concerns. Criminal history (especially crimes involving integrity, such theft), driving while intoxicated, being charged with a felony, being terminated due to misconduct, an inability to manage personal finances (whether or not it leads to bankruptcy), and cheating in school are a few issues that raise red flags.

Attorneys who assist applicants at hearings hold different roles depending on the type of hearing. For investigative hearings, the attorney appears with the applicant to help ensure that there is no misinformation or misunderstandings of facts between the panel and the applicant who is being questioned. Leading up to an investigative hearing, the attorney reviews the applicant’s file and helps the applicant bring information related to the C&F investigation into alignment with the Bar/law school applications. The attorney reviews potential hearing questions and explains the logistics of what the applicant can expect during their hearing. Formal hearings are comparable to a civil trial, and the attorney prepares and submits exhibits, prepares the applicant and witnesses for questioning, and prepares legal arguments supporting the applicant’s admission to the Bar.

Applicants should not rely on their memory at any stage of the application process, even if they think they remember everything in their lives in vivid detail. I’ve seen applicants get completely blind-sided because they thought a professor speaking with them about plagiarism didn’t go beyond that casual chat – then the Board starts asking about why they didn’t disclose the incident in their applications. Before submitting any applications – Bar or law school included – obtain student records, police reports, credit reports, etc. and refer to them when drafting fully detailed and honest explanations. It is well worth the legwork and time to get these documents in hand before the Board does during its investigation. If the Bar/law school application explanations don’t align with the information in the related documents, the applicant will be asked to explain why in writing. The applicant created a candor issue for themselves when it could have been avoided with just a bit of effort. Bottom line: using documents secured ahead of time when drafting explanations can help avoid candor issues down the line.

First, don’t catastrophize – just because you’re called for a hearing doesn’t mean that you will not be cleared/admitted. Next, contact an attorney experienced in Florida Board of Bar Examiners character and fitness hearings, and discuss the issues listed in your notice to appear. The attorney can help you determine next steps, including helping you decide on a hearing date that ensures the best level of preparation.

The Board makes its determination based on your current character and fitness. Current character and fitness is displayed by the way you explain these past mistakes in your Bar/law school applications. Disclosing the circumstances that led to the mistakes honestly and in detail helps show the Board that at the time you completed your applications, you had a good grasp on candor. Candor is an essential requirement in attorneys, so a Bar candidate should display the same quality. As embarrassing or difficult as it can be to talk about it, complete honesty can go a long way toward mitigating mistakes that happened in the past.

It depends on a number of factors. Logically speaking, an applicant who has multiple instances of misconduct will have to wait longer for the Board to complete its investigation than an applicant who does not have multiple instances of misconduct. Applicants who are older in age tend to have a greater volume of life information that could cause delayed processing. Another factor that determines the length of the Board’s investigation is the turn-around time for others to respond to the Board’s inquiries. Applicants can help by asking their references to reply as soon as possible when they receive an inquiry from the Board.

First and foremost is a good moral compass, which is the quality that causes people to do the right thing even when nobody is looking. It is rare to have led a life with zero regrets, but you can’t turn back the clock and fix it now. The next best thing is to be completely forthright, even when you’d rather not re-live something embarrassing or traumatic. This shows the Board that you currently have an understanding of the integrity it takes to be a great representative of the Florida Bar. Rule 3-10 of the Rules of the Florida Supreme Court Relating to Admissions provides more details about what the Board is looking for in a Bar applicant, and Rule 3-11 lists some characteristics that could disqualify an applicant from admission.

In a delay situation, if your application has been actively processing for more than six months, you can write to the Board through the Correspondence section of your portal and ask whether there’s any other information you can provide, and whether the Board could provide a status update on your investigation. A denial of application is something that can occur following a hearing, and to discuss the numerous ramifications, it’s best to reach out to an attorney experienced in Bar admissions.