Character & Fitness Update 2010

While the legal definition of character & fitness has not changed, the types of behaviors and past incidents which the SBM investigators focus upon reflects the views of the Standing Committee on Character & Fitness, the Board of Law Examiners and all m of the State members Bar of Michigan both directly and indirectly.  Since January 2010, our office has handled numerous files and reviewed a number of cases for applicants.  Listed below are trends we have observed.

Financial Issues

The SBM closely scrutinizes an applicant’s credit report and specifically asks about banking overdrafts. Applicants who have more than 4 overdrafts/NSF checks must provide an explanation for their banking situation and specific explanations for each overdraft item.  The more NSFs/overdrafts you have, the more explaining you will have to do.  If you are still in law school, nip this problem in the bud:  Watch your accounts closely.  Most NSF/overdraft issues can be cleared up in your district committee meeting with the right preparation.

If your credit record reflects a problem in timely paying bills or worse, then you will need to explain why. The concern is obvious: protection of the public. If the SBM sees a problem in money management, responsibility or credit abuse, your application will be delayed while you explain why your past financial practices won’t negatively affect your clients in the future. A ‘good’ explanation is usually tied to a personal or family tragedy.  To simply say, “Hey, school was expensive and I have bills” will not satisfy SBM.  No, you’ll need to articulate how you plan to avoid this situation in the future. Usually these issues are not fatal, but can delay you for up to 12 months.

Substance Abuse

A history of criminal contacts almost always has an underlying history of substance abuse. Singular instances of an MIP or OWI are usually not a big problem. A pattern of these types of crimes can be.

To date, the SBM still requires complete disclosure of all criminal contacts, even the ones taken under advisement. Thus, the ‘lesser’ issue you thought you left behind in undergrad now comes back to you when you fill out the SBM application. When the investigators see multiple offenses in a relatively short period of time, it becomes a pattern no matter what your official record might reflect. If you are unable to articulate a good explanation for the multiple contacts, SBM will assume a problem exists (I know, not fair, but most truths in life are neither fair nor pleasant). The applicant must make an affirmative showing that whatever problem exists, it is managed and will not likely re-occur. These types of problems can delay an application 6 to 24 months.  This is sometimes addressed through counseling or the formal program sponsored by the State Bar of Michigan: LJAP (Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program).  As each problem is unique, it is hard to say what the ‘norm’ is for any applicant.

Failure to Disclose

This continues to be the most prevalent problem in our office. The applicant, for whatever reason, does not want to discuss past behaviors that are part of their lives. Failing to identify these incidents or softpedalling them leads to more serious problems with the applicant’s credibility. Without your initial disclosure, the assumption is that you did not want this information to be known. It is better to overdisclose and explain than it is to fail to disclose an item.  There are a number of instances when clients think an issue would not come out and then have to later explain it multiple times.  It is hard to say, “yeah, you should have kept your mouth shut’.  It’s just like Watergate: the crime is always in the cover-up.  I think you will be more comfortable with a clear conscience than you would spilling the beans after you have been found out.

Feel free to contact the office with any questions you have regarding your SBM application at 313-821-5904 or tim@timdian.com

Tim Dinan, September 7th 2010 | Tags: , , ,
Posted in Michigan Drivers License Restoration

Your District Committee Meeting

Sometime between the time you apply for a license to practice law and your swearing-in day, there exists moments of anxiety.  It might come in of the form of a letter from the State Bar of Michigan’s Character & Fitness department or your own knowledge that something happened in your recent or distant past for which you know you’ll have to answer to someone.  Some people get e-mails asking for clarification on an application question and that simple inquiry is enough to distract or even despair.   Of course, it does not take much to distract any applicant waiting for approval from the State Bar of Michigan and ultimately from the Board of Law Examiners.

The District Committee

When circumstances dictate, an applicant will be called into an in-person meeting with State Bar incarnated in the form of a District Committee.  The District Committee is made up of lawyers appointed by the State Bar of Michigan’s Board of Commissioners based upon their locality.  The districts correspond to the State Bar of Michigan’s geographic regions.  The members of the committee are appointed for three years.  All members of the committee are volunteers.  It is considered an honor to be a member of the District Committee and the individual members take their work seriously.

It is considered an ‘informal’ meeting according to the Rules on Admission to the State Bar.  The roles and duties of Committee members are dictated by the State Bar rules regarding character & fitness.  The conduct of the district committee meetings are dictated by the same rules.  All the meetings are taped though the contents of the meeting are not transcribed nor are the tapes available to the applicant.  The District Committee will meet, review the applicant’s application, meet with and interview the candidate and make a decision about the candidate’s fitness.  They will then issue an opinion which is reviewed by the Standing Committee on Character & Fitness who can either accept the District’s recommendation and pass the approved application to the Board of Law Examiners for their approval, accept the recommendation but still want to meet with the candidate or reject the applicant giving the applicant the opportunity to appear before a standing committee to make the case for an applicant’s requisite character & fitness.  The candidate may bring a lawyer to the meeting as well as other supporting materials that might affect the committee’s decision.

A candidate who will have to meet with the District Committee will receive a letter and a referral sheet from the State Bar of Michigan’s Character & Fitness department.  The meeting will then be scheduled through the District Committee chairman’s office.  The Chairman will then find three to five members of the District Committee who will agree to sit on the applicant’s panel.  The panelists will have the application and the referral sheet of the applicant.  The committee’s readiness is dictated by the amount of time they have had to prepare for the meeting.  Most issues are straight-forward enough, but some issues do contain subtleties.

Bringing an attorney to a District Committee meeting is a matter of comfort and preference.  Most issues do not require a lawyer but rather thorough preparation and honest responses.  The advantage to having a lawyer and consulting with a lawyer prior to the meeting is to reduce the ’surprise’ factor and to properly prepare you to honestly answer the questions you will get.  The attorney will also prepare you to meet the burden of proof for the hearing: you are responsible to prove by clear and convincing evidence that you possess the requisite character & fitness to practice law.  It is not presumed.
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Tim Dinan, December 13th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Bar Applications, Michigan Bar Examination