Protecting and defending your California professional license couldn’t be more important. Licensing disciplinary investigations and proceedings are serious matters where there is a lot at stake. Whether you are a physician, a teacher, an engineer, or another type of licensed professional in California, you depend upon your professional license every day. Your license enables you to do the work that you love, the work that provides economic support for you and your family.
If you are facing Board disciplinary action, do not despair. There are actions you can take to minimize the impact of the investigation, any associated disciplinary proceedings and impact to your professional license and on your career. The very first thing that you should do as soon as you realize that your professional conduct has come under scrutiny is to hire an experienced California licensing lawyer and reach out to Bay Area Professional Licensing Attorney, Lucy S. McAllister. Lucy McAllister is also trained in both CA licensing and criminal law and handles many cross-over criminal conduct/licensing cases such as those involving DUIs, insurance fraud, and domestic violence when criminal charges and convictions are automatically reported to licensing boards.
Our law firm understands how important your professional license is to you, and we can help defend it in the following ten ways:
1. Get help immediately. The initial, informal stages of a disciplinary proceeding may seem like they are not all that complicated or serious. However, if you seek assistance from Bay Area Professional Licensing Attorney Lucy S. McAllister as soon as you are aware that there is a problem, she may be able to help you to effectively resolve the situation. The further you go into the disciplinary process, the more likely it is that information about the proceedings against you will be made public, even if your case is eventually dismissed.
2. Retain expert counsel. Getting the assistance of a professional attorney during the informal stages of a disciplinary investigation or proceeding often results in the matter being settled in far less time than it would be if the professional tries to take care of it on their own and ends up becoming involved in more formal disciplinary proceedings. Disciplinary actions or the threat thereof can cause a great deal of stress for the professionals involved, and a swift resolution of the situation can make for far fewer sleepless nights and worry-filled days.
3. Disclose mistakes. The earlier stages of the disciplinary process often present opportunities for professionals to acknowledge mistakes that they have made with little impact on their ability to continue working in their chosen profession. By seeking the assistance of a seasoned professional licensing attorney, you can be sure that you will not miss any opportunities to work through your disciplinary issue with as few restrictions on your license as possible, and perhaps even with no restrictions at all.
4. Save money. While you may think that representing yourself in the informal stages of your disciplinary proceeding will cost you less money than it would cost to retain an attorney, it could end up costing you more. If your disciplinary action is not resolved during the initial, informal stages of the disciplinary process, the costs of formal proceedings are higher, as are the stakes. Involving Bay Area Professional Licensing Attorney Lucy S. McAllister at the earliest possible time can minimize the impact that the disciplinary process has on your wallet.
5. Relationships matter. Bay Area Professional Licensing Attorney Lucy S. McAllister has over 25 years of experience helping professionals to protect the licenses that they worked so hard to acquire. Her years of experience managing through the disciplinary process for the wide variety of professional licensing matters that she handles have given her a great deal of knowledge about how each of those processes works, as well as the opportunity to develop a rapport with many of the staff and attorneys on the professional licensing boards. Her collegiality and reputation enable her to help her clients navigate the disciplinary process smoothly and obtain the best possible results.
6. Protect yourself. From the moment that you are contacted by an investigator or receive a letter from the licensing board in the mail, Attorney Lucy S. McAllister can protect your interests. It is important that you do not speak to an investigator or respond to a letter from the licensing board on your own, because the things that you say could be used against you later on in the proceedings.
7. Civil to criminal – not a problem. In the event that the licensing complaint that resulted in disciplinary action against you by the licensing board also results in criminal charges being filed against you, Bay Area Attorney Lucy S. McAllister has the knowledge and expertise to handle the criminal aspect of your case. Attorney McAllister has years of experience in successfully defending individuals against a variety of types of criminal charges.
8. Petitions for license reinstatement. You may think that if your license has already been suspended or revoked, or if you have been placed on probation, there is nothing more that you can do. Fortunately, even after these things have happened, you may still be able to reduce the impact of probation, revocation, or suspension on your professional license. Bay Area Professional Licensing Attorney Lucy S. McAllister can help you to petition the board for reinstatement of your license or a reduction in your probationary period.
9. Multi-state licenses. If you are licensed in more than one state, you need the knowledge and experience of a professional licensing attorney to help you prevent disciplinary action in one state from affecting your professional credentials in other states. Attorney Lucy S. McAllister can help you to assess and manage the risks associated with disciplinary proceedings so that they have the least possible impact on your personal and professional life.
10. A solid legal case. Even if you know that the claim that gave rise to the investigation or disciplinary proceedings is without merit, the licensing board does not know that. Their job is to ensure that the professionals who hold licenses are doing their jobs properly and treat their clients with respect. When you retain Bay Area Professional Licensing Attorney Lucy S. McAllister to assist you in navigating the disciplinary process, you are entrusting a seasoned and successful professional to portray your side of the story, and you are giving yourself the best chance at a positive outcome.
If you would like to schedule an appointment to discuss California professional license defense, please call Lucy McAllister in our San Jose office at (408) 947-5946 or in San Francisco at (415) 939-9396.
