Advice on Character and Fitness

omerico7

In 2014, I had a traffic violation: HOLDER OF LEARNER'S PERMIT DRIVING W/O REQ. SUPERVISION. I entered a guilty plea, and judge gave me Probation Before Judgment. Obviously, I need to disclose it, but does this necessitate a Character and Fitness Addendum?

omerico7

Also, would this affect my chance of admission?

kathrynann

From what I understand, if the law school application is asking for that information, it is best to disclose versus not share that information if they are asking for the information. If that information was not disclosed during the application process when asked, it can affect you during the bar exam. I would reach and ask on the 7Sage Admissions Site chat box.

hopjetea

You might want to email schools to ask specifically, but I think it's going to affect your chances, even at low ranked schools.
I've seen some high scores get denied because of C&F.

Logician

I disagree, I don't think this will really affect your application, if at all. Many deans of admissions have spoken out about this- getting misdemeanors in college etc, things of this nature, so long as thats all behind you and theres no recurring pattern you should be fine. That being said, do make sure to disclose it.

Law and Yoda

7Sage offers some advice regarding C&Fs https://7sage.com/admissions/lesson/character-fitness-addenda/

LSAC also held a Justice Hour: Law School Admission and Justice-Impacted People on August 4th and I’d imagine the video would be uploaded by now. The panel had current law students who discussed either serious crimes or misdemeanors and how they navigated that path before entering law school. One of the panelist runs The National Justice Impact Bar Association, who you could reach out to. My thoughts are to definitely write an addendum and to disclose. The disclosure of a minor criminal or civil violation in someone's past will usually not have a negative impact on admission.

omerico7

Thanks a lot guys! Feel much better!