Character and Fitness

7sagelsatstudent180

Does anyone know what character and fitness flaws are dealbreakers?

Pacifico

Depends on the particular state's bar requirements, the final disposition of the issue, the current disposition of the issue, the school's perspective on such matters, as well as a host of other issues. There are some people that have become lawyers with some absolutely crazy C&F issues that would probably blow your mind. Obviously I'm not a consultant or anything but I have some experience dealing with this so feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

If you know what state you want to practice in, it's definitely worth it to do some deep research into their regulations. Once I found out I could practice where I want to with the issues I have, I then looked into the schools I want to attend and how they deal with such matters and now I just have to work on how to carefully address all my issues on my applications.

blah170blah

You should look at each state's specific rules for passing the MBTE (the moral character test).

profile427

I'm glad that you brought this up!

What's the deal with minor traffic violations, such as a few ancient rectified speeding tickets or minor collisions (such as receiving a citation for a non-injurious rear-ending)?

How much health history do you have to reveal? Especially behavioral/mental health stuff that has no relation to any law-breaking? Doesn't that break HIPAA laws to have to reveal any of that stuff? I mean, about 13+% of Americans are on antidepressants...

hrjones44

I live in Alabama and was told by a few lawyers that spoke at UA while i was there, that if you have a DUI, then u can't go to law school, or u wouldn't be able to pass the bar. Posession charges and other common charges are generally ok, as long as their not convictions, but yeah mainly DUI, and i'm sure other hardcore crimes too..

hrjones44

not "pass the bar:" but for "sit for the bar"****

Pacifico

It absolutely depends on the state, the charge and many states have provisions for evidence of rehabilitation so you could do some pretty serious stuff and still be cool. And you can definitely become a lawyer with a DUI in many states.

NYC12345

@hrjones44
@Pacifico
I'm not sure about convictions, but I know someone with a sealed record with serious charges can pass the bar

Pacifico

That's definitely true, but I know for a lot of convictions that even if you don't get it sealed you can still sit for the bar if you meet other time passage requirements or can somehow show you have effectively put the matter behind you and are not a high risk. I would imagine that state bar associations favor this approach since many states have very strict requirements for expungement while some have none at all and it would be a bit unfair to not let someone pursue becoming a lawyer simply because they got in trouble in the wrong state.

hrjones44

Yeah i guess he mean't within the state, about the DUI's ... and this was like 2008

SummerMichal

Each state's bar association should have their character and fitness standards posted online. Just Google it.