Fresno COunty
Professional License
Defense Attorneys
A disciplinary action may damage your livelihood, reputation, relationships, and financial security. For this reason, our team is dedicated to protecting your license, striving for either a complete dismissal of charges or the most favorable outcome.
From the moment you contact us, our license defense attorneys will stand by your side with the knowledge, experience, and commitment needed to defend the career you have worked hard to build. Call the Fresno License Attorney today at 559-388-5402.
Professional License Defense Law Firm in Fresno
Fresno License Attorney is a law firm that defends our clients’ professional licenses in Fresno and the Central Valley. Our senior lawyers are solely interested in defending professionals against disciplinary measures by state licensing boards or agencies. We recognize the years of training, education, and effort you have invested in your career, and understand how devastating a suspension or revocation can be.
Our Areas of Practice
At Fresno County License Attorney, we defend professional licenses across all industries. We work with a wide range of professions and licenses, including:
If you’re facing issues with your professional license, contact us immediately. We’re here to help!
Don’t Risk Your Career.
Speak With a License Defense Attorney Now.
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In our license defense practice, we help professionals at every stage of their careers deal with various allegations. We also support reputation management and can act as defense attorneys in criminal or civil cases. Our lawyers specialize in representing clients in situations that include, but aren’t limited to, accusations of:
We are Committed to Protecting Your Career
At Fresno License Attorney, we put the client first. We empathize with you because we understand the profound impact a licensing board’s action can have on your career and personal life. We treat you with respect and dignity as we want to be treated in our clients’ positions. From the moment you first contact us, we take the time to listen to your story, understand your goals, and evaluate your needs.
We explain the administrative process and devise robust strategies to protect your license and reputation. We do not only promise our zealous defense, but we are proactive and will go out of our way to challenge the evidence presented by the state, do our own investigations, and prepare each case as though it will be tried to a full hearing.
We are ready to fight for your rights at every stage of the process, doing everything legally possible to defend your license and livelihood. Our practice is not divided, as with other companies that deal with various laws, but we practice professional license defense.
This emphasis is essential since the administrative law regulating licensing boards has unique rules, procedures, and evidentiary standards quite distinct from those of civil or criminal courts. The general practice attorney might lack the specialized experience to work successfully within this complicated system.
The time and resources our specialization provides allow us to keep up with the complex rules governing your profession. We are not only your lawyers, we are your advocates. We will help you work through this hard time with strength, dedication, and compassion. We understand that slander may endanger your reputation, and our active, devoted defense is meant to save all you have established.
The Right Guidance to Protect Your License
Obtaining the right advice early in the process is critical when you receive a notice of an investigation or a complaint that may impact your professional license. That is the guidance we offer at Fresno License Attorney based on our practical experience once you engage our services. What you do or do not do at the early stages of the case can significantly affect the ultimate result of your case.
As an example, you should never talk to an investigator in a licensing board on your own. Investigators are very professional people whose work is to collect evidence that can be used to prove a case against you. They might seem amiable and sympathetic to convince you to speak. However, whatever you say can be misunderstood, misapplied, and used against you to create a case or restrict the options of defense we will have in the future.
Your first step should be to consult an experienced license-defense attorney. Ideally, your license defense attorney handles all communication with the investigator to protect your rights. This will ensure you do not unwittingly subvert your case and protect your rights.
Moreover, you should never change, conceal, or destroy any documents or records after you have noticed an investigation.
Doing this may be considered a confession of guilt. It may trigger more serious charges, such as obstruction or unprofessional conduct, even when the original charge might have been unwarranted. We will instruct you on how to reply to document requests legally and adequately so that you do not violate your duties at the expense of your defense.
You should also not contact the person who filed the complaint against you. Although you may want to clear up a misunderstanding, contacting the complainant directly could be viewed as witness tampering or intimidation. This serious offense can lead to a separate basis of disciplinary action and will damage your credibility. Any communication should be addressed through the proper legal channels.
Also, you should observe any deadlines. There are tight schedules in the administrative process. After a formal Accusation, you have a very short time, usually 15 days, to file a formal Notice of Defense. Otherwise, the board may impose a default judgment on you and thus revoke your license without you having the opportunity to explain your case. This is an automatic loss that is extremely hard to recover.
The sooner you can contact us, the better. A fast response usually results in a chance to negotiate with the board and positively settle the situation without a formal administrative hearing. An early resolution can save you time, money, and stress while safeguarding your professional license.
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Licensing boards operate differently from regular courts. They are often non-governmental, so they don’t always follow similar rules and procedures as traditional courts.
Having a lawyer on your side helps keep your licensing board accountable. These boards often try to evade judicial oversight, so they tend to avoid actions that could lead to a lawsuit or appeals of their decisions.
Here’s how an attorney can assist you during a disciplinary procedure:
Defending Professional License Across All Disciplines
Our firm provides defense representation to professionals in various industries under investigation or facing disciplinary proceedings. We have extensive experience with the specific rules and procedures of the many licensing boards in California, and we understand the unique challenges and pressures professionals in each field face.
Physicians and Surgeons
Registered Nurses
Certified Public Accountants (CPA)
Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons
Engineers and Land Surveyors
Insurance Agents and Brokers
Daycare Providers
There Is Always a Legal Path Forward
It is common for professionals who receive a notice of investigation to become helpless and wonder whether they should allow the inevitable to occur. This should not be the case.
It is crucial to remember that any person can file a complaint against you: an unsatisfied customer, an ex-employee, a rival, but it is quite another thing to prove it. The disciplinary process is organized and has a particular legal course; you have the rights and possibilities to protect yourself at every point. No matter the challenge, there is always a solution.
An investigation is usually the starting point of the process. A board investigator will obtain evidence, possibly by interviewing you, your coworkers, and the complainant. They will also examine documents and issue or serve you a subpoena.
This was a crucial phase, and our intervention helped avoid the situation. The board will file a formal Accusation if there is enough evidence. This official charging document details the laws and regulations you claim violated and the board’s intention to revoke or suspend your license.
If served with an Accusation, you should submit a Notice of Defense within a minimal time, usually 15 days. This is an essential legal measure that will ensure that you have a chance to appear for a hearing. The discovery process commences after the Notice of Defense has been filed. Here, we receive all the evidence that the board has against you. This includes investigation reports, witness statements, and any expert opinion they intend to employ.
We will look for weaknesses in the board’s case, question their main witnesses, and gather solid evidence to support your defense. This is also the time for negotiating a settlement, referred to as a Stipulated Agreement. Such a negotiated plea may include reduced discipline, for example, a reprimand in public, a fine, compulsory further education, or probation with conditions, rather than revocation.
In case of a failure to settle, your case will be subject to an administrative hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH). This is a trial without a jury, and the rules of evidence may not be strict. We will make a strong case on your behalf, and it may involve the testimony of expert witnesses, proof of your good character, and strong mitigating evidence.
We will cross-examine the women of the board and discredit them to expose weaknesses in the case. After the hearing, the case. The ALJ will give a Proposed Decision to the licensing hearing. This ruling contains findings of fact and a disciplinary recommendation, should there be any. The board then makes the last decision; it may either accept the decision of the ALJ as it is, amend it by adding or reducing the penalty, or dismiss it and rule on the case.
Although the board’s final decision may not be in your favor, there are alternatives. We may present a petition of reconsideration to the board itself, on the ground that the decision was founded on an error of law or fact.
If unsuccessful, we may challenge the ruling to the California Superior Court by submitting a legal action called a writ of mandamus, requesting a judge to examine the board’s actions. Moreover, despite the suspension or revocation of a license, there are certain legal avenues to reinstate that license after a specified duration.
If your license is under probation, we can appeal to the board to reduce or end the probation period. When you have experienced legal counsel on your side, you are never out of options.
Frequently Asked Questions on Defending a
Professional License
Below are some FAQS clients have on professional licenses:
Unfortunately, the answer to this is not straightforward because the length of time varies depending on the case’s complexity and the particular board’s caseload. A simple investigation may end in a few months, whereas more complicated ones could take a year or even more.
Although this is a stressful time, it allows us time to do our investigation, collect solid evidence, and make a settlement with the board’s counsel before a formal accusation is presented.
A licensing board may request a judge’s Interim Suspension Order (ISO) in some severe cases. This is a temporary license suspension as the investigation and disciplinary process continues. Boards will usually only want an ISO when they believe that your continued practice is a direct danger to the health and safety of the people. You can appeal to an ISO in a hearing. This is a serious legal issue, and it is necessary to hire an experienced lawyer to defend you at this point so that you are not deprived of your means of earning a living even as your case is pending.
This is a significant issue for every professional, and for a reason. In the first stage of investigation, the complaint is confidential. But when the board chooses to proceed and file a formal accusation, the document becomes typically a public record, which in most cases is posted on the board’s website to be viewed by anyone.
Any disciplinary measure that may be taken against you, such as suspension, probation, or public reprimand, will also be included in your public licensing record. This is why you should build a solid defense at the first instance, to have your case dismissed before it becomes public.
It is not automatic; however, it is a dire situation. Several California licensing boards require you to report criminal convictions, and a substantially related conviction may be the basis of discipline, including revocation.
However, being charged does not mean that you have been convicted. Your criminal case will be affected enormously. Having a license defense attorney collaborate with your criminal defense attorney is essential to ensure that any plea bargain in the criminal case is framed in a way that does the least harm to your professional license.
Contact Fresno License Attorney Today!
Your career and reputation are too crucial to risk. If you have been notified by letter by your licensing board, are being investigated, or are being formally charged, you should do something to defend your rights. By acting early and gathering all relevant evidence and facts, we can build an aggressive defense strategy to achieve the best possible outcome. At the Fresno License Attorney, our license defense lawyers are ready to make solid defenses and protect your license, career, and livelihood. Contact us today at 559-388-5402 for a free and confidential consultation with our specialist license defense attorneys.