Practice Areas

Our firm attorneys regularly defend or represent law students seeking licensure and out-of-state attorneys seeking licensure or comity in North Carolina. The North Carolina Board of Law Examiners is the agency responsible for granting law licenses in North Carolina. An applicant may receive notice of a panel hearing on character and fitness issues. For example, a prior criminal history, failure to disclose information on the Bar or a law school application or any academic dishonesty typically will result in a panel hearing. The Board also conducts panel hearings on alleged exam misconduct and resolves some of those allegations through affidavits and other written submissions. If a prospective attorney’s license is not approved at the informal panel hearing level, the matter will be considered at a formal evidentiary hearing before all Board members with the Attorney General’s office serving as Board counsel. Attorneys seeking comity in North Carolina may also run into issues concerning the sufficiency of the length of time practicing in another state, other requirements of practice necessary to comply with North Carolina’s comity requirements, and also character and fitness issues.

Our firm’s attorneys have substantial experience in defending applicants at the informal panel hearings and at formal hearings before the full Board. For clients who are not in a financial position to retain us to attend the informal panel hearing, we also unbundle our services by offering consultations to assist clients in preparing and can provide additional assistance with preparing for the hearing beyond the consultation but without actually attending the hearing. For informal panel hearings, we normally charge a fixed or minimum fee for our services, which fee varies depending on the level of assistance requested.