I learned (or perhaps re-learned) a few basic lessons of license law at a recent licensing board meeting I attended. On the day I attended, a number of individuals (all without attorneys) asked the board to either terminate their probation early or reinstate a long lost license. Most of these individuals had waited many months, if not years, for this chance. What I saw one after another of them do genuinely shocked me.
Licensing boards exist to protect the public. Each and every person who was heard had voluntarily accepted discipline against their license, probably grabbing a deal to either save their license (for those on probation) or save the costs and ignominy of a discipline hearing (for those who were revoked). The Board, having long since decided these folks were bad apples, expected to hear remorse, reflection and rehabilitation, and perhaps a carefully thought out argument why someone should be off probation or returned to practice.
What I heard, however, was each and every person lash out at the discipline against them and claim their innocence. They were framed, the charges were untrue, the judge got it wrong. They of course did not realize that, indirectly, they were arguing the board itself wrongly disciplined them. I understood that after so many years of hardship, their bitterness, anger and regret openly flowed onto the board members before them. Nevertheless, these people squandered a rare opportunity to plead directly with the board for their licenses.
What no one seemed to realize, of course, was that the results of their denials, rationalizations and tirades would be written in decisions and added to their records. Not only did they seem to utterly fail to accomplish their goals, but they added to the derogatory records of their license discipline.
As a license attorney, I must persuade people to leave their bitterness and hostility behind and to move in a positive direction. People who won't acknowledge or learn from their mistakes almost certainly will repeat them. What a pity that otherwise smart adults didn't seem to get it.
[If you need assistance with a license problem, learn more about my law firm at www.mylicenselawyer.com ]
A blog commenting on the state of and developments in California professional license law, all boards, bureaus, departments and agencies. Legal information of interest to physicians, nurses, brokers, therapists, architects, CPAs, engineers, chiropractors, and salespeople. Published by Fred Ray of Fredrick M. Ray, A Professional Corporation, Attorney at Law, Orange, California.
Posts
