OT: Can you become a lawyer...

You have no friends.

Well damn you wouldn’t trust a skinny chef would you ? So it’s the same with a lawyer if you need a criminal lawyer how could you trust an advocate that isn’t a criminal??

They are all criminals, it's just whether the have a record or not.

I've heard of criminal lawyers.

Yes, you can.

I knew a lawyer who was a felon. This was years ago. He told me this because he had heard about my getting booked for attempted murder and wanted to know how it had played out for me. I wasn't charged with that, but I was charged with a much less severe felony ("accessory after the fact") but since I was young and had a clean record, I was given 3 years HYTA probation which prohibits a felony conviction (or any conviction at all) from ever being entered into your criminal record as long as one completes the probation, which I did successfully. Even during my probation, I never had a problem passing background checks for vanilla jobs, or getting a felony clearance for my dance license, because I was never actually convicted of anything and never have been (and never will be).

This lawyer had drug-related felonies from his very early adult years but was still able to take the bar and be sworn in. He didn't become a lawyer until later than most, so he could've easily explained they were old mistakes but I don't think they even asked him for an explanation since it had happened so long ago. There are even ex-convicts who have been to prison who have become lawyers.

Obviously if your criminal record is a mile long or if you have new felonies, it would be a problem. But if it's something not too major that happened like a decade ago, and you've stayed out of trouble since then, you have a good chance at passing Character and Fitness. Or they might flag your bar application and focus on your Character, and you may even have to explain why you are morally fit to be a lawyer despite your criminal record, and it will be up to the discretion of the bar.

My guess is that he had his record expunged and sealed and that the issue never arose. In my state a felony conviction that is not expunged means you cannot be a lawyer. A clean record for 10 years after the terms of your felony conviction end allows one to apply to have the conviction expunged and the record sealed. Once this occurs it doesn't come up in a CARI search

It varies state to state, but no skimbum, this man is a felon and was a felon when he applied to take the bar. Most states will still allow people with felonies to take the bar and be sworn in, so long as the felony isn't "serious" and that the person has proven their character to be different than it was when the felony took place. It might be a little harder for those people, they may get flagged and their character may be looked into further, or they may have to provide an explanation that satisfies the bar.

I think he had more than one conviction, which is why is wasn't expunged.

I remember the conversation almost verbatim as:
Him: "I have felonies."
Me: "You do?"
Him: "Yup, just drug-related stuff from when I was young. It didn't stop me. You can't be a cop with a felony, but you can be a lawyer and make way more."

Snip from website
"Long story short, we have to consider the state within which the would-be attorney is planning to apply. Most, but not all, states will allow a felon to apply for admission to a state bar. In other words, yes, usually a felon can apply for to get a license to practice law, however one should absolutely plan on the application to be thoroughly scrutinized. It’ll be a hard road to travel, but it is (usually) possible."

The site also lists the few states that prohibit felons from applying to take the bar. According to the website, those states are Kansas, Mississippi, and Texas, so perhaps that is one of the states in which you practice.

Link to website.
https://helpforfelons.org/can-a-felon-be…

So what you’re saying is other than those states mentioned there are no standards to become admitted to the bar ;))

Haha come on. There are plenty of standards. If the bar wants to look into your application enough they could probably find out your credit score and when the last time you got a parking ticket was. Lol.

The point is not to punish someone for a stupid mistake they made years into their past if they can prove their character has changed since then and that they are now morally fit to be trusted to practice law. A lot of people make mistakes in their early adult years; some get caught, some don't.

True but it’s always good for a laugh. ;)

Anyone can become a lawyer. That legal shit is easy once you memorize it and then you just learn the procedures and ritual bs as you go along. Laywers are human garbage though. They'll twist the justice system in any direction depending on who pays them. Fuck them.

Careful there Phatboy. There are several lawyers who post on this board. I’d rather you avoid getting flamed.

Unless they are twisting the system for your benefit eh fat head, then it becomes a noble calling , true?

Lawyers are modern day Samurai. Often I poke fun at them or ridicule them, but like Samurai, they are useful to attack or defend against others' legal attacks (civil or state) and are sworn to defend those they serve, like Samurai.

Too bad I can't pay them with sacks of rice though. Or commit seppuku if they lose my case.

I thought of getting a mail order law degree before and give free advice to people accused of shit and forced into plea agreements by lawyers. I hate them.

Like DA's who tell people they belong behind bars, then join the private sector and give them their cards. Fuck them.

"I thought of getting a mail order law degree before and give free advice to people"

Go for it. It can't be any worse than the diploma mill skibum "graduated" from, and you sure as hell can't give any worse legal advice than nina and skibum.

"Go for it. It can't be any worse than the diploma mill skibum "graduated" from, and you sure as hell can't give any worse legal advice than nina and skibum."

Hm. Actually everything I've said here regarding legal issues has yet to be proven incorrect. So while I'm not a bar certified attorney licensed to give legal advice, the legal issues I've touched on at this website are correct, and several lawyers have PM'ed me here to tell me that.

And the fact that you put me in the same category as a man who's practiced law for decades is indicative of how much legal awareness you rightfully think I actually have. So, thank you for that compliment sweetie. I'm being compared to people with over three decades of legal experience now, and I haven't even been on this Earth for three decades! Thanks!

im kinda familiar with the system and how it abuses people. the whole process is designed to favor the rich.

Even if the "system" isn't actually designed to favor the rich, it is advantageous to be rich when working the system.

@Nina: "several lawyers have PM'ed me here to tell me that."
^I can't recall anyone other than skibum declaring to be a lawyer. I'm curious who the lawyers are.

DeclineToState - Not everyone with a law degree waves it around as a bragging right here. It is not my business to disclose people's professions.

Yes, they DeclineToState

lawyers are like doctors they think theyre better than everybody coz they make money off of people at their lowest points.

everyone here who was divorced must love lawyers. lmfao

^When you need a lawyer or a doctor why not just abstain, and gut it out hard case. You talk a lot of shit. lol

i wouldnt waste money on either, i can hustle but cant afford their fucked up fees for long anyways.

^So when you get poped in a drive by at two am, got a couple of bullet holes in you, be sure to refuse thart ride to the hospital, I'm sure a hard case like yourself can remove the bullets ala John Wayne and bandage yourself up lol
Or when you get pinched by the cops and they find the two kilos of crack cocaine on your possession, just sit there let them appoint a PD to leave your dumbass in jail,lol
Like I have been saying you talk a lot of shit you want everyone to think your all hard but in reality you are a knucklehead. You ain't all that son you just a lazy bored online troll who don't even know what you're talking about.
Grow up child.

"when you get pinched by the cops and they find the two kilos of crack cocaine on your possession'

Just tell them it belongs to your evil twin.

PDs are the worst, they dont give a fuck.

I refused a ride once but they made me go anyways.

NinaBambina: " my getting booked for attempted murder"

What the fuck?!

???

Id share my experiences with the legal system but I donno lol

ninabambina: "???"

I've never heard of someone say that before. Doesn't everyone react that way when you mention that?

It's call street cred in the 'hood.

"I've never heard of someone say that before. Doesn't everyone react that way when you mention that?"

It's actually a funny conversation piece to tell customers. I don't tell most of them, but when I'm with a customer that I think would get a kick out of it, I casually mentioned it and they have a "WTF" moment as well, but are intrigued.

It's actually not that impressive, though. It happened 8 years ago, before I was ever a dancer, and I didn't attempt to murder anyone (no one did). No one got hurt. I was only booked for attempted murder, my actual charge was being an "accessory after the fact" because I wouldn't snitch on my boyfriend at the time, because I knew he would end up going to prison. While being an accessory after the fact of a felony is a felony in itself, I already explained how I was able to avoid ever being convicted of a felony. Hell, I've never even gotten a misdemeanor.

Now that it's behind me, I can look back and laugh at myself for being so naive. I hadn't even thought of practicing law back then and had never been arrested so I knew nothing about jail. I actually thought I could keep my boyfriend (now ex) out of police custody long enough for us to have time to run off to a different state. I was so naive, I wasn't even worried about myself, only him.

When I got to the county jail, they took me and the other new intakes to sign some papers. I asked the woman conducting it, "what am I even in here for?" The woman looked down at her sheet of paper, and coldly said to me, "attempted murder." All the other inmates looked at me like WTF this tiny little girl tried to murder someone?

Thanks for explaining Nina

No problem. :)