Offer contingent upon background check Forum

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Sep 11, 2010 1:28 pm

Anonymous User wrote:I don't want to be mean or harsh, but why is this surprising? It's not exactly surprising that a large law firm, or any law firm, is going to be hesitant about hiring a felon. When you're billing $300+/hr for an associate's time, a client is going to raise his eyebrows at paying that much for a felon. There are also serious issues with entrusting client money with a felon - the firm might believe in you, but will the client?
One would assume that being able to get into law school would be a sufficient indicator of quality. Law schools already screen quite rigorously for those that might not pass C&F. This might be naivete on my part, but suggestions that the background checks are relatively recent suggest that they might be in response to a few high profile cases of firms/schools getting burned by associates.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by kopper » Sat Sep 11, 2010 2:18 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Anyone know what they're looking for in the background check? Will a credit score of 630 ding me?
Nope, but I can tell you from personal experience that the higher in prestige a firm is, the more likely they are to disqualify you for anything legal. This is not to say your speeding tickets or open container from when you were 18 is an auto-out. But they can get whoever they want and, at this stage of the game, it's about reasons NOT to take someone.

Point is, if they've moved you into a contingent category, or put you in one from the outset, DO NOT bank on that job. Keep your lines in the water.
This is incorrect. The background check is not part of the "qualification" process. The firm has decided to make you an offer and you need to pass there minimum requirements for hire. Typically background checks included Employment, Eductation, Criminal and sometimes include a credit check and possibly drug test.

This is not a situation where they have 3 potential candidates for hire and will hire the one who scores best on the background check. It is a pass/fail type test. You will receive an offer if and only if you pass the background check. Make sure your resume and application are both accurate and verifiable. If you admit to something on the form that is an issue it may result in a failed background check however if something is found during the background check process that you did not disclose beforehand you will be disqualified regardless of whether the particular item itself was serious enough for a failed background check.

The background checks are both to verify information and ensure you are not a threat to the company or others (may they be employees, clients, etc...). If you have no criminal background and have submitted complete and accurate information you can feel secure you will receive the offer letter. Otherwise, you will have to wait and see the results of the BG check. If they do check credit I don't see your score being an issue. Credit checks are typically reserved for positions that handle large sums of money and they want to be sure someone would not be tempted to steal due to a bad financial situation. The drug test (if applicable) is relatively straight forward. Good luck!

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Sep 11, 2010 2:30 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:I don't want to be mean or harsh, but why is this surprising? It's not exactly surprising that a large law firm, or any law firm, is going to be hesitant about hiring a felon. When you're billing $300+/hr for an associate's time, a client is going to raise his eyebrows at paying that much for a felon. There are also serious issues with entrusting client money with a felon - the firm might believe in you, but will the client?
One would assume that being able to get into law school would be a sufficient indicator of quality. Law schools already screen quite rigorously for those that might not pass C&F. This might be naivete on my part, but suggestions that the background checks are relatively recent suggest that they might be in response to a few high profile cases of firms/schools getting burned by associates.
Entrusting your background checks to law schools is setting your firm up for a negligent hiring / negligent retention suit. Just because the law school, or a licensing board, doesn't have a problem with enrolling a felon doesn't mean that a firm that is a multimillion dollar business with potentially billions of client dollars on the line won't have an issue with hiring a felon.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Sep 11, 2010 3:51 pm

kopper wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Anyone know what they're looking for in the background check? Will a credit score of 630 ding me?
Nope, but I can tell you from personal experience that the higher in prestige a firm is, the more likely they are to disqualify you for anything legal. This is not to say your speeding tickets or open container from when you were 18 is an auto-out. But they can get whoever they want and, at this stage of the game, it's about reasons NOT to take someone.

Point is, if they've moved you into a contingent category, or put you in one from the outset, DO NOT bank on that job. Keep your lines in the water.
This is incorrect. The background check is not part of the "qualification" process. The firm has decided to make you an offer and you need to pass there minimum requirements for hire. Typically background checks included Employment, Eductation, Criminal and sometimes include a credit check and possibly drug test.

This is not a situation where they have 3 potential candidates for hire and will hire the one who scores best on the background check. It is a pass/fail type test. You will receive an offer if and only if you pass the background check. Make sure your resume and application are both accurate and verifiable. If you admit to something on the form that is an issue it may result in a failed background check however if something is found during the background check process that you did not disclose beforehand you will be disqualified regardless of whether the particular item itself was serious enough for a failed background check.

The background checks are both to verify information and ensure you are not a threat to the company or others (may they be employees, clients, etc...). If you have no criminal background and have submitted complete and accurate information you can feel secure you will receive the offer letter. Otherwise, you will have to wait and see the results of the BG check. If they do check credit I don't see your score being an issue. Credit checks are typically reserved for positions that handle large sums of money and they want to be sure someone would not be tempted to steal due to a bad financial situation. The drug test (if applicable) is relatively straight forward. Good luck!
Last edited by Anonymous User on Thu Sep 16, 2010 2:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Sep 13, 2010 5:29 pm

Has anyone heard of background checks focusing on non-legal (convictions, etc.), non-credit issues? I always thought that firms would, at the very least, Google/Facebook you before extending a callback.

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Kohinoor

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Kohinoor » Mon Sep 13, 2010 5:47 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Has anyone heard of background checks focusing on non-legal (convictions, etc.), non-credit issues? I always thought that firms would, at the very least, Google/Facebook you before extending a callback.
They definitely do but, as you noted, that would happen before a callback and definitely before an offer. They also check your civil history so if you're a vexatious litigant you might be in trouble.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Sep 13, 2010 6:03 pm

Kohinoor wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Has anyone heard of background checks focusing on non-legal (convictions, etc.), non-credit issues? I always thought that firms would, at the very least, Google/Facebook you before extending a callback.
They definitely do but, as you noted, that would happen before a callback and definitely before an offer. They also check your civil history so if you're a vexatious litigant you might be in trouble.
Okay, so we're not talking, like, government background checks where they interview colleagues, etc?

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Kohinoor » Mon Sep 13, 2010 6:34 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Kohinoor wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Has anyone heard of background checks focusing on non-legal (convictions, etc.), non-credit issues? I always thought that firms would, at the very least, Google/Facebook you before extending a callback.
They definitely do but, as you noted, that would happen before a callback and definitely before an offer. They also check your civil history so if you're a vexatious litigant you might be in trouble.
Okay, so we're not talking, like, government background checks where they interview colleagues, etc?
Technically they could contract with an agency that is that thorough, but no. Maybe like V100 firms and boutiques might care enough to do that? I could imagine a firm that does very hush hush stuff doing it.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Sep 16, 2010 1:02 pm

PLEASE HELP!!

what counts as a "conviction"??? what if i was stopped by campus police in undergrad and then faced diciplinary actions through the school (alcohol related) does that count as being "convicted of an offense"? do parking/traffic tickets count as being "convicted of an offense"?? if i've been criminally convicted of an offense (for something that would show up on a background check) its something i would know about right?

sorry for being paranoid - ive just heard various things from various people - someone told me that if an officer has stopped you before, that counts as having been arrested. what exactly does a "conviction" entail (jury trial??). is there a free way to do a background check on myself to make sure my record is clear or am i being too paranoid?

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dresden doll

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by dresden doll » Thu Sep 16, 2010 1:05 pm

Anonymous User wrote:PLEASE HELP!!

what counts as a "conviction"??? what if i was stopped by campus police in undergrad and then faced diciplinary actions through the school (alcohol related) does that count as being "convicted of an offense"? do parking/traffic tickets count as being "convicted of an offense"?? if i've been criminally convicted of an offense (for something that would show up on a background check) its something i would know about right?

sorry for being paranoid - ive just heard various things from various people - someone told me that if an officer has stopped you before, that counts as having been arrested. what exactly does a "conviction" entail (jury trial??). is there a free way to do a background check on myself to make sure my record is clear or am i being too paranoid?
Dude, if getting stopped by a cop for speeding sufficed for you to fail the background check, firms would have no one to hire. Calm down.

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paratactical

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by paratactical » Thu Sep 16, 2010 1:06 pm

Anonymous User wrote:PLEASE HELP!!

what counts as a "conviction"??? what if i was stopped by campus police in undergrad and then faced diciplinary actions through the school (alcohol related) does that count as being "convicted of an offense"? do parking/traffic tickets count as being "convicted of an offense"?? if i've been criminally convicted of an offense (for something that would show up on a background check) its something i would know about right?

sorry for being paranoid - ive just heard various things from various people - someone told me that if an officer has stopped you before, that counts as having been arrested. what exactly does a "conviction" entail (jury trial??). is there a free way to do a background check on myself to make sure my record is clear or am i being too paranoid?
They're talking felonies and you're talking about UG booze. That's apples to steaming piles of horseshit.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by dresden doll » Thu Sep 16, 2010 1:10 pm

paratactical wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:PLEASE HELP!!

what counts as a "conviction"??? what if i was stopped by campus police in undergrad and then faced diciplinary actions through the school (alcohol related) does that count as being "convicted of an offense"? do parking/traffic tickets count as being "convicted of an offense"?? if i've been criminally convicted of an offense (for something that would show up on a background check) its something i would know about right?

sorry for being paranoid - ive just heard various things from various people - someone told me that if an officer has stopped you before, that counts as having been arrested. what exactly does a "conviction" entail (jury trial??). is there a free way to do a background check on myself to make sure my record is clear or am i being too paranoid?
They're talking felonies and you're talking about UG booze. That's apples to steaming piles of horseshit.
Basically my point, but much better put. <3

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Sep 20, 2010 11:02 pm

Anonymous User wrote:[I'm the poster with the rescinded offer, above].

It was a felony. Like the other person said, non-violent, non-drug.
Based on your experience, what do you think about an expunged non-violent, non-drug misdemeanor 10 years ago? Disclose to work? State bar explicitly says "do not disclose records expunged under XYZ Code." My conviction was expunged under XYZ, so no problem there. Law school app also stated not to disclose expunged records.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Sep 27, 2010 7:43 pm

When do they usually run the background check? Right after you accept or sometime closer to/during the SA position?

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by vamedic03 » Mon Sep 27, 2010 7:49 pm

Anonymous User wrote:When do they usually run the background check? Right after you accept or sometime closer to/during the SA position?
It doesn't matter - unless you have a felony, a misdemeanor that would considered crime of moral turpitude, or a lot of misdemeanors, you don't have anything to worry about. If you have any of these things, you need to be talking to the firm - no one likes shocks.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Sep 27, 2010 8:38 pm

vamedic03 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:When do they usually run the background check? Right after you accept or sometime closer to/during the SA position?
It doesn't matter - unless you have a felony, a misdemeanor that would considered crime of moral turpitude, or a lot of misdemeanors, you don't have anything to worry about. If you have any of these things, you need to be talking to the firm - no one likes shocks.
........any idea when they run the background check?

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Sep 27, 2010 10:14 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ........any idea when they run the background check?
My firm did it in March last year for everyone, including 1L SA's (packets were mailed to the entire class with the information at the same time).

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Kohinoor

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Kohinoor » Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:51 pm

vamedic03 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:When do they usually run the background check? Right after you accept or sometime closer to/during the SA position?
It doesn't matter - unless you have a felony, a misdemeanor that would considered crime of moral turpitude, or a lot of misdemeanors, you don't have anything to worry about. If you have any of these things, you need to be talking to the firm - no one likes shocks.
or really bad credit

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:00 am

What about a public intoxication 5 years ago?

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:03 am

Kohinoor wrote:
vamedic03 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:When do they usually run the background check? Right after you accept or sometime closer to/during the SA position?
It doesn't matter - unless you have a felony, a misdemeanor that would considered crime of moral turpitude, or a lot of misdemeanors, you don't have anything to worry about. If you have any of these things, you need to be talking to the firm - no one likes shocks.
or really bad credit
Huh, no.

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MrKappus

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by MrKappus » Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:11 am

Well nevermind.
Last edited by MrKappus on Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:18 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Kohinoor

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Kohinoor » Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:13 am

This is an area where TLS isn't going to be a source of expertise. We have about two people in actual practice iirc.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Mar 18, 2011 7:56 pm

Thoughts on: Charged with a misdemeanor (crime of moral turpitude) and charges were dropped after completion of a diversionary program. Happened in high school (4 to 5 years ago)

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Sup Kid » Fri Mar 18, 2011 9:29 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Thoughts on: Charged with a misdemeanor (crime of moral turpitude) and charges were dropped after completion of a diversionary program. Happened in high school (4 to 5 years ago)
Shouldn't matter, but you should just get the arrest expunged, and then you never need to worry about it (except for maybe some government jobs).

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Kohinoor » Sat Mar 19, 2011 12:45 am

Anonymous User wrote:Thoughts on: Charged with a misdemeanor (crime of moral turpitude) and charges were dropped after completion of a diversionary program. Happened in high school (4 to 5 years ago)
Sounds like you're fucked brotato.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

Now there's a charge.
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