Misdemeanors and Big Law Forum

[Anonymous User]

Can anyone speak to how firms view a misdemeanor offense? It's a public intoxication (wrong place, wrong time, wrong cop) that is a Class 4 misdemeanor in the state it was issued. It was issued rather recently and I'm only a 1L. I feel like any black mark is another reason firms can use to disqualify a candidate, so I hope this isn't make or break.

Thanks

[Anonymous User]

Doubt a firm will care. Just be upfront and say you got a ticket for holding a beer in public.

Bigger worry is C&F at this point anyway. You need to talk to a C&F lawyer in the state you plan to practice and find out what you need to do to prove you aren't an alcoholic. Yeah, its bullshit, but you have to suck the rehab-industrial complex' dick for the next few years because you screwed up.

[Anonymous User]

Okay thank you...that's a bit relieving on the firm end. Can something so minor actually prevent my entering the bar of some states? Or is it a matter of doing things that show that was an isolated incident?

[Anonymous User]

No, you're good bro. That poster above is fearmongering and/or retarded

I got a Public Intox and Failure to Comply during 1L (I think that's what they were, been a while)

Got 1L SA and plenty of 2L SA offers. Not all firms background check, but some did, and didn't give a shit

I am not barred yet, but just disclose and you're fine as everyone has told me. Make sure you send a written notice to your dean of students/amend your LS application or whatever he wants to do. People get barred with much, much, much worse shit than public intoxication on their record. I will eat my hat if there has been a single person denied from any state's bar for something this minor

I had a very similar fear to you when I got it right during 1L, but it's really not that big of a deal

[20141023]

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[Desert Fox]

Wait, what? Firms do background checks? If this is true, the checks have to be done at some point after you've already gone through OCI and gotten the offer to work at a firm during your 2L summer, because not a single employer I interviewed with did anything that would come even remotely close to a background check.

Yes it is after the offer.

[20141023]

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[Anonymous User]

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[Sheriff]

I've always been curious about this, do you have to report to an employer the way you would a law school or the bar (full disclosure), or the way you would a normal employer (no disclosure of sealed/expunged records or minor/old violations)?

[Anonymous User]

No, you're good bro. That poster above is fearmongering and/or retarded

I got a Public Intox and Failure to Comply during 1L (I think that's what they were, been a while)

Got 1L SA and plenty of 2L SA offers. Not all firms background check, but some did, and didn't give a shit

I am not barred yet, but just disclose and you're fine as everyone has told me. Make sure you send a written notice to your dean of students/amend your LS application or whatever he wants to do. People get barred with much, much, much worse shit than public intoxication on their record. I will eat my hat if there has been a single person denied from any state's bar for something this minor

I had a very similar fear to you when I got it right during 1L, but it's really not that big of a deal

God this is a relief. My Dean of Students already knows...my school has a policy with the local police and they notified her about it. It just seems like such a trivial thing and I was really hoping it wouldn't be prohibitive going forward. Thanks for this.

[MarkfromWI]

No, you're good bro. That poster above is fearmongering and/or retarded

I got a Public Intox and Failure to Comply during 1L (I think that's what they were, been a while)

Got 1L SA and plenty of 2L SA offers. Not all firms background check, but some did, and didn't give a shit

I am not barred yet, but just disclose and you're fine as everyone has told me. Make sure you send a written notice to your dean of students/amend your LS application or whatever he wants to do. People get barred with much, much, much worse shit than public intoxication on their record. I will eat my hat if there has been a single person denied from any state's bar for something this minor

I had a very similar fear to you when I got it right during 1L, but it's really not that big of a deal

God this is a relief. My Dean of Students already knows...my school has a policy with the local police and they notified her about it. It just seems like such a trivial thing and I was really hoping it wouldn't be prohibitive going forward. Thanks for this.

I'd be a bit more worried, especially since it's alcohol related. The guy who's calming your nerves isn't even sure he's ok yet... I'd take the advice of the earlier poster who said you should talk to an ethics attorney just to be safe.

[rickgrimes69]

No, you're good bro. That poster above is fearmongering and/or retarded

I got a Public Intox and Failure to Comply during 1L (I think that's what they were, been a while)

Got 1L SA and plenty of 2L SA offers. Not all firms background check, but some did, and didn't give a shit

I am not barred yet, but just disclose and you're fine as everyone has told me. Make sure you send a written notice to your dean of students/amend your LS application or whatever he wants to do. People get barred with much, much, much worse shit than public intoxication on their record. I will eat my hat if there has been a single person denied from any state's bar for something this minor

I had a very similar fear to you when I got it right during 1L, but it's really not that big of a deal

God this is a relief. My Dean of Students already knows...my school has a policy with the local police and they notified her about it. It just seems like such a trivial thing and I was really hoping it wouldn't be prohibitive going forward. Thanks for this.

I'd be a bit more worried, especially since it's alcohol related. The guy who's calming your nerves isn't even sure he's ok yet... I'd take the advice of the earlier poster who said you should talk to an ethics attorney just to be safe.

Are you guys fucking serious

This is the legal industry we are talking about here. Like half of all lawyerbros are alcoholics.

Absolutely nobody outside of BYU is going to give even one single solitary fuck about a public intox charge. Just disclose it and you should be fine.

[Sheriff]

Let's try this again:

I've always been curious about this, do you have to report to an employer the way you would a law school or the bar (full disclosure), or the way you would a normal employer (no disclosure of sealed/expunged records or minor/old violations)?

[Desert Fox]

Let's try this again:

I've always been curious about this, do you have to report to an employer the way you would a law school or the bar (full disclosure), or the way you would a normal employer (no disclosure of sealed/expunged records or minor/old violations)?

There is no duty to report it if the company doesn't ask. The firm will run a background check ( or maybe not). If there is something serious out there ( felony for example) you may wanna tell the firm before hand just to see if they pull the offer. They don't do checks until way after hiring so if they pull ur offer ur ducked.

A misdemeanor drunk in public? Shit that's just a funny anecdote.

[Anonymous User]

Can anyone speak to how firms view a misdemeanor offense? It's a public intoxication (wrong place, wrong time, wrong cop) that is a Class 4 misdemeanor in the state it was issued. It was issued rather recently and I'm only a 1L. I feel like any black mark is another reason firms can use to disqualify a candidate, so I hope this isn't make or break.

Thanks

There is a 99.9% chance they won't care. That being said, they want the information - don't try to get away with not telling them. I know someone with multiple misdemeanors who went on to have pretty much the most prestigious career an attorney can have (since prestige is so important on these boards...and no, I'm not going to disclose which firm this person went on to work at, but you can easily guess).