Your professional license is the key that unlocks doors to your future success. It shows your clients, patients, and customers that the New Mexico board overseeing your profession has vetted you and you meet all the requirements to work in your chosen field. It demonstrates your dedication and expertise. When someone files a complaint against you to your profession's governing board, it jeopardizes your professional license.
Attorney Joseph D. Lento and the Professional License Defense Team at The Lento Law Firm have unparalleled experience fighting for the futures of licensed and certified clients in New Mexico and across the country. They don't settle on the easiest outcome — they work on getting you the best possible outcome.
Never dismiss or delay acting on a threat to your professional license. Defend your name and professional license as soon as you get notified of a complaint. Contact Attorney Joseph D. Lento and his experienced Professional License Defense Team today.
The Professional License Defense Attorney You Need in New Mexico: The Lento Law Firm
The experienced Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm is ready to fight for you. We represent professionally licensed and credentialed clients throughout the United States, including all cities in New Mexico, such as Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, and Santa Fe. The sooner you call us, the sooner we can begin building a strong case in your defense.
Whether you are a medical doctor in one of New Mexico's 62 hospitals or one of the 21,681 teachers working in New Mexico's public schools, if you are facing allegations of professional misconduct, you need an attorney with experience defending professional license holders in front of boards and in courtrooms.
Contact Attorney Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team today. We want to discuss the details of your case and guide you through the process of defending your license in New Mexico or anywhere else in the United States. Contact the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686. It's never too soon to fight for your livelihood.
The Disciplinary Process for Licensed Professionals in New Mexico
The New Mexico Boards and Commissions Division licenses and regulates more than 30 different professions and specialized trades in the state, including:
- Accountants
- Nursing home administrators
- Cosmetologists and barbers
- Athletic trainers
- Body art practitioners
- Funeral directors
- Chiropractors
- Dental hygienists
- Massage therapists
- Medical doctors
- Healthcare providers
- Environmental health specialists
- Homeopathic medicine providers
- Occupational therapists
- Pharmacists and pharmacies
- Private investigators
- Psychologists
- Social workers
When someone makes a complaint of alleged professional misconduct to a licensing board about one of their licensed professionals, these governing bodies usually investigate the complaint. If they find evidence that professional misconduct occurred, they may choose to suspend or revoke your license. You could face criminal charges if the alleged complaint is criminal in nature.
Each board has its own protocols for handling these complaints and investigations. However, the process usually follows a process such as that outlined below.
Complaint
A complaint is the formal action an accuser makes when they wish to make an accusation about you to the professional board that oversees your license. Anyone can file a complaint against you, including colleagues, patients, clients, insurance companies, or other practitioners in your field. Court clerks may also file a complaint if a court has convicted you of a crime.
You may not always know who filed the complaint, as some boards allow anonymous complaints. You are usually notified about the complaint after the board has reviewed it and determined it to be a valid accusation of professional misconduct.
Investigation
After the board receives your complaint, the members usually review it to see whether the accusation violates the professional code and that you are in the board's jurisdiction. If the complaint is deemed valid by the board, members of the board will investigate the complaint, and you'll receive notice.
The investigation usually includes a review of your personal records, an interview with you, and possibly interviews with others at your workplace. The investigating team will then provide the board with a report with the investigators' findings and recommendations. After reviewing the report, the board determines whether to close the complaint or pursue disciplinary action.
While these matters can take weeks or even months to play out, you will want to contact a professional license defense attorney as soon as you receive a complaint. Once you bring one of our experienced professional license defense attorneys on board, we will begin building a strong case in your defense, which includes advising you on how to cooperate with board investigators.
Consent Order and Other Possible Actions
Upon reviewing the report, the board may choose to dismiss the complaint without taking action. If the board chooses to take disciplinary action against you, it may simply send you a Private Letter of Concern or, if the accusation is more serious, a Public Letter of Concern or a Consent Order. A Consent Order is a negotiated agreement between you and the board.
Either public document may include disciplinary actions such as suspension, revocation, or annulment of your professional license.
You can choose not to accept the disciplinary action proposed in the Public Letter of Concern or the Consent Order. In that case, you will have a hearing before the board.
When negotiating with your licensing board, you need a strong professional license defense attorney on your side, such as Attorney Joseph D. Lento and his experienced Professional License Defense Team.
Hearing
If you and the licensing board cannot agree on the disciplinary actions laid out in your Consent Order, the board will hold a hearing. Licensing board hearings are similar to legal trials. The board presents its evidence. You respond to the accusations. The board then considers all evidence before reaching a decision, which could include suspension or revocation of your license.
What Happens If I Lose My License?
If a New Mexico licensing board revokes your professional license, it could affect your life in many ways, such as:
- Immediate loss of income. When the board revokes your license, you lose your right to work in your chosen profession. Don't count on getting severance or unemployment benefits. On top of bills piling up and collectors calling, an immediate loss of income can put you in a financial crisis.
- Difficulty finding other work. It doesn't look good to have a revoked license on your resume, not to mention the bad rap that circulates among your peers. It will likely be difficult to build trust with potential employers and clients.
- Challenges getting reinstated. If you are able to reapply for your license, you may be required to wait a few years first. There will likely be a lot of hoops to jump through with the board to get reinstated, and there are no guarantees that after you put in the time and effort to reapply that the board will reinstate you.
- Inability to get licensed in another state. You may consider moving to another state and starting over again. However, boards often check with boards in other states to see if you've had a license revoked and, if so, the circumstances surrounding the revocation.
- Damaged professional reputation. Board disciplinary actions are a matter of public record. Even if you get reinstated, anyone can discover that the board had previously revoked your license.
Even if You Don't Lose Your License, You Career May Still Suffer
The licensing board could decide not to revoke your license and instead choose a lesser penalty, such as:
- License suspension. The board may decide to suspend your license for a certain amount of time, during which you cannot work professionally.
- Fines. The board may assign monetary damages for your actions.
- Restitution. The board may require you to pay damages to clients or employers.
- Mandatory continuing education. The board may require you to attend certain courses to broaden your knowledge in certain areas of your field.
- Formal reprimand or censure. The board may formally warn you or express displeasure regarding your professional misconduct.
Any of these sanctions, including the mildest penalty — a formal reprimand — becomes public record, meaning anyone — colleagues, clients, customers, or patients — could discover it on an internet search. Seeing disciplinary action on your record may make you appear less trustworthy, and your business could suffer.
Take any complaint you receive from the board seriously and address it promptly. You should contact a professional license defense attorney immediately upon getting notice of a complaint so that your lawyer can begin building your case and working toward the best possible outcome. Never take a complaint from a licensing board lightly. Always be prepared to fight.
Why You Need the Lento Law Firm to Help Your License
You worked for years to earn your professional license so your clients, customers, or patients know that the New Mexico board that oversees your profession has vetted you, and you have met all the requirements necessary to work in your chosen field. Your license shows you have the specific knowledge or skills in your profession and that you take your work seriously enough to undergo the continuous training and education required by the board.
However, one complaint can change your life in an instant. Don't take this threat to your career lightly. Stand up and fight with the expert defense team at the Lento Law Firm.
Attorney Joseph D. Lento and his team of Professional License Defense lawyers have the expertise to help you get the best possible outcome in a professional license defense case. Our experienced attorneys can assist you in building a strong case through actions such as:
- Review your complaint, gather evidence, secure witness testimony, and recommend a strong defense strategy.
- Represent you in all interactions with the licensing board and their investigators.
- Draft a strong response to improve the board's chances of closing your complaint.
- Negotiate with the licensing board to dismiss the complaint or imposer lesser penalties.
- Negotiate the most favorable outcome should you be handed a consent order.
- Represent you in a formal hearing before the licensing board.
Offenses or Allegations that Might Jeopardize Your Professional License
Some of the more serious complaints we've handled include the following:
Fraud: Physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, threatening or berating someone in your care, violating patient confidentiality
Abuse, Gross Negligence: Physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, threatening or berating someone in your care
Substance Abuse or Addiction: Misusing illicit or prescription medications, abusing alcohol
Sexual Misconduct/Inappropriate Relationships: Entering into a sexual or romantic relationship with someone in your care; unwanted sexual advances, sexual harassment, or sexual assault of patients, clients, or co-workers
Inappropriate Handling of Medications: Prescribing or dispensing medications irresponsibly or outside the scope of your professional license, incorrectly tracking medications, stealing prescriptions for personal use.
Criminal Convictions: Being convicted of a crime such as driving under the influence, a crime of moral turpitude, a crime related to your profession
Licensed Professionals We Serve In New Mexico
We represent licensed professionals throughout New Mexico, including Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, and Santa Fe, and throughout the Land of Enchantment. We have experience with all professional licensing boards in New Mexico, including:
- New Mexico Medical Board
- Counseling and Therapy Practice Board
- Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists
- Real Estate Commission
- Public Accountancy Board
- Board of Psychologist Examiners
- Board of Social Work Examiners
- Speech Language Pathology Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensing Practices Board
- Physical Therapy Board
- Private Investigators Advisory Board
- Board of Examiners for Occupational Therapy
- Massage Therapy Board
- Board of Dental Health Care
The Lento Law Firm: Professional License Defense for Licensed Professionals in New Mexico
Don't take lightly accusations of professional misconduct and possible disciplinary action by the board that oversees your professional license. Your career, reputation, and livelihood could be at stake. Call an experienced professional license defense lawyer and start building your case. Call Attorney Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm today.
The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Practice represents clients in New Mexico and across the country. They provide representation for physician license defense, nursing license defense, pharmacist license defense, psychologist and psychiatrist license defense, dental license defense, chiropractic license defense, real estate license defense, professional counseling license defense, and other professional licenses.
Call Attorney Joseph D. Lento and his Professional License Defense Team today at 888-535-3686 or visit the Lento Law Firm: Professional License Defense Team online for a review of your case, and start building your case to defend your professional license and restore your good name.
