When you receive a negative outcome during professional license disciplinary proceedings or are denied the ability to obtain a license, it's safe to say that this situation is one of the most stressful situations possible. Depending on your career, struggling through your education and obtaining your license may have been a decades-long process; if you can't work in your field after putting in so much time and effort to reach your position, you may not know what to do next. But a suspension or revocation of your professional license doesn't just impact your ability to work. Everything tangentially related, such as your reputation, financial stability, and personal life, is impacted. Losing a license is devastating, and fighting to win it back on your own will be an uphill journey.
While negotiating with licensing boards or working through internal appeal options are usually available to avoid suspensions or revocations, the risk of adverse outcomes always remains. In these situations, going beyond your licensing board and pursuing litigation may be the only viable option left. Litigation against a licensing board requires you to take the next step and challenge the Board's final decision in a formal court of law. Even more so than Board hearings, these types of administrative court cases are highly complex and stressful for license holders.
Litigation against a licensing board is not a step taken lightly. It's typically a last resort, and in many cases, you can't even pursue litigation without first making use of every other available defense option. However, if you genuinely believe your licensing board acted outside its legal authority or violated your rights during its decision-making, you deserve the right to fight back. Call the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or contact us through our website to get started on your license defense.
Can You Even Litigate Against a Licensing Board in the First Place?
Whatever your profession, your licensing board is generally the ultimate authority in the state. If you need work authorization or are dealing with disciplinary issues, your licensing board is the one to whom you report. This relationship between the licensee and the Board raises a fundamental question: is bringing a licensing board before a judge even possible?
At first, you might think that their broad authority shields them from frivolous lawsuits, and you would be correct. Suing a licensing board is never the first method you should use to clear up issues or fight to retain your license. Like many things in life, the answer is nuanced.
Generally speaking, a professional can bring a lawsuit against their licensing board if they believe their rights have been violated or the Board has overstepped its legal authority. A licensing board acting within the bounds of the law and without egregious instances of bias or abuse of power is typically safe from lawsuits, even if the license holder disagrees strongly with their ruling.
The reason for this power and protection is that licensing boards almost always derive their authority from the state legislature, given broad discretion to oversee license holders operating in their jurisdiction. At the same time, this means that the statutes and regulations defining when a license holder can and cannot go to court to challenge final orders are usually written in black and white. If the Board fails to follow its procedures, ignores substantial evidence, or otherwise acts beyond its authority, you may have grounds to litigate its decision in court.
Who the Lento Law Firm Can Help, and Under What Circumstances
When administrative hearings and internal processes fail to bring about a fair resolution, litigation may be the last option to protect your career. The Lento Law Firm can assist professionals who find themselves in the tough situation of litigating to protect their license, and we can help determine when going forward with this plan is a good idea.
Each state and licensing board will likely have unique distinctions regarding when and why involving a Court of Appeals is allowed. Most often, professional license holders can choose to pursue litigation if previous hearings and Board interactions involved:
- Lack of fair treatment or adequate notice
- Improper procedures or mishandling of crucial evidence
- Instances where a board acts outside its legal authority or imposes penalties without jurisdiction
- Arbitrary decisions that are unsupported by evidence or appear biased
- Disciplinary actions that lack substantial evidence, rely on weak or irrelevant claims, or far exceed the reasonable punishment for the alleged violation
Our experience defending professional licenses gives our Professional License Defense Team unique insights into how these processes play out for many different professions. The Lento Law Firm works with medical professionals, tradespeople, child development professionals, service professionals, personal service providers, and other license holders whose careers are threatened.
If you believe your licensing board acted improperly and their unfair decisions impacted the outcome of your license hearings, the Lento Law Firm can help. Call our Professional License Defense Team today to learn if further litigation is the best path forward to protect your career and future.
Exhausting Administrative Remedies Before Litigating Against Your License Board
One important factor to keep in mind before you prepare to litigate against your Board: in most cases, litigation and official judicial reviews are only possible if you exhaust every other administrative remedy. As soon as you lose your license or face suspension, it can be tempting to fight it out in court if you believe you did nothing wrong. However, this is very rarely possible, and alternative options like internal hearings or informal appeals usually provide a better result regardless.
The reason that litigation is disallowed as a first response is to keep all license decisions and disputes within internal systems instead of administrative courts. Licensing boards can and will make mistakes, and Professional License Defense attorneys can sometimes highlight these errors before the point when in-court litigation is necessary. By allowing time for initial mistakes by licensing boards to be caught in internal processes, everyone involved saves time and money.
However, just because you receive an adverse outcome doesn't mean you are entitled to a judicial review forever, even if you pursue all other avenues first. For example, Florida only allows for judicial review within 30 days of the final order being appealed. Past this time, it's unlucky you would be able to secure time before a judge to fight against a final order. This means that in the immediate aftermath of Board hearings, you must quickly switch gears and find valid reasons for a judicial appeal. Under such tight time constraints and strict legal requirements, working with a Professional License Defense Team like the Lento Law Firm is highly recommended for any hope of success.
What Types of License Sanctions and Punishments Are Worth Litigating?
While your rights regarding litigation are not usually tied to the severity of the sanctions, whether or not litigation is the best path forward is highly dependent on your individual circumstances. Litigation is often most appropriate when the stakes are incredibly high—particularly in cases of license suspensions or revocations that can remove you from your career for years. Suspension and revocation effectively prevent you from continuing to provide for your family, and if you don't know what to do without your current license, the risks may warrant litigation.
On the other hand, less severe disciplinary actions, like fines or formal warnings, may not always justify the time, stress, and financial burden associated with litigation. While inconvenient, minor penalties do not necessarily end your career or strip you of the right to work or practice. Minor sanctions can still cause issues, such as hits to your reputation and client trust, but you can overcome them with time, especially if you continue to work and show improvement.
For these less severe sanctions, it may be more prudent to comply with the Board's requirements and take corrective steps to resolve the matter without litigation. The Lento Law Firm can still assist you throughout this process, especially if you are still in the midst of disciplinary proceedings or are still able to appeal internally. Continued negotiations can secure consent agreements with even less punishment and damage to your career, all without the need for stressful litigation.
Your decision to go to court should depend on how your license sanctions affect your material conditions and stability. If losing your license for an extended period is an excessive hardship and you believe you have a valid reason to appeal in court, it may be worth the fight. Call the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team today to discuss your unique situation with our attorneys and decide on your next steps.
The Types of Attorneys You Need to Protect Your Professional License
Many professionals mistakenly assume that any lawyer can help them win back their license, but licensing board litigation is distinct from criminal and even civil court cases you are familiar with. Often, you aren't even arguing the facts of the case, such as whether you committed an offense or not. Instead, attorneys must specifically identify procedural issues, mistakes, and instances of bias that led to an adverse ruling in the first place. Certain appeals for criminal cases are similar, but they remain solidly in a completely different area of law.
So why is the Lento Law Firm the perfect choice for a last-resort attempt to protect your professional license in court? Our Professional License Defense Team is dedicated, experienced, and has the following qualities that lead to success:
- Knowledge of Administrative Law and Judicial Review: When a licensing board makes a final adverse decision, the next step is often judicial review in a court such as your District Court of Appeal. As a quick test, read the statutes detailing your state's licensing review processes and see how much you understand. Unless you really take your time, it's difficult for most people to make heads or tails about even the most basic details. The attorney you hire must understand the specific legal processes for operating in these courts, as well as how to effectively argue that the Board's decision violated legal principles, exceeded its authority, or lacked adequate due process.
- Experience with Board-Specific Regulations: Every professional Board will have unique internal processes, regulations, and even culture that can impact your case. The Lento Law Firm, more so than any other national team of attorneys, is well-acquainted with these nuances found throughout the country. A nurse needs a defense unique from a teacher, which will be unique from a contractor. Even the best local licensed defense attorneys in your area may regularly handle only a few types of cases, meaning they won't have a deep knowledge to pull from when litigating on your behalf.
- Ability to Handle Complex Regulatory and Evidence Issues: Professional license litigation involves attorneys analyzing the Board's record of evidence and identifying procedural errors or statutory overreach that can be grounds for overturning the final decision. Remember, simply disagreeing with an outcome isn't enough to appeal to win back your license; you need specifics, or the judge reviewing the case will default back to the Board's decision. The Lento Law Firm is adept at parsing the outcome of your final order within the limited time frame available to find procedural or evidentiary issues that will protect your license.
- Track Record in Similar Cases: We understand that the entire process of going to court and fighting for your license is overwhelming, maybe even more than you anticipate. One of the simplest ways to feel confident going through with litigation is by working with attorneys with a proven history of successfully handling professional license litigation in your state. We encourage you to reach out to the Lento Law Firm and learn how we have helped others in your field, whether you are a doctor, accountant, contractor, or cosmetologist.
- Focused Litigation Skills, Not Just Negotiation: By the time you are considering judicial review in an appellate court, it's too late to return to routine negotiations with your Board. Unlike during the administrative process, you aren't trying to win anyone over except the judge with the power to overturn the Board's ruling. Depending on the judge's ruling, the case may end up in internal Board processes once again, and negotiation skills remain important. However, your attorneys should be adept at both aspects of license defense; the Lento Law Firm provides that level of experience to those we represent.
If you have lost your license, either temporarily or permanently, and want to fight back for the sake of your future, you must work with experienced license defense attorneys to find success. In no uncertain terms, your future and career are at stake. The Lento Law Professional License Defense Team is ready to help you win back your license and reverse adverse orders impacting your ability to work in your field.
What Happens if You Still Lose?
After going through the entire litigation process, receiving an unfavorable decision can feel like a significant setback. Fighting to defend your career, livelihood, and everything you've worked so hard to achieve isn't easy, and after all that work, hearing bad news can sometimes be a kick in the gut. But even if you lose the fight in court, it's not necessarily the end of the road. The Lento Law Firm can remain a dedicated partner that will help you reenter the workforce and re-obtain your license at a later date.
In most cases, licensing boards allow professionals to reapply for their licenses after a waiting period of a few years. Waiting periods will vary depending on the state, the disciplinary action's severity, the applicant's history, and the licensing board's disposition. During this waiting period, we highly recommend remedying any issues contributing to the disciplinary action, such as substance abuse concerns or continuing education requirements that raise red flags when reapplying. Even if training or outside programs are not required to reapply, it can signal your commitment to growth and professional accountability and change the Board's view of your past.
When reapplying, you may need to disclose details of your previous history with the Board, especially as it relates to potentially dangerous behavior. Some licensed professionals forget that enduring a waiting period isn't enough; being honest and open about your past and adhering to all reporting requirements is the only way to once again secure a license.
If you are worried about failing in your litigation efforts, the Lento Law Firm is here to help you make the right moves and, eventually, regain your license so that you can continue doing what you love.
What Happens to Your License During Litigation?
During the litigation process, one question we often hear concerns whether a professional can continue to practice while challenging a licensing board's decision in court. In some states, this is possible through supersedeas relief, which allows a temporary stay on the Board's disciplinary action until the litigation issue is over.
In Pennsylvania, for example, professionals can petition a judge to rule on whether a temporary stay of license suspension or revocation is warranted, which allows them to continue practicing during the litigation. The judge's decision may come with caveats and restrictions, and most states consider these an interlocutory order, meaning they can be revisited and adjusted during the litigation process.
The availability of supersedes relief varies from state to state, and often, the whims of the judge overseeing your case are an important factor. It's vital for anyone aiming to maintain their license throughout litigation to work with experienced license defense attorneys who know how to make these arguments in court. The Lento Law Firm can pursue this relief if your state and situation allow for it, returning a bit of normalcy to your life during stressful court proceedings.
The Lento Law Firm Is Your Choice for Professional License Litigation
Litigating against a professional licensing board is not a simple endeavor, and attempting to succeed on your own in this monumental task will almost surely end in failure. The stakes are high, and the challenges you face are numerous, no matter the specifics of why you are challenging a board order. Courts tend to defer to the specialized knowledge of licensing boards, and if you cannot provide specific, detailed evidence of issues in the Board's reasoning, your license will remain sanctioned.
When litigating against a state licensing board, who you have representing you makes all the difference. The Lento Law Firm is experienced in escalating license matters to state appeal courts when necessary, and we understand just how important it is to win back your license. Our Professional License Defense Team will relentlessly pursue evidence showcasing the errors in your Board hearings, with the ultimate goal of convincing a judge to rule in your favor.
The Lento Law Firm also understands how important it is for you to maintain your license to continue your career. After reviewing your case, we can advise on whether litigation is the right choice; if we believe we can help, we will get to work immediately to meet the rigid timeframe requirements for appealing final orders. Your license unlocks innumerable career opportunities, and you must take decisive action to protect it.
Call the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team today at 888-535-3686 or fill out our confidential online form to provide information to our attorneys. This may be your last shot to protect your license in the short term. Let our attorneys assist you as you fight for your future.
