Lessons · Law foundations · Moral character: the application that takes longest
The application that takes longest and is started last
Admission requires a determination that you are of good moral character. It is a separate application, with its own fee, and it involves verification of what you disclose: addresses, employment, finances, any matter involving the police or a court. It takes months, and the months are outside your control.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
In beta. This lesson was written for Hone and has not yet been checked by an attorney. Practice material, not professional advice. What that means.
What it is for
This is the step that delays admission more than any other, and almost always for the same reason: it was filed after the examination rather than before. A pass with an unfinished character determination is not a licence. People lose a start date to a form.
How to think about it
File it as early as the board permits, which is usually well before the examination. Then disclose everything, including the thing you think is too small to mention. Determinations are rarely refused for the underlying matter and often delayed for the omission -- the process is testing candour, and a gap found later is far worse than a fact disclosed early.
Worked example
A separate application with its own fee and timetable.Not part of the examination application.
What you disclose is verified against records.Addresses, employment, finances, any court or police matter.
It takes months, and the duration is not in your control.Which is why filing date matters more than anything else here.
Disclose the small thing. Omission is the usual cause of trouble.The process is testing candour more than it is testing history.
Your turn
What causes most delay and difficulty in a moral character determination?
Trouble usually comes from , not from the underlying matter
Solve one, graded on the server
The trap
Deciding for yourself that something is too minor to disclose. That judgement is the board's to make, and making it yourself is the fact that ends up mattering.