You worked hard to earn your professional license, and a single criminal charge can put it at risk. Licensed professionals from doctors to contractors can face discipline, suspension, or even the loss of their license after an arrest by the Orange County, FL Sheriff’s Office. A knowledgeable criminal defense lawyer could help you protect both your freedom and your livelihood.
At The Umansky Law Firm, we understand that your license is your livelihood, and we defend it as aggressively as we defend your freedom. An Orange County professional license defense lawyer from our firm could address the criminal charge and the licensing consequences together, so that resolving one does not quietly destroy the other.
For many professionals, a criminal charge triggers a second, separate process before a state licensing board. Under Florida Statute § 456.072, a conviction or plea to a crime that relates to your profession is a ground for discipline, even when the court withholds adjudication. That means a plea deal resolving your criminal case can still put your license in jeopardy.
A board can begin investigating the moment it learns of your charge, sometimes before the court resolves your criminal case. Healthcare workers answer to the Department of Health, while contractors, real estate agents, and others answer to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Our Orange County, FL attorneys could help you understand which agency governs your professional license and what it will take to protect it.
A licensing board has broad authority to punish a professional it finds in violation. Under Fla. Stat. § 456.072, the penalties it can impose include:
These penalties can end a career you built over decades. Because a board proceeding is separate from your criminal case, you can prevail in court and still lose your license if you do not defend both. A defense attorney in Orange County could represent you before the board and work to keep a criminal matter from affecting your professional license and ending your career.
Defending a professional license in Orange County requires a two-fronted strategy. The strongest protection often begins in the criminal case, where reducing or dismissing the charge can remove the basis for board action entirely. The state can discipline a licensee even when a judge withholds adjudication. Our goal is then to avoid a conviction and to resolve the case so that no offense relating to your profession stays on your record, whether through a dismissal, a reduction to an unrelated charge, or a diversion program.
If you cannot avoid a conviction, we work to negotiate outcomes and present mitigation that a board may consider. This can include evidence of rehabilitation, a clean prior record, or the absence of any connection between the offense and your professional duties.
We also defend you directly in the administrative process, from responding to the initial complaint to representing you at a hearing before the Division of Administrative Hearings. At The Umansky Law Firm, our attorneys understand how licensing boards think and what they expect. Our Orange County attorneys could build a coordinated defense to protect your record, your reputation, and your right to hold a professional license and keep practicing.
Your career represents years of education, training, and sacrifice, and it deserves a defense that takes both your criminal case and your license seriously. The decisions you make early on in your case can determine whether you keep practicing or lose everything you have earned. Taking timely action can help safeguard your license and long-term career.
If your license is at risk, do not wait to get help. Contact an Orange County, FL professional license defense lawyer at The Umansky Law Firm today for a free consultation. We are ready to defend your freedom, your license, and the career you worked so hard to build.
The Umansky Law Firm Criminal Defense & Injury Attorneys
