If you receive a felony conviction, you may have to serve jail time, pay fines, perform community service, and more. But even after you complete these court orders, you may still suffer from the aftermath of this charge. One aspect of your life that may be indefinitely affected is your career. Read on to discover how a felony conviction might impact your career and how a seasoned Kaufman County, Texas criminal defense lawyer at Harrell & Paulson, LLP can help you avoid this altogether.
In What Ways Might a Felony Conviction Impact My Career?
First of all, a felony conviction may limit your ability to acquire certain business licenses that allow you to work in certain professions. This is because you may have to report your felony conviction to the agency that provided you with the business license in the first place. Ultimately, this may bar you from returning to your field of work or otherwise making a switch to a certain field of work in the future. Examples of occupations that may require a business license are as follows:
A career as a nurse.
A career as a lawyer.
A career as a plumber.
A career as an electrician.
A career as a psychologist.
A career as a social worker.
A career as an architect.
Of note, other professions in which you may be excluded include teaching or working in certain school districts, being a member of certain unions, and more.
In addition, your felony conviction may pop up in a background check that an employer conducts before extending an offer of employment to you. And even if you purposely exclude your conviction from your application, an employer may eventually fire you due to misrepresentation. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission discourages employers from rejecting or firing employees based on their criminal record. Though, an employer may go out of their way to claim other grounds for doing so.
How Can a Criminal Defense Lawyer Help Me?
Unfortunately, your felony conviction may negatively impact more than just your career. But it may also make it more difficult to acquire real estate, obtain a loan, receive child custody or child visitation rights, and more.
This is why, if you are being tried for a criminal offense, you must not take this matter lightly. Rather, you must retain the legal representation of a proficient criminal defense lawyer. Knowing the ins and outs of federal and state criminal law, a lawyer will know exactly how to reduce or altogether eliminate the charges placed against you.
There is no time like the present to get your criminal defense in order. So pick up the phone and call a competent Kaufman County, Texas criminal defense lawyer from Harrell & Paulson, LLP today. We are looking forward to it.