With very few limited exceptions, every Texas licensing board or commission that chooses to pursue complaints against its licensees is required to notify the license-holder of the complaint—particularly after the board or commission has determined that the complaint alleged is within its competence to investigate and discipline. When you are given such notification, it is paramount that you do nothing that may harm your defense against the complaint. The ways in which you respond at every stage not only may make a difference, but can be determinative.
The very first response you make should be to seek out and hire a professional license defense attorney who will act as your rights-defender and advocate for you fiercely, and who can help you to make your way safely down the thorny path of the complaint process.
Among the other responses you must make—and that we will aid you in making if you take the proper first step—is to respond in a timely manner to the complaint. If you fail to respond prior to the deadline, it is effectively the same as not responding at all. This is a tremendous mistake. It does irreparable harm to the board or commission’s impression of your credibility. And since your professional credibility is largely what is at stake here, prejudicing those who will decide your fate against you is unforgivable. Moreover, doing so may bring sanctions or other disciplinary actions down on your head—because many boards and commissions in Texas consider failure to respond to complaints of rules violations as a rules violation in its own right.
When you do respond, you must do so properly to each and every allegation made in the complaint. Leave no allegation unaddressed, and consider them completely and directly. Supply every bit of evidence requested, required, or appropriate. Simply skipping or ignoring complaints you consider to be without merit, or that you feel you dealt with amply in a different portion of your response, can mean disaster. No board or commission will merely dismiss a complaint because you ignore it. You should take full advantage of this, your first opportunity to defend yourself—which means you need to do it right. We can help with that.
Our law firm helps professionals, like you, keep their licenses when those licenses are under attack by a state agency or board.
BERTOLINO LLP proudly represents licensed professionals across the entire State of Texas. To best serve our clients we have offices in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. If you are facing disciplinary action from a professional licensing board or state agency, contact us today or call (512) 476-5757 and schedule a case evaluation.
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