Criminal Charges and Professional Licenses
Being Accused is Traumatic. We Understand.
We Get You Safely Through the Storm.
A criminal charge can reach far past the courtroom, into your licensing board, your employer's credentialing office, and your next renewal application.
We defend the criminal case and represent licensed professionals before their boards throughout Greater Boston and Eastern Massachusetts.
Protecting Your Case and Your License
If you hold a professional license, a criminal charge can feel like two emergencies at once. One is the case in court. The other is everything you spent years building: your license, your job, and the way your colleagues see you.
Those two problems run on different rules. A licensing board does its own review, on its own timeline, and it does not always wait for the court. What you say to your board or your employer in the first few days can matter as much as anything said in the courtroom.
We handle both. We defend the criminal case and we represent you before your licensing board, so the two never work against each other. We have defended people in Massachusetts courts for over 30 years, throughout Greater Boston and Eastern Massachusetts.
Before You Talk to Your Board or Your Employer
The most common mistake we see is a conscientious professional calling the board or human resources the morning after an arrest to explain. It feels like the honest thing to do. It can also create a written record of the facts before anyone has read the police report.
● Find out what your own rules require before you report anything, because some licenses require reporting a charge and many do not
● Do not give a written or recorded statement about the facts to your board, your employer, or a credentialing office until a lawyer has reviewed it
● Read your employer's policies, which may have reporting rules of their own, separate from your board's
● Keep every letter and email you receive from a board, and note the date it arrived, because response deadlines can be short
● Answer every renewal or application question exactly as it is written, never more broadly and never less
● Do not give a written or recorded statement about the facts to your board, your employer, or a credentialing office until a lawyer has reviewed it
● Read your employer's policies, which may have reporting rules of their own, separate from your board's
● Keep every letter and email you receive from a board, and note the date it arrived, because response deadlines can be short
● Answer every renewal or application question exactly as it is written, never more broadly and never less
Hiding a reportable event is almost always worse than the event itself. A knowingly false answer on a licensing form can cost a license that the underlying charge would not have.
A Charge, a CWOF, and a Conviction Mean Different Things to a Board
In court, a continuance without a finding is often a good result. To a licensing board it may not be. Several professions define a conviction to include an admission to sufficient facts, which is exactly what a CWOF requires.
Massachusetts educators must report a CWOF the same way they report a guilty finding, and the lawyer discipline rules count it as a conviction too. For physicians, the court clerk reports a CWOF to the Board of Registration in Medicine within a week.
A CWOF also stays visible while it is open. Until the case is dismissed, it appears as a pending case to a licensing board running a standard Massachusetts record check.
A dismissal or an acquittal helps, but it does not always end a board's interest. Licensing boards and clearance adjudicators can often act on the underlying conduct whether or not there was a conviction. That is why the criminal strategy and the license strategy need to be planned together from the start.
What Each Profession Faces
Every license has its own rules about what must be reported, when, and what the board can do about it. Here is what the current rules say for the professionals we see most often.
Nurses
No Massachusetts rule requires a nurse to report an arrest, a charge, or a conviction to the Board of Registration in Nursing between renewals. Several websites say otherwise, but the Board's standards of conduct contain no such requirement.
That does not make a case invisible. A conviction is a ground for Board action, and so is conduct the Board sees as a lack of good moral character. Where the Board finds an immediate and serious threat, it can suspend a license before any hearing, and a hearing must follow within seven business days.
The Board's good moral character policy counts a plea the court treats as a guilty plea as a conviction, and a CWOF may be treated that way. For someone seeking a first nursing license, a conviction within the past five years can bar licensure, with a narrow exception for a single misdemeanor.
Physicians
When a physician is convicted, pleads no contest, or receives a CWOF after a finding of sufficient facts, the court clerk must report it to the Board of Registration in Medicine within one week. The physician does not control that report.
For felonies and for misdemeanors the Board treats as serious, a conviction or a CWOF can appear on the physician's public profile. Physicians also certify their good moral character every time they renew.
Pharmacists
Pharmacists have a reporting duty that starts at the arrest. Every licensee of the Board of Registration in Pharmacy must report any arrest, any pending criminal charge, and any conviction within 14 calendar days.
Some websites still describe an older 30-day rule. That rule was replaced by a new regulation published in December 2024, and the deadline is now 14 days. A pharmacist should talk with a lawyer well before that window closes.
Lawyers
A Massachusetts lawyer must notify bar counsel within 10 days of a conviction. A charge alone does not trigger that duty, but the disciplinary rules count an admission to sufficient facts accepted by the court as a conviction, so a CWOF counts.
The court clerk also sends the conviction to the court and to the Board of Bar Overseers. For a serious crime, which includes any felony and certain crimes of dishonesty, the lawyer faces an order to show cause why an immediate suspension should not enter. An acquittal does not by itself end a disciplinary investigation.
Teachers and Other Educators
A licensed educator must notify the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education in writing within 10 days of a conviction. The rule counts a guilty verdict, a guilty or no contest plea, and an admission to or finding of sufficient facts, whether or not a sentence is imposed.
A pending charge alone is not reportable under that rule, but failing to report a conviction is its own ground for revocation. A school employer must also report to the Commissioner within 30 days when it dismisses an educator, or an educator resigns, for a reason that could support license action.
Before discipline, the Department must find probable cause and send written notice, and the educator has 21 days to request a hearing. If no request arrives in time, the proposed discipline takes effect. That deadline is one of the most important dates in the case.
Financial Professionals
Registered representatives answer to FINRA through the Form U4, and the U4 asks about charges, not only convictions. A felony charge must be disclosed, and so must charges for certain misdemeanors, including theft-related offenses.
The U4 must be amended within 30 days of learning the facts, or within 10 days when the event creates a statutory disqualification. An arrest without a formal charge is not reportable. In Massachusetts that generally means the clock starts once a criminal complaint actually issues, not while an application for one waits on a clerk magistrate hearing.
A felony conviction within 10 years is a statutory disqualification. So is willfully leaving a required fact off the form, which can end a career when the charge itself would not have.
Security Clearance Holders
A clearance decision does not wait for the criminal court. Under the national adjudicative guidelines, criminal conduct can raise a concern whether or not the person was formally charged, prosecuted, or convicted, and being on probation is a concern in itself. An OUI is listed specifically as an alcohol-related incident.
The same guidelines reward candor. Adjudicators weigh whether the person reported the information voluntarily, answered truthfully, and sought help. Deliberately leaving something off a security form is its own disqualifying concern, and often harder to overcome than the original incident.
Mitigation is real. Time, unusual circumstances, a lack of reliable evidence, and successful rehabilitation such as completed probation, steady work, and community involvement all count. Mental health counseling alone cannot be held against anyone, and completed treatment counts in the person's favor.
Commercial Drivers
For a CDL holder, an OUI in any vehicle, including a personal car, means at least one year without commercial driving privileges upon conviction. A breath test refusal and leaving the scene of an accident carry the same one-year disqualification, and a second qualifying conviction means disqualification for life, which can sometimes be reduced to no less than 10 years.
This is where a CDL holder's situation differs most. In Registry practice, an OUI CWOF or a 24D disposition counts as a conviction for CDL purposes, and a hardship license does not allow commercial driving. Federal rules also bar states from keeping a CDL holder's traffic conviction off the federal record.
Fighting the case does not cost anyone the chance at a 24D disposition, but 24D will not protect a commercial license. A CDL holder must also notify the employer in writing within 30 days of a traffic-law conviction in any vehicle.
Sealing and the No Record Answer
Sealing can change what a Massachusetts licensing application sees. A misdemeanor record can generally be sealed three years after the case ends, and a felony record after seven, if there are no new guilty findings in that time. Some offenses wait longer, and a few cannot be sealed at all.
Once a record is sealed, a Massachusetts application for an occupational or professional license that asks about your record must tell you that you may answer no record. A sealed record also cannot be used in a hearing before a licensing board, apart from narrow exceptions.
Sealing has limits. A small number of agencies keep access to sealed records, and federal forms follow their own rules. FINRA, for example, reviews each sealed or set-aside case and may still require the charge to be reported. Our record sealing page explains the process in detail.
How We Handle the Case and the License Together
The criminal case and the license case are connected, and treating them separately is how people get hurt. A plea that looks good in court can be the worst outcome for a nurse or a commercial driver. A statement written for a board can become evidence in court.
We plan both from the first conversation: what has to be reported and when, what should not be said yet, which outcomes protect the license, and how to prepare for the board while the criminal case is still open. When it helps, we bring in treatment, counseling, or evaluation through our network of professionals, because documented steps toward healing can matter to a board as much as to a judge.
A charge is not the end of a career. The earlier we start, the more choices you keep.
“I would absolutely recommend Ernie to anyone.”
He was more than just my lawyer. He was my guardian angel during a very scary and desperate time in my life. He walked with me every step of the way and looked out for my best interest at every twist and turn. He stayed available seven days a week and within moments of my reaching out to him. I will be indebted to him forever. I knew I was in safe hands even though my matter kept me in constant fear. He gave me the courage to keep pushing forward and spent countless hours cheerleading me through an unspeakable experience.
Diane
"I knew Ernie was the real deal."
I knew the moment I spoke to Ernie on the phone he was the real deal. He made us feel at ease during a very stressful time and fought for us. We won our case because of his perseverance and professionalism. He's just a really good person who's in your corner fighting for you. Thanks Ernie you're the best!!!!
Cheryl
"I can't say enough about Ernie and his team."
They helped our family navigate a very delicate and complicated legal situation. We couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. And Ernie's down-to-earth demeanor helped us feel like we were being listened to and never being talked down to. I would highly recommend Ernie, as I am certain he would do his absolute best to achieve a best-case-scenario outcome for every single one of his clients.
R. H.
"Much love and appreciation to this group"
I would recommend them to anyone. From the first call I knew this was the right choice. Ernie kept my best interests in mind when representing me with results better than expected! I can't thank them enough. Special shout-out to Joanne who is truly the nicest person. Their whole vibe was homely like family. Much love and appreciation to this group... even the 4 legged nugget running around their office.
A. R.
"I was in good hands..."
Before working with Ernie I was very unaware of how my future would be and felt alone in my case; that all changed once I had Ernie Stone as my lawyer. Very professional, very reassuring, very caring and helpful with any questions you may have. I can definitely say that there was always a smile on their faces and made me feel welcomed and well taken care of. I had no doubt in mind that I was in good hands and that I was going to be alright.
R. J.
What to Expect When You Call
We know this call is hard to make. You may feel frightened, embarrassed, or worried about what your board or employer will think. That is okay. You do not need to have the right words.
● We will listen to your story and answer your questions
● We will explain the specific charge and what the Commonwealth must prove
● We will discuss possible defense strategies and resolution options for your specific situation
● We will explain our approach and how we can help you through this
● Everything you tell us is confidential
● There is no obligation to hire us
You do not need to have the answers. Just call, and we will take it from there. Phones answered 24/7 by a real person. Free, confidential consultation.
● We will listen to your story and answer your questions
● We will explain the specific charge and what the Commonwealth must prove
● We will discuss possible defense strategies and resolution options for your specific situation
● We will explain our approach and how we can help you through this
● Everything you tell us is confidential
● There is no obligation to hire us
You do not need to have the answers. Just call, and we will take it from there. Phones answered 24/7 by a real person. Free, confidential consultation.
We'll Get You Through the Storm
A charge does not have to cost you the career you built. We can help you through this storm.
Call (978) 969-2890 for a free consultation.
Over 30 years of Massachusetts criminal defense experience. Serving Greater Boston and Eastern Massachusetts including Beverly, Salem, Lynn, Peabody, Gloucester, Newburyport, Lawrence, and Haverhill.
We'll Get You Through the Storm
Contact our team today for a free consultation. We are available 24/7.
