The Collateral Consequences Letter

In many of our cases, a client seeks our help in defending his or her professional license after an arrest or a crime is otherwised charged.  The criminal document which alleges you’ve broken the law is called a criminal complaint and may contain one (or many more than that) “Counts” setting forth individual instances of criminal violations of the law the prosecutor (District Attorneys, City Attorneys and the California Attorney General in state court) believes were committed. 

Since our managing attorney, Adam B. Brown, has been practicing criminal law for 20 years, he has an excellent perspective on how to best assist licensed clients who seek his help while they are deciding how to resolve a criminal case that may be pending.  This is because he has first hand knowledge of how the criminal defense world works, and he truly loves protecting his clients’ rights and freedom.

Many times, a client who is a licensed professional, such as a physician, nurse or pharmacist, seeks our help in writing what is known as a “collateral consequences letter” which our client’s criminal defense lawyer will use to attempt to improve the settlement offer (or “Plea bargain”) made to the client in the criminal case. 

What this letter does is it provides Mr. Brown’s highly-experienced opinion as to what the effect(s) and danger(s) to the client’s professional license may be if the prosecutor doesn’t reduce the plea bargained offered significantly.  Although every case is different, this collateral consequences letter may be very persuasive to a prosecutor in convincing him or her that leniency towards the client is warranted so that he/she doesn’t lose his/her professional license as a result of a less than stellar plea bargain offer.  We have found these letters are quite convincing to prosecutors and we know what they need to contain to have the maximum effect on the board or other agency you may be licensed before.  Adam B. Brown’s many years of criminal defense experience give him the unique perspective and knowledge needed to draft a collateral consequences letter which will have the maximum impact on a prosecutor to push for the most lenient settlement offer possible.  Most prosecutors forget that a professional license can easily be lost if a certain case isn’t settled with the most lenient offer possible.

This not only helps the client in the criminal case, but can also be helpful to us pushing for the client’s best interests in reaching an optimum settlement deal with the licensing Board or agency, too.

Give us a call today if your criminal attorney wants you to secure a collateral consequences letter to assist him in reaching the best deal possible for our client.

With over 20 years experience in handling all types of criminal matters, as well as all types of licensing cases, Adam B. Brown and Law Offices of Brown and Brown can definitely help you if you find yourself in this precarious position. Give us a call today for a free consultation to discuss any aspect of professional license law and/or criminal law.  These are the areas we love, so let us prove it to you with a free consultation.  Call The Law Offices of Brown & Brown today for a free consultation.