Licensing Boards & Commissions
Professional services for professional people
When facing a threat to your professional license and livelihood, you need counsel that you can count on to advocate fully for your interests and who will keep you informed and be responsive to your needs. Young Moore has experienced attorneys who focus upon this area of the law and who are available to assist in administrative and judicial proceedings related to the threatened loss, discipline or acquisition of professional licenses.
Our attorneys have helped numerous health care professionals including physicians, dentists, nurses, physical therapists, psychologists, pharmacists and psychiatrists. Such proceedings frequently precede or are handled under the threat of malpractice claims and similar litigation against the professional in question.
We have extensive experience advocating on behalf of other professionals including general contractors, engineers, accountants, realtors, geologists and mortgage brokers. We have assisted individuals to resolve matters successfully involving the North Carolina Medical Board, N.C. Board of Dental Examiners, N.C. Board of Pharmacy, N.C. Board of Nursing, N.C. Psychology Board, N.C. Auctioneer Licensing Board, N.C. Commissioner of Banks, N.C. Real Estate Commission, N.C. Board of CPA Examiners, N.C. Licensing Board for General Contractors, N.C. Alarm Systems Licensing Board, and N.C. Board of Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters.
As the firm is general counsel to the State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors and the State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, we know the importance for individuals to retain counsel who will be viewed by a hearing panel as advocates with integrity. Any perception to the contrary can be damaging to the professional. Our ability to view a case from the perspective of Board Counsel is also helpful to individuals struggling to understand inquiries from other boards.
The firm strives to maintain a courteous and respectful relationship with board members and staff at many of the boards headquartered here in Raleigh. These relationships are further strengthened by the active participation of our attorneys in the administrative section of the North Carolina Bar Association and other professional groups. Those relationships can help to ensure that effective lines of communication remain open even during a stressful investigation. Accordingly, we believe that clients are best served by retaining counsel early to analyze issues and take advantage of the opportunity to communicate formally or informally with a state agency’s staff during an investigation. The early involvement of an experienced attorney can help prevent an agency’s investigator from becoming unnecessarily aggressive or confused.
The firm’s attorneys are equally qualified in carrying matters through to a hearing and subsequent judicial review when that is necessary. Likewise, the firm is experienced in advocating for change whether by obtaining declaratory rulings, pursuing changes in the rules of a board or commission or lobbying the General Assembly.
(See our section on Administrative Law for other state agency matters handled by the firm.)