Shady Past

What is the name of your state? Minnesota
I am in the middle of a paralegal certificate course and
need someone's help with this question. Back in 1988, I
was convicted of a felony involving credit cards. I was
really messed up at that time. Today, I am a recovering
alcoholic, sober for 13 years and have been very law
abiding since. Matter of fact, I was a Chemical
Dependency counselor for 5 years, trying to help others
get sober. I recently worked in the legal department of a
large corporation for several years that went out of
business and am now working on becoming a paralegal
because I love the work. My question is this: Is my past
going to stop me from getting a job in this field? I know
it may make it more difficult but I need to know if I am
totally wasting my time.

Not necessarily. It will depend on the employer. There will be some who will write you off, but there will be other employers who will be impressed with how well you have managed to turn your life around and be willing to give you a chance. By all means continue with your course.

One thing... if your state licenses paralegals, check with the licensing agency to see what 'integrity' requirements they might have.

You also might ask your school or, if not attending, contact one of the local paralegal courses to see if your history would bar any licensing.

One other thing that no one mentioned here is you may in your state be able to file for an expongment and have your criminal record destroyed. you would have to check with an attorney and see if that is possible. they will probably give you an answer or consultation for free. but the cost can be around $750.00 but it would be well worth it to have your record cleaned.

need a clear record

robertg55 said:

One other thing that no one mentioned here is you may in your state be able to file for an expongment and have your criminal record destroyed. you would have to check with an attorney and see if that is possible. they will probably give you an answer or consultation for free. but the cost can be around $750.00 but it would be well worth it to have your record cleaned.

Click to expand...

How does one goe about having their record exponged?

Are there some things that automaticly come off a police record?

And EXACTLY why are you trying to hijack someone elses thread (and almost TWO YEARS old at that), with your post???

My response:

Oh, this is funny! Criminals - - they can't read, and they can't spell ("expunged", not "exponged")

IAAL