Cecily Zamora
There have been claims that former US President Barack Obama surrendered his law license in 2008 to escape charges of lying on his bar application. However, these claims are false. Obama chose to have his law license placed on voluntarily inactive status after he announced his candidacy for president in 2007 and changed it to voluntarily retired after becoming president in early 2009. There have never been any disciplinary actions against the former president or his wife, and both remain in good standing with the Illinois Bar Association.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Barack Obama's law license status | Voluntarily retired, not authorized to practice law |
| Michelle Obama's law license status | Voluntarily inactive, not authorized to practice law |
| Reason for Barack Obama's status change | No longer needed an active license for his work |
| Date of Barack Obama's status change | 2007, changed to retired in 2009 |
| Reason for Michelle Obama's status change | No longer needed an active license for her work |
| Date of Michelle Obama's status change | 1993 or 1994 |
| Possibility of status change reversal | Both could return to active status if desired |
| Disciplinary proceedings against the Obamas | None |
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What You'll Learn
Barack Obama's law license status
There is conflicting information on the status of Barack Obama's law license. Several sources claim that Obama surrendered his license in 2008 to escape charges of lying on his bar application. However, other sources refute this claim, stating that Obama simply chose to have his license placed on "'voluntarily inactive' status" in 2007 after announcing his candidacy for the presidency and changed it to "'voluntarily retired'" after becoming president. According to the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois, Obama is listed as "voluntarily retired and not authorized to practice law." This means that he is not allowed to practice law or provide pro bono services. However, there is no record of any disciplinary actions or proceedings against him, and he could return to active status and practice law if he desired.
The Illinois State Bar Association continues to list Barack Obama as an honorary member. Obama was admitted to the Illinois State Bar Association on December 17, 1991, and was last registered in 2008, the year he was first elected to the White House.
It is worth noting that the process of "'voluntary surrender'" typically implies that an individual has been accused of something and chooses to surrender their license to avoid potential suspension by the state. However, in the case of Barack Obama, there is no evidence of any disciplinary proceedings or charges, and the claim that he surrendered his license to escape charges has been widely debunked by fact-checking organizations.
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Michelle Obama's law license status
There is a lot of misinformation about Michelle Obama's law license status. Several sources claim that she surrendered her license to avoid charges of insurance fraud. However, this is false. Michelle Obama graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988 and was admitted as a lawyer by the Supreme Court of Illinois on May 12, 1989. She then joined Sidley Austin, a corporate law firm in Chicago. In 1994, while working for the Public Allies project in Chicago, she voluntarily chose to place her license on "inactive" status.
Michelle Obama's Illinois registration status is listed as "Voluntarily inactive and not authorized to practice law". This means that she still holds a valid law license but is not currently engaged in any professional activities that require it to be active. She would have to pay a registration fee for the year in which she requested to return to active status.
Michelle Obama was never the subject of any public disciplinary proceedings, according to the online public registration records of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois. There is also no record of any pending proceedings against her.
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The Obamas' law careers
Barack Obama graduated from Harvard Law School in 1991, where he excelled as a student, graduating magna cum laude and becoming the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. After law school, Obama moved to Chicago, wrote a book, and worked as a civil rights attorney and associate for the Illinois civil litigation law firm Miner, Barnhill & Galland. In 1993, he also began working as a constitutional law lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School. In 1996, Obama was elected to the Illinois Senate, and in 2004, he was elected to the United States Senate. During his time in the U.S. Senate, he co-sponsored bipartisan legislation on issues such as controlling conventional weapons and promoting greater public accountability in the use of federal funding.
In February 2007, Obama announced his presidential campaign and chose to have his law license placed on "voluntarily inactive" status. He was elected as the first Black President of the United States in 2008 and served two terms. There were no public disciplinary proceedings against him, and he was not stripped of his law license. However, his license status is listed as "voluntarily retired and not authorized to practice law."
Michelle Obama, the former First Lady, graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988 and was admitted as a lawyer by the Supreme Court of Illinois in 1989. She joined Sidley Austin, a corporate law firm in Chicago, where she met her future husband, Barack Obama. A few years later, in 1994, while working for the Public Allies project in Chicago, Michelle voluntarily changed her law license status to "inactive." She has never been the subject of any public disciplinary proceedings, and her Illinois registration status is listed as "voluntarily inactive and not authorized to practice law."
Both Barack and Michelle Obama could return to active status and practice law if they desired.
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The Obamas' law licenses and disciplinary proceedings
Former US President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama are no longer practising lawyers. While Barack Obama is listed as "retired" on the Illinois State Bar Association website, Michelle Obama's license status is "inactive".
Barack Obama's Law License
Barack Obama was admitted to the Illinois State Bar Association on December 17, 1991. He chose to have his law license placed on "voluntarily inactive" status in February 2007, after announcing his candidacy for the presidency. He changed his status to "voluntarily retired" after becoming president in 2009.
Obama's license status has been the subject of misinformation online, with some alleging that he "surrendered his license back in 2008 to escape charges that he lied on his bar application". However, these claims are false. There is no record of any disciplinary proceedings or ethics charges against Obama, and he voluntarily changed his license status, as confirmed by the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois.
Michelle Obama's Law License
Michelle Obama graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988 and was admitted as a lawyer by the Supreme Court of Illinois on May 12, 1989. She joined the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she later met her husband. In 1994, she decided to focus on community work and voluntarily had her license placed on "inactive" status.
Like her husband, Michelle Obama has been the subject of misinformation regarding her law license. Some posts online claim that she "voluntarily surrendered her law license in 1993 after a Federal Judge gave her the choice between surrendering her license or standing trial for insurance fraud". These claims are false and have been debunked by fact-checking organizations. There is no record of any disciplinary proceedings or ethics charges against her.
Neither Barack nor Michelle Obama has had their law licenses revoked or surrendered due to disciplinary proceedings or ethics charges. They both voluntarily changed their license status, and there is no indication that this was done to avoid any charges or disciplinary action. Both could return to active status and practice law if they desired.
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The Obamas' law licenses and social media misinformation
Social media posts have been making the rounds since at least 2012, claiming that former US President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama surrendered their law licenses to escape disciplinary action. However, these allegations are false and constitute social media misinformation.
Fact-checking websites like Snopes, FactCheck.org, PolitiFact, and Reuters have debunked these claims, confirming that neither Barack nor Michelle Obama has ever faced disciplinary proceedings in Illinois or surrendered their licenses due to misconduct. The Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of Illinois (ARDC) lists both Barack and Michelle Obama as Honorary Members, with no record of any disciplinary actions against them.
Barack Obama was admitted to the Illinois State Bar Association on December 17, 1991, and voluntarily changed his license status to "inactive" in February 2007 after announcing his presidential candidacy. After becoming president, he opted for "voluntarily retired" status, which means he is not authorized to practice law or provide pro bono services.
Michelle Obama, a Harvard Law School graduate, was admitted to the Illinois bar on May 12, 1989. She worked at the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin before deciding to pursue community work. In 1994, she voluntarily placed her license on "inactive" status, and it remains in that state today.
While the Obamas no longer hold active licenses to practice law, they were not forced to surrender them due to disciplinary proceedings. They chose to voluntarily change their registration status, which is a common practice for lawyers who no longer require an active license for their work.
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Frequently asked questions
No, Barack Obama elected to have his law license placed on "voluntarily inactive" status in February 2007 after announcing his candidacy for president. He then changed it to "voluntarily retired" after becoming president in early 2009.
No, Michelle Obama graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988 and was admitted as a lawyer by the Supreme Court of Illinois on May 12, 1989. She joined Sidley Austin, a corporate law firm in Chicago. However, in 1994, she voluntarily had her license placed on "inactive" status.
No, according to the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois, Barack Obama is listed as "retired" and was last registered in 2008. Michelle Obama is listed as "voluntarily inactive" and was last registered in 1993. Both could return to active status and practice law if they desired.
