Cecily Zamora
There have been several claims on social media that former US President Barack Obama surrendered his law license to escape charges of lying on his bar application. However, fact-checking websites like Reuters, PolitiFact, and Snopes have debunked these claims as false. 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, and there have never been any disciplinary actions against him.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Barack Obama's law license status | Voluntarily retired and not authorized to practice law |
| Date of status change | 2009 |
| Reason for status change | Elected to the presidency |
| Michelle Obama's law license status | Voluntarily inactive and not authorized to practice law |
| Date of status change | 1994 |
| Reason for status change | Pursue a career in public service |
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What You'll Learn
Barack Obama's law license status
Obama was admitted to the Illinois State Bar Association on December 17, 1991, and was last registered in 2008, the year he was elected President.
There have been claims on Facebook and in chain emails that Obama surrendered his license to escape charges of lying on his bar application. However, these claims are false. Neither Obama nor his wife, Michelle Obama, has ever been the subject of attorney disciplinary proceedings in Illinois. Michelle Obama is also not authorized to practice law and is listed as "voluntarily inactive".
Obama worked as a civil rights lawyer before entering politics. Four days after he announced his presidential candidacy in February 2007, he elected to have his law license placed on "inactive" status. He changed it to "retired" after becoming president in early 2009.
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Michelle Obama's law license status
There are conflicting reports on the status of Michelle Obama's law license. Some sources claim that she "voluntarily surrendered" her license in 1993 after a federal judge gave her the choice between surrendering her license or standing trial for insurance fraud. However, other sources refute this claim, stating that Michelle Obama only requested that her license be placed on "inactive" status, which is different from surrendering a license. A lawyer who has surrendered their license no longer holds a valid license, while a lawyer who has gone on inactive status still holds a valid license but is not currently practising law.
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. Following graduation, she joined Sidley Austin, a corporate law firm in Chicago. However, in 1994, while working for the Public Allies project in Chicago, she voluntarily had her license placed on inactive status. According to the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois, she 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.
It is important to note that there have never been any disciplinary actions against Michelle Obama, and the claim that she surrendered her license to avoid ethics charges has been fact-checked and found to be false. Reactivating an inactive law license is a fairly easy procedure, and Michelle Obama could return to practising law if she decides to. However, she would need to submit a written or online notification stating that she intended to return to active status and pay the registration fee for each year that she was inactive.
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The Obamas' law careers
Barack Obama graduated from Harvard Law School in 1991, where he was also elected the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. After law school, he returned to Chicago, where he wrote a book and worked as a civil rights attorney at the firm formerly known as Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland. In 1993, he also began working as a constitutional law lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School. While his formal title was "senior lecturer", the university considers him to have "served as a professor".
In 1996, Obama was elected to the Illinois Senate, and then to the United States Senate in 2004. In February 2007, he announced his presidential campaign. He was elected as the first Black President of the United States in 2008 and served two terms.
Obama's law license status is listed as "retired", and he is not authorised to practise law. He voluntarily elected to have his law license placed on "inactive" status in 2007, and then changed it to "retired" in 2009. There is a claim that he surrendered his license to escape charges of lying on his bar application, but this has been fact-checked and found to be false.
Michelle Obama, Barack Obama's wife, graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988 and was admitted as a lawyer by the Supreme Court of Illinois in 1989. She joined the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she met her future husband. A few years later, in 1994, she voluntarily placed her law license on "inactive" status. She is not authorised to practise law. There is a claim that she surrendered her license due to insurance fraud, but this has been found to be false.
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The Obamas' law licenses and social media
There have been several claims on social media, particularly Facebook, that former US President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama surrendered their law licenses to escape misconduct proceedings. One claim suggests that Barack surrendered his license to avoid charges of lying on his bar application, while another alleges that Michelle gave up her license to avoid standing trial for insurance fraud. These claims have been circulating on Facebook since at least 2012 and have been widely shared.
However, fact-checking organisations, including FactCheck.org, AFP, and Reuters, have debunked these allegations. According to the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of Illinois, neither Barack nor Michelle Obama has ever faced disciplinary action. Their licenses are listed as "voluntarily retired and not authorized to practice law" and "voluntarily inactive and not authorized to practice law," respectively. This means that they chose to stop practising law and could resume if they wished to.
Barack Obama worked as a civil rights lawyer before entering politics, and Michelle Obama practised law after graduating from Harvard Law School in 1988. She joined the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she met her future husband. Both Barack and Michelle Obama had their law licenses placed on inactive status before pursuing their political careers, with Barack doing so in 2007 and Michelle in 1994.
So, while it is true that the Obamas no longer hold active licenses to practise law, there is no evidence to support the social media claims that they surrendered their licenses due to misconduct or disciplinary issues.
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The Obamas' law licenses and disciplinary proceedings
Barack and Michelle Obama no longer hold active licenses to practice law. However, they were not forced to surrender their licenses over any disciplinary proceedings. Barack Obama was admitted to the Illinois State Bar Association on December 17, 1991, and was last registered in 2008, the year he was elected President. His status is listed as "retired", meaning he is not allowed to practise law or provide pro bono services.
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 Chicago law firm, where she met her husband. In 1994, she decided to pursue a career in community service and filed a motion to transfer to "inactive" status. She is on "voluntarily inactive" status and is not authorized to practise law.
There have been false claims on social media that the Obamas surrendered their licenses to escape misconduct charges. These claims allege that Barack Obama lied on his bar application and that Michelle Obama was involved in insurance fraud. However, these allegations are untrue, and there have never been any disciplinary actions against the former president or his wife.
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Frequently asked questions
No, this claim is false. Barack Obama elected to have his license placed on "inactive" status in 2007 after he announced his candidacy for president and changed it to "retired" after becoming president in early 2009.
No, this claim is false. Michelle Obama filed a motion to transfer her license to "inactive" status in 1994. She graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988 and was admitted as a lawyer by the Supreme Court of Illinois on May 12, 1989.
No, neither Barack nor Michelle Obama holds an active license to practice law. However, both could return to active status and practice law if they desired.
