Responding to "have you ever been fired" questions

[ndun]

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["Legapp" Stands for "Legal Application"]

The first thing I would do is call or email your employer and ask if you can agree to describe your departure as mutual (in the future, you should do this when leaving a job anytime the circumstances are unclear).  You need to know what they're going to say about you, because I believe most bar applications also ask this question.

If it can't be "mutual," you need to basically make sure your story jives with your ex-employer's, because there's the possibility they will be called.

Sorry, dude--I once worked for a crazy person for like five months.  I left on my own, but I think the bar app people will call all past employers... and this guy was seriously nuts, so there's no telling what he'll say.   

[Tetris]

Yeah I would just be honest and brief. Try to reword it as favorably as possible. If you are comfortable I'd talk to the employer and ask (1) what the official reason was and (2) see if you can agree on an official reason that is more favorable to you... but that could also be awkward. Even if there is an alternative explanation for why you were fired (your boss was a jerk) it would still reflect poorly on your character if you neglected to mention the "official" reason that your boss would have on record.

[ndun]

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[Tetris]

Hmm... I would talk to any law school professors you know and ask them if you should "whine" about how bad your previous employer was.

Another idea would be to have a previous employer who DID like you write a LOR talking about how good of an employee you were.  Maybe that's a tactful and subtle way of saying "my previous employer was full of sh!#."

[At the edge of reason]

n

[At the edge of reason]

n

[Tetris]

3) get a friend who is an attorney or hire one and have him/her send a letter to your formal boss demanding that he provide documented proof of the claims he's making. if he can't provide such, you can sue him for "blacklisting."

4) my guess is that you won't have to sue him -- he will shut up, as he should; making false claims about former employees (which means ones you can't back up with any sort of documented proof) is illegal.

Your ex-boss is a total idiot. Even if an employee is fired "for cause" what an ex-employer can say about them with legal risk is very, very limited.

First of all: wicked advice JTX!  I love it. 

Second of all, the only thing my current employer will say if someone calls in for an "employment" check is (1) whether the employee worked there and (2) if they are eligible for rehire or not.  They will not discuss performance or reason for dismisal.  I would still never lie about why I might hypothetically leave the company in case the person who answers the phone slips up, but its comforting none the less and lends credibility to your claim that his ex-boss is an idiot.

[JeNeSaisLaw]

I thought it was illegal to record a conversation without telling the person. Could be wrong.

[Eveman in Ingmarland]

I thought it was illegal to record a conversation without telling the person. Could be wrong.

I could also be wrong, but I think it depends on the state.

What if someone in a state where it is legal calls someone in state where it is not legal?