[Conscience of a Conservative]

For those not familiar with the intricacies of the Bar Association, a "Voluntary Surrender" of one's license is not something where you just forget to renew it. No, a "Voluntary Surrender" is something you do when you've been accused of something, and you 'voluntarily surrender' your license five seconds before the state suspends you.

That's not true. My wife is a lawyer. She is currently staying home with our children, and not actively practicing law, and her page says "voluntarily inactive," just like Michelle Obama's. There are advantages to becoming inactive if your'e not actively practicing law (lower bar fees, no CLEs, etc). I know other attorneys who have changed careers and have permanently stopped practicing law, and their bar status page says "voluntarily retired," just like BO's. No disciplinary record (or threatened disciplinary record) for any of them.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

“I personally have asked hundreds of high priced and well known attorneys as to how often a supposed Harvard or Yale Law School Graduate VOLUNTARILY gives up their license to practice law”

Did your wife graduate from Harvard or Yale Law School?

[muawiyah]

The ranks of management in the federal government are littered with inactive lawyers.

We had a fellow working as a contractor for us ages ago who had both a law degree and a masters in some sort of engineering field ~ he preferred engineering.

I'd imagined at the time his father was happy to quit paying his kid's tuition!

[Nifster]

There is a difference between inactive and surrendered....

[Williams]

Exactly however it is true Michelle’s hospital job was an obvious patronage position.

[NavVet]

There is a BIG difference between voluntarily going “Inactive” and “surrendering” your law license.

[john mirse]

That's not true. My wife is a lawyer. She is currently staying home with our children, and not actively practicing law, and her page says "voluntarily inactive," just like Michelle Obama's. There are advantages to becoming inactive if your'e not actively practicing law (lower bar fees, no CLEs, etc). I know other attorneys who have changed careers and have permanently stopped practicing law, and their bar status page says "voluntarily retired," just like BO's. No disciplinary record (or threatened disciplinary record) for any of them.

********

To clear up the controversy, wouldn't it be a simple matter to have a reporter ask Obama or his press secretary why Obama voluntarily gave up his law license?

If Obama's answer is as innocent as you claim above, then Obama should be more than happy to answer a reporter's question about his law license.

All I know is this: Obama has had plenty of time and opportunities to put the controversy to rest over these past almost 4 years, but he has been conspicuously silent when it comes to explaining why the President of the United States voluntarily gave up his law license in Illinois.

Why is President Obama so silent on the law license question, if the answer is an innocent and routine one?