I wear a hat every CFA exam to keep my brain at optimum operating temperature!
this dude is a beast!
There is a pretty substantial punishment if you’re found guilty.
That being said, I think the best course of action would be to retain a lawyer who deals with academic integrity issues.
They’re experts in this field and have dealt with similar cases, maybe you can find someone who’s even dealt with the CFA Institute.
This is too important to handle like an amateur. Fork out the $$$ and hire a professional.
I always make it a point to look down on my own paper in this exam…even when i feel like my neck is paining…proctors view candidates like hawks…why take chance with them?
I agree that an attorney is a good idea in many cases of false accusations of cheating, especially given how unnecessarilly complicated the CFAI has made their Rules of Procedure. Even assuming that you are not looking to a legal action, a lawyer can walk you through the Rules of Procedure, the process that you have to go through and help to assemble the best case possible for your defense, including written responses to the Statement of Charges (though in this case, I think you may have already filed that).
On borderline cases, it may also demonstrate to the PCP that you believe enough in your position that you are willing to shell out for an attorney to present it properly.
That said, lawyers are expensive. Like all legal engagements, do a cost-benefit analysis first. Figure out how much engaging an attorney will cost and compare it to the cost of losing the case (including things like professional reputation and opportunity costs of studying another year) X the delta of the probablility of success with and without a lawyer. It’s not an easy question, but from what you have posted yours seems like a case where you may just be able to get to a successful resolution.
Best of luck.
P.S. As preemptive responses: no, I understand this is not a lawsuit (lawyers do lots of things beyond litigation); no, guilty til proven innocent doesn’t apply (nor does beyond a reasonable doubt); no, you don’t have criminal or civil rights in the investigation or your hearing (but you do have contractual ones set forth in your Candidate Agreement and the Rules of Procedure); yes, the PCP can be as arbitrary as they want (as long as they stick to their Rules of Procedure); and no, bringing in an attorney to a quasi-legal hearing is not entitled or wrongful (you better bet that CFAI has lawyers on their side).
also consider that if you likely failed anyway… and its not a very serious accusation… just save the expense and “plead no contest” under the assumption that the punishment will be to just void your exam…
I’m guessing that bubbling after time is called is not as serious as blatant cheating or something crazy like bringing in an electronic device with wires running through your shirt, feeding you answers via an earpiece… - extreme but there must be a spectrum
If under investigation by the police, you’d lawyer up.
If under investigation by the regulatory authority, you’d lawyer up.
There is too much at stake to cheap out and do a cost benefit analysis. (Voiding a successful exam result, reputational impacts, etc…)
A PCP investigation needs to be treated in the same manner as any other investigation.
You’ve invested considerable time and resources in pursuing the CFA Charter, don’t throw it away by trying to deal with this on your own.
I’m actually quite surprised that when I read through the PCP threads on here, no one ever recommends retaining counsel.
The CFA Institute is most likely receiving a legal opinion on every action they take on a PCP investigation. We owe it to ourselves to act in the same manner.
As the saying goes… a person who acts as their own lawyer has a fool for a client.
Well… You should consider that conduct violations can also result in revocation of the right to use the CFA designation and prohibition from participation in the CFA Program (among other things). (Take a look at Rule 1.6). These could be more harmful than voiding a test or making you sit out a couple years.
Also consider that pushing a non-meritorious case or in handling a meritorious case in bad-faith manner may expose you to additional sanctions. (That is why I say never to lie. This may put you in breach of your Candidate Agreement, which could mean real trouble for you).
As an attorney, I like your thinking. That said, I’ve seen people take a cost-benefit analysis on cases with much greater consequences than CFAI disiplinary measures. I’ve seen people go to jail for years (some were people with small children by the way) to avoid the risk of greater potential consequences. …and that’s in the U.S. criminal system where you are afforded every procedural protection and presumption, unlike the CFAI PCP.
true
+1
Yes you can retain counsel sure. but this is not a court of law, and there is no unbiased judge or jury. the CFA pays good money to hire proctors with the sole job of watching and reporting cheaters. and the CFA designation is awarded by a private entity
[quote=“itera”]
See my preemptive response from above:
Anyone that honestly retains counsel over a PCP investigation needs to take a long hard look in the mirror…and realize that they’re a retard.
Even if you are totally innocent? Even if an attorney could help make a case that you couldn’t make on your own? Even if you are facing severe financial or career consequences?
You sound like someone that doesn’t understand what lawyers do.
I probably wouldn’t, but I could see a meeting or two with an attorney to review the CFA handbook/rules and to discuss your options. Especially if you’re a L3 candidate and are facing being booted out of the program.
I think I’d stop short of having them representing me in any proceedings (because it seems like a mostly one-sided arbitration hearing where an attorney may actually exacerbate negotiations), but knowing the rules of the road, what you’re afforded in terms of innocence, and what strategy would end in the best result may be worth it.
I once hired an attorney (non-compete clause dispute, nothing criminal) and It was well worth it! I can’t say how favorable due to the terms of the agreement, but I was very happy with the outcome. So maybe I’m biased here.
the only legitimate way a real lawyer could intervene is if you were literally going to sue the CFAI. a lawyer helping you write a letter and craft your position might help slightly if you were not very articulate. But the CFAI is the judge and jury, and the proctors have 1 job to do, and are chosen independently. if you literally sued CFAI to grant you a pass, you would NEVER win in real court. it’ll boil down to your word vs the proctor report and you’d Lose. end of story.
Haven’t they booted less than 100 candidates since 2013? One would assume pretty damning evidence (Formulas, notes written on the test entry ticket, using a cell phone etc.) for this to happen. Run of the mill PCP is likely looking at test results voided, not permaban.
Ok, fair enough. You have probably never had an experience with an attorney helping in a private tribunal (that’s not an indictment against you, most haven’t). Lawyers act in lots and lots of non-litigation contexts including in private hearings in regard to institutional rules. I would generally think that these kinds of engagements would not lead to actual litigation, but I guess it’s not impossible if the CFAI acts in bad faith or in breach of the Candidate Agreement (maybe you could also go down a tort-y kind of claim of action if you wanted to thrown in the kitchen sink), but all those seem pretty unrealistic. That said, if you did get to litigation, it would probably wouldn’t be a finding of fact about what the proctor saw; it would more likely be whether or not the CFAI acted in accordance with its Rule of Procedures and their Candidate Agreement.
Think of Tom Brady. The Players Agreement put him under arbitration by the NFL (a private institution). He sued in federal court based not on the fact that the balls were not in fact deflated, but rather that the decision by the NFL was outside of the requirements of the contract which the NFL agreed would govern such disputes (basically Goodall’s bad faith). Granted Brady eventually lost…
I think you equate lawyer with lawsuit and suing people. The truth, as I’ve been told from a lawyer friend (I live in DC, where you can’t spit w/o hitting two lawyers), is the vast majority of corporate lawyers time is drafting up terms of agreement designed specifically to keep the company out of the courtroom (you know, the 100-page user agreements you have to say you’ve read?).
Speaking of, I’m pretty sure the CFAI agreement was drafted to keep the Institute out of the legal system. My point is you equate lawyer with trial and that’s a common misperception, but a misperception nonetheless. You’re assuming an attorney would instantly push for a courtroom proceeding; that’s most likely the last step they’d take.
I also think “crafting your position” is a little more important than you give it credit for. Additionally, just because the CFAI acts as “judge and jury,” doesn’t mean they are always going to side with the exam proctor, a third-party. Again, I probably wouldn’t seek an attorney, but I could understand somebody else meeting with one to discuss this situation.
EDIT: I’m going to let JSD - NYC handle this particular sub-thread as he’s an attorney.