Preparing for the Michigan License Restoration Hearing

After the substance use evaluation has been checked and the letters of support have been edited, revised, and then passed our team’s final proofreading, we’ll file all the required documents and wait to be notified of our license appeal hearing date. The notice, when received, will contains 2 vital pieces of information: 

First, the date and time of our hearing, and 
Second, the name of the hearing officer who will be deciding the case.

Throughout the preceding sections, I have made it very clear how important it is to pay attention to all the little details as we assemble the evidence for a Michigan driver’s license restoration or clearance appeal. We’ll come back to this several times throughout this section. Here, we’re going to focus on preparing for your license appeal hearing. 

Doing everything right is important, but part of any winning strategy is also to limit the things that can go wrong. Not being thoroughly prepared for your license appeal hearing is one of them and is a completely avoidable mistake. This is why it’s so important to have real, bona-fide Michigan driver’s license lawyers, like our firm, handle your case. 
Remember, our firm GUARANTEES to win every driver’s license restoration and clearance appeal case we take. Part of the reason we do that is because we make sure you’re prepared for your license appeal hearing. 
There are 9 Hearing Officers who decide all the driver’s license restoration and clearance appeals in the state of Michigan. In the same way that no 2 Judges are the same, each hearing officer has a different approach to considering the evidence in a license appeal. To be sure, they will all have a core group of the same kinds of questions they’ll want answered at your license appeal hearing.  
However, each also has his or her own specific and often unique areas of concern. The bottom line is that something that will work with 8 hearing officers may be a deal-killer with #9.
Knowing the preferences of each hearing officer is very important to winning your appeal. Equally important is making sure that any and every case is properly prepared so that if it gets assigned to a “tough” hearing officer – even the toughest of the bunch – it’s ready to win.
Remember, license appeal cases are won (or lost) in the preparation.
Beyond preparing the case before filing it, knowing who will ultimately be deciding your case is critical to how we prepare for your license appeal hearing. 
Let me give an example using 3 hypothetical (but based upon real-life) hearing officers. We’ll call them “#1,” “#2,” and “#3.”Our hypothetical client is Dan the Driver, who, in the first set of examples, goes to AA meetings, while in the second set, does NOT. Let’s see how this plays out:
1. Dan attends AA mettings – 

• Dan’s case is assigned to hearing officer “#1,” who is going to be ask Dan to recite some specific steps from the program. 

• If his case goes to hearing officer “#2”, then Dan will not be asked a single question about the AA program, but will instead only be asked how often he actually attends meetings. 
• If hearing officer “#3” will be deciding his case, he is going to be asked to talk about a step or steps that he has recently discussed at an AA meeting, or that he feels is particularly important to his recovery.

2. Dan does NOT go to AA –  

• Hearing officer “#1” will ask why he doesn’t go, not in any accusatory way, but to find out if Dan has otherwise developed enough “tools” for recovery so that he really doesn’t need a support group. 
• When hearing officer “#2” ask his questions, she will inquire about what kind of “support system” Dan has among his family and friends to help him stay sober, and who he would reach out to if he needed help. 
• Hearing officer “#3” will ask Dan to describe his “personal plan” for recovery. 

Of course, there are 6 other personalities that we haven’t even mentioned, each with his or her own unique perspective on sobriety and recovery.
The point I’m driving at is that all of this is just one facet of the process that needs to be taken into account as part of the preparation for an actual license appeal hearing.
For what it’s worth, the vast majority of our clients are NOT in AA. You don’t need to be in AA to win a Michigan driver’s license restoration or clearance case.
Our Preparation Meeting
As a general rule, my team and I schedule our “preps” with each client the day before their license hearing, for a time slot we can be sure will bring no distractions or other calls for our attention. 
When we speak with our client, it will be like we’re 2 of the only 3 people in the world who matter. The 3rd person, of course, will be the hearing officer assigned to decide our case, and he or she will take front and center stage as we discuss the next day’s license appeal hearing.
Most of the time, our “preps” last about a half hour. The license appeal hearing itself will also last about a half hour, or less.
Remember – driver’s license restoration and clearance appeals are won (or lost) in the preparation.
As part of our “prep session,” we will review all of the evidence that’s been filed in your case. During our preparation time, we will pull together everything from our first meeting, the substance use evaluation, letters of support, and the facts of your case, including your unique recovery story.
Often, there is a kind of magical moment that happens as we speak, because suddenly, as we get into our “prep,” all the elements of your case come together, and a big, clear picture emerges. Suddenly, we’ll see the whole story, from your decision to quit drinking and all of the changes you made since then come to life.
When we hang up, you’ll be ready for your license appeal hearing, and therefore ready to win your case. You will know exactly what questions we will be asking you, and you’ll know what the hearing officer will be asking you, as well. We’ll make sure that you show up for your license appeal hearing fully prepared, ready and confident.
Here’s the best part You’ll feel that sense of confidence and otherwise be good and ready because you’ll know that you’re going in to tell the truth.
If you’re our client, that means you’re really sober. There will be nothing to fake, or exaggerate. We won’t have to rehearse any kind of BS. Instead, we will relax in the security of knowing that everything we’ve done is to help and support a license appeal that is based upon the truth, and NOTHING can surpass that.
When we finish our prep session, you’ll understand why our law firm has a first-time win guarantee. When we conclude the formal license appeal hearing the next day, you’ll feel good about the case we’ve presented. 
Then, when you get your winning decision in the mail, you’ll be glad you called us to be your Michigan drivers license restoration lawyers.  
When all is said and done, you either win your case – or not. Nobody ever wants to wind up in the “or not” category.  
My team and I will make sure you don’t.