Even though alcohol license violation charges are serious and should be dealt with right away, an experienced South Carolina alcohol license defense lawyer can help you do this. The compassionate staff at Viva Beverage Law and its founding partner, Lauren Acquaviva, understand how stressful and downright scary it is to have your alcohol license, a key link to your livelihood, threatened. We also know how to help people in this situation save their licenses. Call us today to find out how we can start helping you with your alcohol licensing needs.
How A Lawyer Can Help After An Alcohol License Violation
A common mistake business owners should avoid making is not responding immediately to citation or violation notices from the South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR) and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) because you typically only have 90 days to file a protest and then only 30 days to request a hearing. Missing deadlines often means automatic penalties such as fines or license suspension or worse, revocation. Enlisting the help of a good alcohol license lawyer as soon as you get the notice means that you have someone who is licensed and educated to be able to help people in situations like yours.
Many people who receive violation citations or notices from SCDOR and SLED assume that there is nothing that they can do. On the contrary, an experienced South Carolina alcohol license violation defense lawyer can help you fight them by challenging the facts in their documents, negotiating settlements, and arguing for reduced penalties. This not only helps to protect your license, but it also helps to protect the reputation of your business.
If your license is suspended or revoked, there are things that a good liquor license lawyer can do to help you with this. If your license has already been suspended, you typically pay fines, serve the suspension period, and can get reinstated when this period is over. If it has already been revoked, you will likely have to wait up to five years before reapplying, completing full background checks again, etc., and getting approved is not guaranteed. In the hopes of keeping your business afloat, an experienced defense lawyer may be able to negotiate alternatives to suspension or revocation.
Why Experience Is Essential For A Defense Lawyer
When your livelihood is on the line and there is something you can do to save it, too much is at stake to not make sure that your defense lawyer has a history of successfully defending alcohol licenses and their business owners and managers. When you hire Lauren, you are getting an attorney who has:
- Worked for six years for the South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR) litigating alcohol licensing and tax matters on behalf of the Department.
- Because of her experience working for the SCDOR, a unique advantage in helping her clients with their SC alcohol licensing issues because of her understanding of how the department works internally.
- Has argued appeals before South Carolina’s Appellate Courts.
If you have questions for our highly qualified and experienced South Carolina alcohol license violation defense lawyer, contact Viva Beverage Law today.