Biden Surrenders Law License To Avoid Disbarment

Man in suit speaking at a microphone podium.

Hunter Biden has surrendered his Washington, D.C. law license to avoid formal disbarment proceedings following his felony convictions, marking the end of his legal career in the nation’s capital.

Key Takeaways

Hunter Biden has voluntarily surrendered his D.C. law license, consenting to permanent disbarment rather than facing formal proceedings.
His license was initially suspended in June 2024 after being convicted of lying about drug use to obtain a firearm.
Despite receiving a “full and unconditional” pardon from his father before leaving office, the D.C. Bar still pursued disciplinary action.
Hunter never actively practiced law in D.C. despite maintaining his bar membership since 2007.
The D.C. Court of Appeals must still formally accept the disciplinary board’s recommendation for the disbarment to become official.

The End of Hunter Biden’s Legal Career

Hunter Biden will be permanently disbarred from practicing law in Washington, D.C. after agreeing to a disciplinary agency’s recommendation. According to documents from the D.C. Bar’s Board on Professional Responsibility, Biden filed an affidavit under seal in the D.C. Court of Appeals, formally consenting to disbarment. The move comes after a series of legal troubles that made his disbarment virtually inevitable, including felony convictions for tax evasion and gun charges that automatically trigger disciplinary action for licensed attorneys.

By surrendering his license voluntarily, Biden avoids lengthy public hearings that would have further scrutinized his criminal convictions. While Biden had maintained his D.C. bar membership since being admitted in 2007 after graduating from Yale Law School in 1996, records indicate he never actively practiced law in the District. His Connecticut law license is also currently under administrative suspension for non-payment of reinstatement fees, effectively ending his legal career completely.

Criminal Convictions and Presidential Pardon

Hunter Biden’s legal troubles began mounting in 2023 when he was found guilty on all counts in a Delaware gun case dating back to 2018. The charges stemmed from his purchase of a firearm while being an unlawful drug user, a federal offense. His license was initially suspended in June 2024 following this conviction. Later, he also pleaded guilty to nine charges related to tax evasion, including three felonies and six misdemeanors in a California tax case.

“Hunter Biden has agreed to give up his license to practice law in Washington, D.C., as a result of his criminal record,” D.C. Bar’s Board on Professional Responsibility said.

In December 2024, before leaving office, former President Joe Biden issued his son a “full and unconditional” pardon for his criminal convictions. However, this presidential action did not prevent the D.C. Bar’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel from initiating proceedings to suspend Hunter’s law license. Under the bar’s Rule XI, attorneys convicted of felonies face mandatory suspension and potential disbarment regardless of subsequent pardons.

Hunter Biden agrees to disbarment for felony conviction https://t.co/P3acfacAAn

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) April 2, 2025

Voluntary Surrender and Future Implications

By filing a “consent to disbarment” affidavit, Hunter Biden has chosen to relinquish his law license rather than fight the disciplinary proceedings. The consent motion filed in the D.C. Court of Appeals does not disclose specific details of the disbarment agreement, as such documents are typically kept confidential. The board described this process as “standard procedure” for attorneys facing inevitable disbarment due to felony convictions.

“[T]he affidavit required under [the relevant ethical rule] shall not be publicly disclosed or made available for use in any other proceeding except by order of the Court or upon written consent of the attorney,” the consent motion read.

In recent court filings from March 2025, Hunter described himself as a struggling artist facing financial difficulties due to declining art sales and the impact of the January Los Angeles fires. Despite these personal and professional setbacks, he maintains a pending federal libel suit against former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne, filed in the Central District of California, where he will be represented by South Carolina attorney Dick Harpootlian rather than representing himself.