. Forum

[appind]

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[kalvano]

I would tell them and they won't care.

[BVest]

Sounds more like a poor performance evaluation to me, but it's going to depend on the wording of the specific question you're answering on an application. And, FWIW, some bars don't go back past 10 years (though you may also be answering the questions as a 1L or 2L rather than as a 3L).

For example, the Texas bar asks the following:

During the last ten (10) years or since your 18th birthday, whichever time period is shorter,
have you been terminated, suspended, disciplined, or permitted to resign in lieu of termination,
suspension, or discipline, from any job or employment?

If you answered “YES” to Question 6, provide a narrative explanation on a Continuation Form.

Even if you do have to explain on an application, something like this from 10 years ago is not going to hurt, so why not disclose when in doubt.

[appind]

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[Big Dog]

in the world of HR, discipline usually means that you violated a company policy (such as arriving consistently late to work) which was not the case in your example. You were counseled for work quality, or lack thereof.

[BVest]

in the world of HR, discipline usually means that you violated a company policy (such as arriving consistently late to work) which was not the case in your example. You were counseled for work quality, or lack thereof.

So I checked and it's a little more than ten years ago. From the options in the texas form, the terms that come any close to this are "permitted to resign in lieu of termination" and discipline due to use of word probation in the document. In my opinion it was not a permission to resign. In the business world employment is at-will, they can throw you out any moment and if one can get a better offer he can quit any time.
What does discipline or detriment of benefits refer to? These are some of the terms used commonly in these forms. I have heard discipline only occurs when some sort of sanctions are imposed but that is not the case here.

No one here can tell you exactly whether Texas BLE or any other state's bar examiners are going to think that your work probation was "discipline." That's why the general rule is disclose if there's any ambiguity. If you disclose and they didn't think it was a reportable incident, it does you no harm. If you don't disclose and it turns out they think it was a reportable incident, and they subsequently find out about it, you're going to be appearing before a committee with your attorney explaining why you failed to disclose a reportable discipline. [edited to make sense]

[kalvano]

And they aren't going to care. You lose nothing by disclosing but not disclosing could be a disaster.