When you studied for the bar, you had the weight of the world on your shoulders. Between you and your future as a practicing attorney loomed weeks of concentrated effort and lack of sleep generously tossed with an anxiety remoulade.

For some prospective lawyers, that worry is only compounded with the weight of wondering whether their pasts, in which they found themselves on the wrong side of the law, or even behind bars, would pass muster with state bar character and fitness boards. In our cover story, Karen Sloan and Tony Mauro report on the hurdles that lawyers with criminal pasts have to clear and how in the midst of scrutiny and uncertainty, they are managing to stay positive while pushing toward their legal practice goals.