I believe that in order for you to be convicted of DWLS, you have to have prior knowlege that your license is suspended; either by a notice from the DMV, or because you had already been informed due to prior conviction. Any decent lawyer will be able to get this charge dropped/reduced, if not dismissed altogether.

I would get on your "friends" to help you pay for the lawyer and ticket, too.. You warned them about going there, and you got popped.. they are partly responsible for what happened.

-EngineBuilder