Friday, May 8, 2009

Soliciting Plagiarism

I saw this ad on Craigslist from someone in Northwest San Antonio:
I need a two to three page legal opinion letter for a class assignment. I do not have time to do this assignment, so I am willing to pay $40 for a legal assistant, paralegal, or law student to do this assignment for me.
I know it's unethical for students to claim others' work as their own. But what about the ethics of a legal assistant, paralegal, or law student who accepts this work? Seems to me that for a legal assistant or paralegal, as long as they spell out the fact that they're not giving out legal advice and don't commit the unauthorized practice of law, they're (legally, if not morally) in the clear--just like anyone else who took money to perform a class assignment.

Regarding law students, pretty much every law school bans plagiarism and other forms of cheating. For example, Rule 2.02(b) of the St. Mary's law school's Code of Student Conduct (found at page 50 of the Student Handbook) forbids conduct that might give "that student or another an unfair advantage in an academic matter." But does the Code refer just to St. Mary's students, or any student at any institution?

I wonder what sort of class this assignment is for, and what sort of school (high school, community college, or four-year university). And I wonder how many classmates of this Craigslist advertiser--not to mention the instructor--would like to know what this student is up to.

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