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As an undergrad, I was charged with plagiarism because I re-used content from one essay in an essay for another class. I was given a slap on the wrist, and the charges were dropped without an official mark on my record. I can provide a clean letter from the dean.

But, the dean's office does have an unofficial record of the incident. They are obligated to disclose the incident if I wanted government security clearance from an organization like the FBI or CIA. I am under the impression that this is the only time my unofficial record would come up.

Should I disclose the plagiarism charge on my law school application, even if I can truthfully say I do not have a disciplinary record? I am willing to come clean, and I am sincerely remorseful, but I also don't want to hurt my admission chances if I don't have to. If I do disclose, how negatively would this affect my application?

The bar will look into your academic history. Even if you dont disclose, they can find out. If they do, you will never practice law.

Disclose. What if you have an opportunity to work with a federal agency that requires a clearance? Don't screw yourself over.

Always err on the side of disclosing.

Thanks everyone. I had pretty much decided to disclose, but your advice chased away any last minute doubts.

On a related note, I had a similar situation at my undergrad (had a friend stay with me and RA's finding out and getting caught for illegal occupancy which is a violation of conduct code). I've requested a formal disciplinary report from my alma mater to see what is on my record.

I'm certain that there will be other minor violations (verbal warnings for noise/alcohol, write-ups for fire safety violation) which may be omitted from the report. Should I disclose these as well even though they don't appear on the report?

i would add them all into on addendum. being young and naiive/stupid. Adcoms will not care about noise infractions or even underage drinking.