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You should consult the student code of conduct and ethics for your law school. I am certain there will be a section giving you all of the guidance you need.

I would also ask the student who is giving it to you if it is ok for you to have it. It might seem like a little bit of a strange question, but will give you additional information that may answer your concerns. I once had an actual copy of a previous professor's exam. Your upperclassman may have received it from the professor as a practice exam, from the library, from the administration if they asked for practice material, etc.

I had a mentee who was a little nervous when I gifted them with a copy, and explained I had legitimately obtained it from the school and how I got it

Unless the exam was affirmatively made public, there's a good chance it would be unethical. Almost yearly there are major scandals where a professor reuses an old exam which some students have gained access to this way, and it usually results in headaches for everyone impacted.

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thesealocust wrote:Unless the exam was affirmatively made public, there's a good chance it would be unethical. Almost yearly there are major scandals where a professor reuses an old exam which some students have gained access to this way, and it usually results in headaches for everyone impacted.

It's stupid to put the exams into the public (by giving it to students who took it) and then reuse it late.

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Desert Fox wrote:

thesealocust wrote:Unless the exam was affirmatively made public, there's a good chance it would be unethical. Almost yearly there are major scandals where a professor reuses an old exam which some students have gained access to this way, and it usually results in headaches for everyone impacted.

It's stupid to put the exams into the public (by giving it to students who took it) and then reuse it late.

It's stupid and has still happened + made ATL like half a dozen times since I started law school.

How did the student get the exam? Is there anything on the exam indicating that it's not public (must be returned to professor, etc.)?

This is one of those "if you have to ask..." situations. Use common sense. The potential minimal benefit of having a "secret" practice exam is substantially outweighed by negative consequences.

FWIW, you only need to look at (emphasis on just LOOK AT) 2-3 practice exams per professor just to see how they structure exams, common issues they like to raise, and how they phrase the "call of the question" (i.e., "Discuss all issues," or "Discuss the potential defenses for Joe"). You likely don't need this extra exam to be able to figure out this information.

Why don't you just tell your professor you have an exam and ask if it's okay to use it? Going along with what thesealocust said, it's going to be far better to let the professor know that one of his/her exams is floating around. If they don't care, then great, you can use it to study.

If they didn't know and do care, then they won't reuse those questions. You aren't going to get in trouble by giving your professor a heads up a month before finals.