VA Character & Fitness Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hello all,
I am a rising 3L and just finished my 2L year. My first semester of 2L we had a lawyering skills assignment that required us to write Articles of Organization. We had two professors teach the class, one for 3 days and one for 1 day. Each gave conflicting instructions about what level of collaboration was allowed between students. The professor who taught for 3 days said drafts could be shared and the other professor said they could not. My buddy had a friend pass away back in CA the week the assignment was discussed and was at a funeral the week it was due. He asked me about a week before the assignment was due to send him one of my drafts, which I did. I, like a majority of the class, was under the impression drafts were ok to send and didn’t think anything else of it. I’d planned on editing the draft but got behind on readings and never did. After winter break, I was called into a professors office to discuss “Lawyering Skills 3” and they told me the other student had submitted my draft and because I never changed mine, they were the exact same. He asked if I had sent it to him to which I said yes. He told me it probably wouldn’t be an issue and sent me on my way. Didn’t hear back for the rest of the semester. Today, I got an email saying I admitted to cheating and that the dean has found me guilty, failed me in the class, and placed a cheating violation in my permanent record. I plan on objecting to the narrative and to the decision but otherwise have absolutely no idea how to proceed and am worried this will end my chances of being a lawyer. Any advice would be very much welcomed and please do not sugar coat it!

[topgun342]

You should definitely do everything you can to contest it. Ask if you can have a faculty member represent you and consider hiring an attorney. This will kill your GPA. In terms of the bar, if you explain it just like you did here it is hard to think they will hold it against you. I don't know for sure, however.