Case of the Week, 2/16/09

Both bar examiners and law school administrators are concerned with false statements and dishonesty--whether those statements are made on law school applications, bar applications, or elsewhere.

Some law schools are taking measures to punish students for dishonesty or false statements. One student lied on his resume about his class rank and GPA, and failed to disclose on his resume that he was a transfer student; a potential employer discovered the misrepresentations and called the student’s law school dean. See Gagne v. The Trustees of Indiana University, 692 N.E.2d 489 (Ind. App. 1998). In addition, the student failed to disclose a criminal conviction and pending charges for reckless driving on his law school applications. He was expelled from his law school and then sued the school, claiming breach of contract and violation of his due process rights; he lost.