Academic Integrity & Plagiarism

Suffolk University Law School places great emphasis on professionalism, civility, and legal ethics. It is never too early for students to commit themselves to the highest levels of professional courtesy and academic integrity.

LPS students are also required to adhere to the following additional LPS rules with regard to all LPS assignments. A violation of these LPS rules may also be considered a violation of academic integrity and be viewed as a serious infraction of the Rules and Regulations of the Law School.

  1. Students may not work together to outline or write any draft or assignment--or any part of a draft or assignment.
  2. Students may not read any draft or assignment--or part of a draft or assignment--of another student before all students have submitted final drafts.
  3. Students may not work with other students, friends, relatives, or attorneys on the content, style, or form of any draft or assignment.
  4. Students may not make use of any writing or editing service or help, whether free of charge or for hire.
  5. Rules 1 through 4 apply to all LPS assignments except that
    1. A LPS professor may permit cooperative work on library research if that permission is in writing.
    2. A student may receive all appropriate aid from his or her LPS professor.
  6. By submitting any draft or assignment for LPS credit, each student expressly warrants that he or she
    1. has not given aid to another student,
    2. has not received aid from another student or third party, other than the LPS professor, and
    3. has submitted a document consisting exclusively of his or her own work.

These Plagiarism Hypotheticals [PDF] can help you avoid plagiarism and learn appropriate attribution.

** Students are responsible for asking their LPS professors for guidance if they are in doubt about a particular situation.