The plagiarist does not play fair.

What is plagiarism?
[t]he deliberate and knowing presentation of another persons original ideas or creative expressions as ones own.10 BLACKS LAW DICTIONARY 1267 (9th ed. 2009)

try this
massive, nearly verbatim copying of a published writing without attribution."10

attorneys do this all the time!

The authorship of a legal instrument is more like the collective authorship of a folk tale... numerous authors make modest contributions to an evolving work....11

...[C]opy[ing] sources other than formbooks without attribution... [is] ...dishonest and deceitful, and constitutes a misrepresentation... ("may further be 1 deemed prejudicial to the administration of justice.")

really?

...avoid labeling and treating copying by attorneys in the context of litigation filings as plagiarism3 the primary focus should be on (1) the legal and factual merits of the positions advanced in the filing; and (2) the competence and diligence of the lawyer 3 who signed the filing.

some say we should:

but it is not the copying, it's the deceit

plagiarism is copying without attribution...copyright 11 infringement is copying without authorization....
related to

(see also

It becomes unethical when it "involve[s] an element of deceit" and the borrowers gain from representing another's material as their original work.7

Support your argument

..."[C]iting to the source... lends support to your argument, so why not tell the reader where you found your information...?9 because Concealment is at the heart of plagiarism8

Don't be weak
....citing to the same cases as another brief would not pose any problems but pasting several pages of text verbatim from another brief would certainly raise some red flags. 5

Stay out of trouble

...[P]lagiarism [i]s conduct for which a public reprimand is appropriate.6 ...[P]lagiarism adversely reflects on an attorney's basic honesty, and should always result in discipline.6

Seriously
[C]ut[ting] and past[ing]... raises significant concern about whether the lawyer 3 has fulfilled one of a lawyers most basic duties, competence. ...[C]opying from another lawyers work may... reflect[] on the lawyer failing to do the work for which he or she was hired, which would include at least ensuring that the copied material was relevant, accurate, and up to date.3 The reported decisions on attorney discipline for plagiarism treat it as a form of deceit.11

...[P]lagiarists... are never completely rehabilitated8

Legal writing 101

RULES FOR WORKING WITH AUTHORITY2 1. Acknowledge direct use of someone elses words. 2. Acknowledge any paraphrase of someone elses words. 3. Acknowledge direct use of someone elses idea. [rules for academics]: 4. Acknowledge a source when your own analysis or conclusion builds on that source. 5. Acknowledge a source when youridea abouta legal opinion came from a source other than the opinion itself.

Acknowledge Acknowledge Acknowledge Acknowledge Acknowledge

Acknowledge use of words or ideas

Everything here was copied and pasted from:
ETHICS ON APPEAL DOUGLAS R. RICHMOND, Chicago, IL State Bar of Texas 21ST ANNUAL ADVANCED CIVIL APPELLATE PRACTICE COURSE September 6 - 7, 2007
2 1

Law School Plagiarism v. Proper Attribution 2003 Legal Writing Institute

Joy, Peter A. and McMunigal, Kevin C., The Problems of Plagiarism as an Ethics Offense (2011). ABA Criminal Justice, Summer 2011; Washington University in St. Louis Legal Studies Research Paper No. 12-05-13. Available at SSRN: http:// ssrn.com/abstract=2067694
4

Molly McDonough, Hey! They Copied My Complaint, 4 ABA J. E-REPORT 2 (December 6,. 2002)

LEGALBRIEFS: HELPFUL BUT ALSO HAZARDOUS BY BRIAN CRAIG Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research & Writing, Vol. 13, No. 132, 2005 I WROTE THIS ARTICLE MYSELF Martin A. Cole, Senior Assistant Director, Minnesota Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility, Reprinted by the Bench & Bar of Minnesota (July 1993) Nothing new under the Sun - Plagiarism in Practice, K.K. DuVivier, The Colorado Lawyer May 2003 Vol 32 No 5 p53 citing In re: Zbiegien 433 N.W.2d 871, 875(Minn. 1988)
8 7 6

The Little Book of Plagiarism Richard A. Posner 2007

Legal Writing, the Remix: Plagiarism and Hip Hop Ethics by Kim D. Chanbonpin 57 MERCER LAW REVIEW [Vol. 63] quoting quoting David E. Sorkin, Practicing Plagiarism, 81 ILL. B.J. 481, 488.
10

Plagiarism in Lawyers Advocacy: Imposing Discipline for Conduct Prejudicial to the Administration of Justice, Douglas E. Abrams, 48 WAKE FOREST LAW REVIEW ___ (2013)

11

Peterson, James D. and Gregor, Jennifer L. Copycat: Plagiarism, Copyright Infringement, & Lawyers. Wisconsin Lawyer 84(6):6-9 (June 2011)

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