By HEATHER BIRD -- Toronto Sun
May 3, 2001

So maybe our mothers were right when they used to tell us: "You're only cheating yourself." This was usually applied in situations where one was caught attempting a shortcut on an otherwise long road.

Nobody probably knows this better now than the dirty 30, the University of Toronto law students who gussied up their mid-term marks in order to land primo jobs at big Bay St. firms.

They've cheated themselves out of a year of school, a summer job and quite possibly a lucrative career. That seductive shortcut is going to mean a long march back for those who have the stomach to stick it out.

While the university won't say for sure what's been happening, word has leaked out that a number of these cheaters have already been told they will face one-year suspensions for their duplicity. If they return, the deceit will be noted on their transcripts, which will expose them to their teachers. And even if they do complete their law degree, there's no guarantee they will be called to the bar because the Law Society of Upper Canada requires that candidates be "of good character." Lying, presumably, is not a quality which will stand them in good stead.

The reason that the school won't issue a public statement is that the discipline is being meted out only after the students finish writing their first-year exams, which are scheduled to end May 10.

But while the school might want to keep it quiet, their lawyer confirmed it yesterday and called the punishment "heavy-handed." The distinguished Clay Ruby, who represents 17 of the students, says they were told that the grades were based on practice exams which would never be disclosed to anyone. Later, the students were surprised to find out they were on their honour to reveal accurate marks to the businesses who were looking to hire for the summer.

For some reason 30 of them, nearly one-fifth of the class, decided to lie.

"This (the punishment) is really designed to drive them out," he told CFTO.

Well, good. The last thing the law profession needs is another 30 people who have demonstrated that they will lie, if need be, to feather their own nests.

The temptations are simply too great in law, says a friend who is a senior partner at a downtown firm.

"There are all kinds of things you can do as a lawyer and be taken at your word because no one can ever check." He cites as a worst-case scenario the Paul Bernardo videotapes.

Although few people agree with how Ken Murray handled the so-called rape tapes by holding them back for a considerable period of time, a less honourable lawyer could have never produced them at all. That lawyer could have gone to the house alone or, once he had the videos in his possession, he could have watched the tapes by himself and later told his colleagues there was nothing of use on them. Then he could have simply taped over them or thrown them away.

You might say lying about your marks and destroying evidence are two different things. But they aren't really. They both display a willingness to get ahead by whatever means necessary. There isn't much difference between reaching for a lucrative summer job or hankering to win a big case to cement one's reputation as a hotshot defence counsel.

There are also those who will defend the students as having made "youthful" mistakes. That's only accurate in the sense that little kids use that logic all the time to justify their own bad behaviour. "She took my book so I had to hit her" has the same ring to it as "I wanted the job so I lied."

The problem is that these students are not little kids. By the time they are admitted to the law faculty, they are likely in their early 20s and have probably completed an undergraduate degree. At that age, with that training and experience, it is not a mistake. It is a character flaw.

And there are those who will argue that it was dishonest but not fraudulent and didn't hurt anybody. But by lying in order to obtain positions that they weren't entitled to hold, these students were bumping out their colleagues, the ones with the lower grades who had come by them honestly.

Harsh? Perhaps. But our systems aren't geared to handle out-and-out lying. There is a leap of faith when you go to any professional, whether it's a doctor, lawyer or accountant. You not only have to trust their knowledge, you have to have confidence that they will do the right thing.

Another favourite Mom saying is that "Cheaters never prosper." Which isn't entirely true because everyone knows that some of them do prosper. I'm glad these ones got caught.