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How to Get Your Law School Application Quickly Rejected

By William Vogeler, Esq. on March 21, 2017 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

On the spectrum of lies, maybe lying on your law school application is somewhere between lying to your kids about Santa Claus and lying to your spouse about where you were last night.

One lie could result in disappointment and the other could get you killed. Actually, lying on your law school application could do a little of both. It'll be disappointing when the law school withdraws its acceptance letter, and it could kill your chances of becoming a lawyer in the future.

The big problem with telling a lie -- besides it being one of the deadly sins -- is that it seems like it always comes out at the worst time. But it only seems that way because it is always wrong to lie and it is the quickest way to get your law school application rejected. Let us count some ways:

1. Say Goodbye to That Law School

If you thought your law school just wanted your tuition money, you're only half right. Of course, they want your money. But they want qualified, truthful applicants more.

So even if you only stretched the truth on your application, say you're sorry before they find out or say goodbye on your way out.

2. Say Hello to Bar Examiners

Consider the case of the law student who omitted critical information on his bar application. After years of study and untold amounts of money invested in a legal education, he obscured, or maybe glossed over, or how did the state Supreme Court put it? Oh yeah, he "wasn't candid."

The sin of omission -- leaving out details of his criminal convictions -- caused him to lose his bar license before he even got it. Here's the message: the legal profession doesn't need more liars.

3. Some Skeletons Don't Die

Remember those skeletons in Pirates of the Caribbean? They looked like pirates until the full moon came out, and then they turned into ghastly ghouls?

Well, that's how it will be with lies immortalized on law school records. They will come back to haunt you, no matter how long it takes. It happened to a prosecutor -- more than 30 years after the fact.

Alright, the truth is that he didn't get in trouble for lying on his law school application. He allegedly allowed a witness to lie in a capital case.

But still, like I said, lying on your law school application is definitely on the spectrum of deadly sins. Don't start before you get into law school, and don't turn lying into a career-ending problem.

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