Firstly, some background. According to a Times Online article (found by Nearly Legal), this 'Oxbridge' service, which also offers essays for sale, was found by two undergraduate geography students in their early 20s (who were also brothers).
As to their ethical values, one of the brothers said:
“Students have to earn money to live. We’re offering an opportunity for students to make more money than they could earn in a bar.” ( or did he mean 'at the Bar'? ;D )
And here's some excellent response (Minxy, thanks for spreading the word ;)
- Integrity - A Bad Example - by Simon Myerson QC
- Integrity at the Bar. Students beware. - by Geeklawyer
I also found a more recent Times Online article about the Oxbridge Cheaters, allegedly written by one of the 'employees':
"...The company website boasts that: “The universities of Oxford and Cambridge are world famous as the greatest universities in the United Kingdom.” My good fortune to have done well in an interview a decade ago means that I have reached “the pinnacle of academic excellence”. All of which should make Philip Malamatinas, a Birmingham University graduate, feel a little inadequate. Malamatinas, 24, is the co-founder of Oxbridge Essays and, judging by the cut it takes from my work, he is doing rather well. “None of our work is plagiarised,” he tells me at a meeting at a hotel near his office. Why, then, will he not upload it on to anti-plagiarism websites? “Because we own the copyright.” He repeats both these phrases half a dozen times..." Full article >>>
Haven't heard from the Bar Council yet, apart from the 'read receipt' email.
18 comments:
Two further things trouble me about this WRETCHED Oxbridge website thingie:
1: I cant find any sort of clause which states something to the effect of " this help is for help only; if you trot it out to chambers we will have to kill you because we own the copyright to the aforementioned help"
Even if such a 'clause' was immediately to hand, do the site owners HONESTLY believe that ANYONE who's just paid 2 GRAND for their services WON'T trot out the expensive speil they have just been sent on application??!
(' Why, yes!' will come the reply, 'we are offering help in good FAITH! arent we GOOD???')
2: I refer you to a 'document' promlugated under the heading 'model chambers box set for OLPAS'; the list of high end chambers to which answers have been/are/will be proposed in respect of the question 'Why are you applying to us?' is pretty frightening reading. I wonder what they would have to say if they saw their names bieng bandied about by this worthless and underhand site?!
Right then. I am off to watch/shout at ' Law and Order UK' - its kill or cure.......
Hey Minxy,
I haven't found any exclusion clause either on their 'pupillage' website, but according to the article referred to in my post, at least in essay cases, the buyer has to promise not to pass the purchased material as their own (yeh, right!), and in return, the seller has to promise not to share the work anywhere.
There's no 'legal loopholes'! It's cheating!! If what they offer is legitimate, we may as well bid for pupillage interviews on Ebay...
I actually write for one of these essay sites, and I'm not aware of anything that says the recipient can't use my essay as their own. I don't really care to be honest! I get paid pretty well for it - £60/1000 words approx.
I would be amazed if any of these essays I've done have had an impact upon the degree result. At the end of the day the students have to sit exams on their own. I would also be amazed if any of these letters the Oxbridge site writes has got anybody an interview. I can't find any success rates on there, which seems telling. I can only see it being used by no-hopers, in which case it almost becomes a misrepresentation issue.
£60/1000 for hours and hours of hard work?? I don't know how you can do it... I got Firsts for most of my essays at uni (which was pretty draining), but I could never imagine myself writing them for someone else.
Like you said, I hope that the website won't actually help the undeserving candidates to get interviews, God forbid, pupillage, but what if?
Anyway, I just hope that I won't have to face retribution from the creators for loss of business!
I have raised this with the Education and Training Committee of the BSB and will shortly raise it with the Conduct Committee.
I have also given my Inn a heads up re the scholarship interview thing.
Well done for spotting this.
Thank you so much!
Power to the people!
There's a particularly telling section of their website which says that the OLPAS form is less daunting for those who have friends or family connections with practising barristers AND who have used those connections to obtain mini-pupillages!
I think this really goes to show that these people don't know what they are talking about. Mini-pupillages, especially, are there for anyone to get experience (at most Chambers). Also: how are close family members or friends supposed to provide help to applicants? It is an important form to get right but its hardly the most challenging to fill out (based on the form you provided on this blog not too long ago).
Yes, because mini-pupillages are very mysterious nepotisitc things. Look at my blog please - http://fissilingual.blogspot.com/
It's brand new!
Lackie,
I do believe friends and family can be of help - if only by way of sympathy and support - when it comes to the shitty lottery of pupillage application, and are more than capable, on occiasion, of the odd telling insight into your poetic efforts to persuade the learned committees nationwide that you are the pupil of their dreams, and that stands even if they have no connexion whatsoever with the law!
The form itself may not seem especially challenging to fill out, at first glance, but it is important to keep track of each individual section so that the whole thing, when offered up in its entirety is succinct ( I cant spell to save my LIFE) and ' flows'.Its a difficult balancing act to render yourself attractive to chambers without boring them to death!!
I do think it's rather sinister the way they try to plant seeds of doubt in people's heads like this. Clearly people are meant to think "Oh NO! It's true! My dad isn't a barrister AND I'm not Oxbridge, I'm at a massive disadvantage, I wish there was some way of countering this disadvantage...oh but there is, pay you to write my OLPAS for me!"
I personally think that having relatives working in law would have been of little to no benefit to me in filling out my OLPAS - I am quite sure that people rejected because of their OLPAS answers (as opposed to their qualifications/experience) are rejected due to a. bad writing style/spelling etc and/or b. poor judgement in terms of what they include and not c. lack of knowledge of legal processes that could not be gleaned from a mini-pupillage but must come from someone with 20 years of experience in the legal profession...
I recently made an application for pupillage. I was asked why do I want to be a barrister. I wrote out my 150 words. I sent it to my dad for checking and he said 'Yep, thats great son' I sent it to Unilooney for checking and he ripped it to shreds and returned it covered in red ink, rude comments and some pretty darn fine advice, I then sent to it my careers person, who said it was all wrong, so I rehashed it. I then got my friend to check it and he changed a bit, sent it to my Dad again and he said it was great, asked Bar Maid what she thought and she laughed and changed it a bit, bar Boy wanted to add a constructive comment, but was overwhelmed and couldn't think of anything to add, my dad still thought it was great, so i submitted it.
I somehow wish I had spent £2000 and saved the embarrassment of all and sundry knowing I am an idiot.
But whats the difference between what I did and paying someone? My final 150 words bear no resemblance to my original 150 words.
Surely if you have the wit to do a law degree and the BVC, and have access to the careers service, and still have that bit of wit you started with, you wouldn't pay that much money to get an application form right? Are people really that dumb? And that applies to the people charging, and anyone that feels the need to pay.
I suppose some people may be desperate, but is it really such an issue, and so wrong compared to my own endeavors? (Which got me a rejection letter pretty smart and pronto by the way)
I should have listened to Bar Boy and drawn a picture at the bottom.
Swizz
Incidentally, and this may be frowned upon as cheating just for me asking, but what the heck should you write for:
What do you do to relax?
I suppose saying I have 5 pints and 2 spliffs is not what they are looking for?
That question has me stumped.
Swizzie
... Would you Adam and EVE it?! The Portal now carries a warning against the employ of firms such as Oxbridge TC in the Silly Season!
Much Kudos to you, Andro, and to Simon Myerson QC for flagging this up!!!! :)
Lackie, exactly - it seems that they haven't any research before opening the 'pupillage' section of their website. In relation to the OLPAS form, it's bit tedious and requires a lot of effort to complete. I don't like doing it, but I always thought there was no alternative... until I found this Oxbridge website!
Minxy, I'm with you on the relatives' involvement in securing pupillage. I suppose, unless you are related to a High Court judge, who's happy to be your referee on the application forms, the argument on the OTC is flawed!
Anya, would would the general public think, if they read those section?! It would just reinforce their stereotype of lawyers being corrupt. :D
Tony, at least you attempted to write your application form first, before resorting to help from others. OTC suggests that you don't have to do that - it will be done for you, ready to submit! Although the spokesman denied that...
In response to that question, I think you're meant to put things like: reading, archery, theatre or sky diving.
I interviewed at Lamb Building last year and one of the other candidates alleged to have written "sleeping" in that section...
Yea, that's 'very' quick-witted!
Nice bit of investigative journalism there, Android! Will you be following this up and writing an article for the Legal mags? I do hope you do- especially once the Bar council come back with a response.
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