Law students can get a limited license (I think it's called a Legal Intern's license, but don't quote me on that) that allows them to perform some of an attorney's duties, like interviewing and counseling a client or appearing in court, but only under the supervision of a licensed attorney. If the OBA (which licenses both attorneys and legal interns) is involved, that indicates that these students didn't even have an intern's license.
Yeah, I don't see how this could be a mistake. Really, this is something those students should've known better than to do; this kind of stuff is drilled into them in law school from day one because their professors know that people will be asking law students for legal advice.
