The Law Review seeks to recruit an accomplished, committed, and diverse staff of editors. In selecting our membership, we consider Comment entries, Bluebooking exercises, statements of interest, and resumes. All information is kept strictly confidential.
We recognize that none of these criteria, standing alone, adequately indicates an individual’s qualifications or ability to contribute to the journal. Our selection process, therefore, attempts to strike a balance among them and strives to ensure that each member of the 1L class has a genuine opportunity to qualify for Law Review membership.
Furthermore, while the weighting detailed below will be how 55% of the entering staff editor class is selected, the remaining 45% of staff editors will be selected through a holistic review process that evaluates all of the same elements but does not assign formal weights to them. Holistic review follows a process prescribed by Law Review’s bylaws and approved by the administration, which involves consideration of diversity across a range of factors including work experience, field of expertise, and educational background. Law Review’s selection process is compliant with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and does not use quotas.
The Law Review will extend invitations to at least 55 students from the first-year class.
Writing Competition (70%)
Applicants are asked to write a commentary on a thought-provoking legal topic (35%) and complete a Bluebooking exercise (35%). Immediately following the completion of their last final exam, applicants will be emailed background materials and detailed rules governing the writing competition. There will also be an optional information session about the process on Zoom. The slides from this meeting will be shared with the entire 1L class. Applicants will have approximately two weeks to complete the competition, but may request extensions through the journal matching system.
For the comment, applicants may not research beyond the materials provided to them. Entries are judged on their demonstration of analytical and writing skills, including the ability to synthesize the background materials, the strength of argument, and the attention paid to proofreading and Bluebooking.
The Bluebooking exercise requires applicants to correct a number of footnotes in accordance with the rules of the Bluebook (21st Edition).
Statement of Interest & Résumé (30%)
Applicants are asked to submit a statement of interest, responding to prompts that will be provided. The statement will be judged as an independent piece of expository writing and evaluated as to whether the applicant directly answers the prompts. Statements will be read for quality and attention to proofreading detail. The statement is an opportunity for applicants to provide the Selection Committee a more comprehensive view of who they are as individuals. Applicants will have the opportunity to submit an additional, optional statement regarding extenuating circumstances that affected performance during the journal matching program.
Applicants must submit a resume from which their name and all other identifying details (such as address and email) have been removed. The resume will be considered together with the statement of interest. Resumes should share information about all your experiences, including past employment and education, your summer internship, and school group involvement.
Grades (0%)
Law Review does not consider grades in its selection procedure.
Transfer Student Selection
At the very beginning of the academic year, the law journals conduct a smaller version of the standard writing competition for newly enrolled second-year transfer students. From this competition, the Law Review will select at least two and potentially more members, depending on the size of the rest of the rising second-year Law Review class. Prospective transfer students do not participate in the standard writing competition.
