Employer Secondary Journal Preferences? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know if firms have any preference as to which secondary journals we are on if we don't make law review? At CLS, I heard the Business Law Review was well-known (and also aligns well with my interests), but I'm unsure about the other ones. E.g., The tax journal is fairly new, but it seems more relevant to big law practice than the Journal of Gender and Law or the Journal of Environmental Law.

Specifically, I am wondering about the following journals:
Columbia Business Law Review
Columbia Journal of Tax Law
Columbia Journal of Environmental Law
Columbia Journal of Gender and Law
Columbia Science and Technology Law Review
Columbia Journal of Transnational Law
Columbia Journal of Race and Law

Other than doing a journal that aligns with our interests, or selecting a journal that is likely to have a wider alumni base, or selecting a journal with a higher likelihood of publication, do employers distinguish between secondary journal membership at all?

Thanks

[thesealocust]

do employers distinguish between secondary journal membership at all?

No. Not at all.

[Anonymous User]

I thought JTL was the most prestigious (at least that's what I heard from 2L/3Ls). Followed by CBLR, HRLR...but then again, the people I talked to may be biased.

EDIT: after the LR, of course

[imchuckbass58]

Nobody (employers included) gives a crap what secondary journal you were on.

[Cavalier]

It basically will never matter which secondary journal you are on. Law students love to obsess over which is more "prestigious" based on difficulty to get on, the amount of work involved, the number of issues published, etc., but employers don't know and don't care about any of that. The only possible exception is if you're applying to clerkships; you'll look better if you have a more serious-sounding journal on your resume. So, for example, if you're at UVA and you think you'll have a shot at a district court clerkship, you'd probably be better off with the Virginia Journal of Law and Politics than the Virginia Journal of Sports and Entertainment. But that's about it.

[npe]

You mentioned that one of the journals aligns most closely with your interests. I'd go with that one. If you hope to practice in that area, it could help reading and writing on relevant topics. It'll also serve to back you up when you talk about your interests in interviews. Granted, if you're talking about biglaw, this probably won't matter as much. But if you want to practice in a DA's office, I'd be surprised if membership (or even better, leadership positions) on a criminal law journal wouldn't help you. Or a civil rights and liberties journal if you're aiming for the ACLU. Etc., etc. Outside of confirming your interest in a practice area, though, there's not much difference between secondaries.