Should I put a secondary journal on a transfer resume? Forum

[Anonymous User]

... or will it just raise the question "Why didn't you make law review"?

Also, the secondary journal membership is based entirely on the write-on. Should I emphasize this point to market my writing skills?

[thesealocust]

Your question does not resolve. Is it a secondary from your old school, or new school? Have you done any work for it yet?

And there aren't, to my knowledge, secondaries that use anything BUT the write-on to make decisions, so I would not 'emphasize' that.

[Anonymous User]

Your question does not resolve. Is it a secondary from your old school, or new school? Have you done any work for it yet?

And there aren't, to my knowledge, secondaries that use anything BUT the write-on to make decisions, so I would not 'emphasize' that.

OP here. Secondary at old school, sorry. No work, just an invite.

[thesealocust]

No, you should not list that on your resume or mention it in your application materials.

/thread

[Total Litigator]

I disagree to a certain degree.

If you are applying to transfer to your new school, definitely put it on there.

However, i am assuming you have already transfered and are now doing OCI at your new school. This answer is a bit more difficult, but definitely not a blanket no.


There is a situation which warrants it:
If you have transferred to a school that has a special write on competition for transfer students, you should include it on your resume. This is because you will be competing against "normal" students who have already written on to a journal, and an employer wants to know if you at least have a fighting chance of writing onto a journal at your new school if he's going to offer you a callback/job before transfer write-on results get back.

Personally, I wrote on to every secondary journal at my old school, and I specifically included that fact on my resume. However, now that the results of the write on competition have come and gone, that isn't on my resume anymore.

On the other hand, if law review was yours to lose and you lost it... then yes... maybe its best to try and avoid that subject...

[thesealocust]

I disagree to a certain degree.

If you are applying to transfer to your new school, definitely put it on there.

However, i am assuming you have already transfered and are now doing OCI at your new school. This answer is a bit more difficult, but definitely not ablanket no.


There is a situation which warrants it:
If you have transferred to a school that has a special write on competition for transfer students, you should include it on your resume. This is because you will be competing against "normal" students who have already written on to a journal, and an employer wants to know if you at least have a fighting chance of writing onto a journal at your new school if he's going to offer you a callback/job before transfer write-on results get back.

Personally, I wrote on to every secondary journal at my old school, and I specifically included that fact on my resume. However, now that the results of the write on competition have come and gone, that isn't on my resume anymore.

On the other hand, if law review was yours to lose and you lost it... then yes... maybe its best to try and avoid that subject...

I realize I'm being a dick, but there's no room for argument on this one. It's neither impressive nor relevant that you almost were on a journal that wasn't law review.

There's a tiny amount of room for argument over an invitation to join LR at a prior school (I still wouldn't list it) but this is pretty clear.

[Total Litigator]

I realize I'm being a dick, but there's no room for argument on this one. It's neither impressive nor relevant that you almost were on a journal that wasn't law review.

There's a tiny amount of room for argument over an invitation to join LR at a prior school (I still wouldn't list it) but this is pretty clear.

OK. I think you're right if you are making a big jump in the rankings, one where your class rank at your old school is at least top 10%. It's all relative though. As long as the conditions in my previous post were fulfilled, if OP is making a lateral enough transfer (e.g. from a school where top 33%, top 25% or even top 20% got him into his new school), law review would not be expected of him. I think then it would help your application by (a) showing you have the drive to go through a write on process even when you are considering transferring, (b) offering further proof beyond your Legal Writing grade that you have competitive writing skills, and (c) showing that you have a fighting chance of successfully writing on to one of your new school's journals.

Perhaps we will just have to agree to disagree.

[lawgod]

And there aren't, to my knowledge, secondaries that use anything BUT the write-on to make decisions, so I would not 'emphasize' that.

In my school there aren't any journals that don't use grades partially (except 10 spots on LR). As there aren't any journals that use grades exclusively.

[Kronk]

Wouldn't you put it on your resume in the same way you'd put membership in a student group on your resume?

[kaiser]

Wouldn't you put it on your resume in the same way you'd put membership in a student group on your resume?

But you never participated in it. You put a student group since you were a member in the past year. It would be like putting on a student group that you hadn't joined yet, but planned to join had you not transferred. Makes no difference since you aren't actually participating. And unlike LR, the invite itself isn't all that big a deal either. So I see no point in listing it out.

[Kronk]

Wouldn't you put it on your resume in the same way you'd put membership in a student group on your resume?

But you never participated in it. You put a student group since you were a member in the past year. It would be like putting on a student group that you hadn't joined yet, but planned to join had you not transferred. Makes no difference since you aren't actually participating. And unlike LR, the invite itself isn't all that big a deal either. So I see no point in listing it out.

Gotcha, should've read the OP more closely.

[Total Litigator]

Wouldn't you put it on your resume in the same way you'd put membership in a student group on your resume?

But you never participated in it. You put a student group since you were a member in the past year. It would be like putting on a student group that you hadn't joined yet, but planned to join had you not transferred. Makes no difference since you aren't actually participating. And unlike LR, the invite itself isn't all that big a deal either. So I see no point in listing it out.

Gotcha, should've read the OP more closely.

Its kind of like putting Phi Beta Kappa on your resume even though you don't go to any meetings. Its the fact you qualified that counts. And yes I know the prestige of Phi Beta Kappa in undergrad doesn't compare to that of a secondary journal in law school, but I'm just trying to make a point.

[ToTransferOrNot]

"Pfft, he wasn't even good enough at his original school (that we probably don't interview at or hire many people at) to make Law Review. Why should we hire him?"

Leave it the hell off.

[Total Litigator]

Fine. OP, if your transfer was more lateral than vertical, put it on. If your transfer was more vertical than lateral, leave it off.