Urgent! Law Review Accept/Decline Etiquette? Forum

[VinceIrons]

Moments ago, I got a call from my current school extending an offer to join the primary Law Review journal. She said I had 24 hours to make my decision. I know for a fact I will be transferring out. My question is, what the hell do I do, and how will it affect what I can put on my resume? Since I was offered a spot, can I go ahead and put that on my resume and just decline? Or do I have to accept the offer for it to be "official" and then decline before I actually transfer?

Thanks in advance!

[Renzo]

You can accept, and then resign after you transfer. Or, if you've already been accepted to your transfer school, you might as well decline. Either way you can't put it on your resume, unless of course you write on at your new school.

[boilerplated]

I put on my resume that I was accepted for the 2011-12 year. As long as you phrase it accurately I think it's appropriate to put on a resume, and probably a small bonus. I would only put this on the resumes you send to your transfer schools, though, not on a resume you might shop to anyone else.

As for accepting/declining... If you are 100% certain you won't be there, there's no reason to accept. If there's even a 1% chance you'll stay, I would go for it and withdraw if need be.

[bceagles182]

Accept unless you've deposited elsewhere. If you do eventually deposit elsewhere, then withdraw immediately.

Why wouldn't you be able to put it on your resume if you haven't decided to transfer yet? You accept the position, and then resign if you transfer. But it would be stupid to leave it off just in case you transfer.

No way in hell my OCI resume isn't going to have law review on it unless I've definitively decided that I'm leaving

[Danteshek]

You are transferring. Be an adult and decline. Tell them why. Put "Selected for Law Review" on your resume under old school. I went through this last year and made law review at the new school.

[vanwinkle]

You can accept, and then resign after you transfer.

This. Also, as a general rule, assume that the opposite of whatever Danteshek says is the useful answer.

[Danteshek]

You can accept, and then resign after you transfer.

This. Also, as a general rule, assume that the opposite of whatever Danteshek says is the useful answer.

My favorite moderator!

[Danteshek]

Almost forget to state the obvious: as a general rule, be ethical. I guess we all have our different notions about what that means.

[Verity]

vanwinkle's a shark.

[Danteshek]

vanwinkle's a shark.

Harvard is full of them. Check you latest scandal.

[emoticons777]

You are transferring. Be an adult and decline. Tell them why. Put "Selected for Law Review" on your resume under old school. I went through this last year and made law review at the new school.

This is what you should do. If you know you are transferring its at the very least courteous to decline. You can always include "invited to join Law Review" on your resume. The particular school I transferred from had a policy that stated you could not transfer if you accepted - sure its impossible to enforce - but you really should just decline.

[vanwinkle]

The particular school I transferred from had a policy that stated you could not transfer if you accepted - sure its impossible to enforce - but you really should just decline.

If your school actually had such a policy, of course you should follow it. But if a school can put such a policy in place and doesn't, where's the harm?

Until you've made a binding commitment to attend the other school, there's no harm keeping your options open. Even someone who "knows for a fact" they're going to transfer may run across reason to change their mind. It's possible, things happen. And if they've already made a binding commitment to transfer, they should have already withdrawn from their old school and not even been offered LR anymore.

[CanadianWolf]

Interesting situation. How common is it for one to be given only 24 hours to decide whether or not to join law review ? Is it an attempt to get you to stay ?

[CanadianWolf]

I think that it depends upon whether or not being a member of the law review would be enough to convince you to remain at your current school. Have you already been accepted as a transfer ? If so, is the new school financially feasible ? Is transferring a certainty ?

My opinion is that if your intentions are to transfer, then ask in writing for more time to consider the offer because you are thinking about transferring to another law school. The offer is interesting because you posted that you are close to the top 10% of your law school class. Are others ranked higher leaving ?

[lawgod]

I'd say that unless you have already accepted an offer from a different school, you can take it. You don't actually know you are transferring until you pay tuition at the new school.

[CanadianWolf]

In an earlier post, OP revealed his current law school as Hofstra & his transfer targets as BC, BU, GWU, Emory, WashUStL & Vanderbilt. It would be helpful to know what type of job placement law review grads have experienced at Hofstra.

P.S. I posted this info. since OP's 24 hour time limit has passed & OP recently shared this info. in his short posting history & has not deleted it.

[D.Wilde]

The particular school I transferred from had a policy that stated you could not transfer if you accepted - sure its impossible to enforce - but you really should just decline.

If your school actually had such a policy, of course you should follow it. But if a school can put such a policy in place and doesn't, where's the harm?

Until you've made a binding commitment to attend the other school, there's no harm keeping your options open. Even someone who "knows for a fact" they're going to transfer may run across reason to change their mind. It's possible, things happen. And if they've already made a binding commitment to transfer, they should have already withdrawn from their old school and not even been offered LR anymore.

Generally, I agree with Van. That being said, you might consider being honest with the old school's LR peeps, saying something along the lines of: "Thank you so much for the offer! I'm definitely interested in joining the law review! However, in the interest of full disclosure, there is a possibility that I might transfer to another school in the fall. If I stay at XXXX, then I'd absolutely love to join the law review, but if I attend a different school, clearly that won't be a possibility. I promise to let you know as soon as I have more information!" This way, you show them that you're interested, while still establishing a reputation for honesty and not screwing people over. The legal world is small, and the likelihood that you might bump into someone from your old law school's e-board is not insignificant. Putting them in an awkward position by a late withdrawal without any notice could be seen as a bit of a dick move, which these people might remember down the line, whereas being honest about the situation doesn't seem to have any real downside for you. I doubt they're able to rescind your offer based on telling them that you might transfer.