Top Law Schools

Pardon the possible ignorance of this post, but does everyone participate in the write on/try to get onto law review? It seems like there is a lot of pressure to do so and everyone I know is doing it. Is getting onto law review really worth it? How big of a boost is law review to your career? What can you do instead - secondary journals, clinics, moot court, etc? Are these substantially less impressive to employers? Are you expected to have done at least one of these thing? Does it really matter?

I'm asking in part because as an admitted transfer student to georgetown, the write on is coming up. I have a good shot at transferring to other t14 schools later in the summer that I'd rather attend, and I don't want to have to go through the process twice if its really not even worth it. Working on a law journal does not sound particularly interesting to me anyways - is it stupid to just skip the write on and put all my efforts into a clinic instead, and maybe a secondary journal?

A couple of thoughts Frst, I am just finishing up my write-on competition today. It is not something that I would recommend on the chance that you may go to Georgetown. That said, if you could get on to LR, it may help you establish some credibility with OCI empolyers, as your current GPA (probably) comes from a lower-ranked school. I know many schools do not even let transfers on LR. Second, I think that LR trumps any other combination of activities, though you could probably build up a solid resume based on a combination of other activities. Congrats on a strong 1L year. Enjoy the fruits of your labor.

shmoo597 wrote:Pardon the possible ignorance of this post, but does everyone participate in the write on/try to get onto law review? It seems like there is a lot of pressure to do so and everyone I know is doing it. Is getting onto law review really worth it? How big of a boost is law review to your career? What can you do instead - secondary journals, clinics, moot court, etc? Are these substantially less impressive to employers? Are you expected to have done at least one of these thing? Does it really matter?

I'm asking in part because as an admitted transfer student to georgetown, the write on is coming up. I have a good shot at transferring to other t14 schools later in the summer that I'd rather attend, and I don't want to have to go through the process twice if its really not even worth it. Working on a law journal does not sound particularly interesting to me anyways - is it stupid to just skip the write on and put all my efforts into a clinic instead, and maybe a secondary journal?

You can start GULC's write-on as late as mid-July. You should prob have heard from a lot of schools by then.

It is hard to say how much of a resume boost law review is. Who knows if I would have gotten where I am today (which is not all that impressive anyway) without law review. I do know that the majority of employers participating in our OCI list that they consider Law Review or Moot Court to be a "desirable qualification." If I remember correctly, the employers specifically listed "Law Review" not "journals."

Also, there are different levels of resume boost within law review. The Editor in Chief or other key staff positions are going to get more of a boost than the lowly staff. At my school, part of the first year program involves writing a student note. Those who get their notes published certainly get a further boost.

I don't think anyone would argue that it hurts you, rather the disagreement will likely focus on the magnitude of the boost. It can be a lot of work, depending on how seriously you take it. It certainly is boring work.

apper123 wrote: You can start GULC's write-on as late as mid-July. You should prob have heard from a lot of schools by then.

What what really? I got an email saying the write on starts next week....I will obviously look into this more, but can I really wait until July?

Also thanks for all the other responses....so the consensus is that law review is basically the most impressive/biggest boost to job prospects of all other activities?

shmoo597 wrote:

apper123 wrote: You can start GULC's write-on as late as mid-July. You should prob have heard from a lot of schools by then.

What what really? I got an email saying the write on starts next week....I will obviously look into this more, but can I really wait until July?

Also thanks for all the other responses....so the consensus is that law review is basically the most impressive/biggest boost to job prospects of all other activities?

Yes, but you will still need to be aggressive in the job hunt.

shmoo597 wrote:

apper123 wrote: You can start GULC's write-on as late as mid-July. You should prob have heard from a lot of schools by then.

What what really? I got an email saying the write on starts next week....I will obviously look into this more, but can I really wait until July?

Also thanks for all the other responses....so the consensus is that law review is basically the most impressive/biggest boost to job prospects of all other activities?

You should the whole e-mail lol

shmoo597 wrote:Pardon the possible ignorance of this post, but does everyone participate in the write on/try to get onto law review? It seems like there is a lot of pressure to do so and everyone I know is doing it. Is getting onto law review really worth it? How big of a boost is law review to your career? What can you do instead - secondary journals, clinics, moot court, etc? Are these substantially less impressive to employers? Are you expected to have done at least one of these thing? Does it really matter?

I'm asking in part because as an admitted transfer student to georgetown, the write on is coming up. I have a good shot at transferring to other t14 schools later in the summer that I'd rather attend, and I don't want to have to go through the process twice if its really not even worth it. Working on a law journal does not sound particularly interesting to me anyways - is it stupid to just skip the write on and put all my efforts into a clinic instead, and maybe a secondary journal?

The problem is that when you go on interviews, people are going to ask you what extracurriculars you participated in. Not being on a journal sticks out and might ding you with some employers. Do whatever you can do to get on a journal (preferably law review).

apper123 wrote:
You should the whole e-mail lol

Lol...wow oops! I should have finished/comprehended that paragraph a little bit better. All I read was "June 1st, 1 week to finish."

i should use verbs in the future too so it's ok lol