How important is Law Review? Forum

[Black-Blue]

However, it will probably matter to any other lawyer you are dealing with.

Yes, the opposing counsel will instantly concede the case after seeing that you were on law review, since there's no chance a judge will rule in favor of someone who wasn't on law review.

[howell]

Is there really a firm job that someone who can grade onto law review couldn't get without doing law review?

This is a good question that I wish we had more data for.

It can be a bit of insurance. What if you get no-offered due to economic circumstances after your 2L summer? Instead of applying for other positions as top 3% and no LR as you did at OCI, you're now hitting the streets perhaps ranked lower and no LR (thus, without it being obvious from your grades that you would have graded on).

My suggestion would be to take advantage of every opportunity during the three years of law school to set up a career afterward. This doesn't mean to automatically jump on LR, but if you don't, I would make sure you have a plan to set yourself up for later. This could mean externships, volunteering, mock trial, moot court, getting published on your own, whatever. This would also help answer the interview question of why one didn't do LR ("moar Skyrim time" unfortunately isn't appreciated ).

I've encountered LR snobs in the field. They're rare and not worth doing LR to impress, but I have had a couple of work situations where the attorney heard "law review" and immediately though I was qualified (joke's on them). It's not as big a deal when going against them but rather when trying to work for and/or with them.

[shock259]

Threads like this make me sad that my school does a write on with only a small boost for the top 10%. Making my life harder.

[Ripple6783]

Is there really a firm job that someone who can grade onto law review couldn't get without doing law review?

This is a good question that I wish we had more data for.

It can be a bit of insurance. What if you get no-offered due to economic circumstances after your 2L summer? Instead of applying for other positions as top 3% and no LR as you did at OCI, you're now hitting the streets perhaps ranked lower and no LR (thus, without it being obvious from your grades that you would have graded on).

My suggestion would be to take advantage of every opportunity during the three years of law school to set up a career afterward. This doesn't mean to automatically jump on LR, but if you don't, I would make sure you have a plan to set yourself up for later. This could mean externships, volunteering, mock trial, moot court, getting published on your own, whatever. This would also help answer the interview question of why one didn't do LR ("moar Skyrim time" unfortunately isn't appreciated ).

I've encountered LR snobs in the field. They're rare and not worth doing LR to impress, but I have had a couple of work situations where the attorney heard "law review" and immediately though I was qualified (joke's on them). It's not as big a deal when going against them but rather when trying to work for and/or with them.

Dude, stop telling me things I don't want to hear.

What if the interviewer is also a Skyrim fan? What if we're both paladins? Instant connection.

Also, won't my two 1L SA's at mondo firm 1 and mondo firm 2, plus my two 2L SA's at mondo firm 2 and mondo firm 3 indicate that I had good grades?

Is there a realistic chance that of three SA positions I won't land one single offer?

[CanadianWolf]

Law review is important for biglaw. Additionally, it's a realistic opportunity to build your resume in a meaningful way by getting published as well as by serving on the editorial board. Those who make law review retain that honor for life, while class rank is likely to change. (Plus law review is an experience that can be shared in conversations long after law school, whereas talking about one's class rank is often viewed as bragging.)

[Ripple6783]

Law review is important for biglaw. Additionally, it's a realistic opportunity to build your resume in a meaningful way by getting published as well as by serving on the editorial board. Those who make law review retain that honor for life, while class rank is likely to change. (Plus law review is an experience that can be shared in conversations long after law school, whereas talking about one's class rank is often viewed as bragging.)

"Magna Cum Laude"

+ max level in world of warcraft (all purps) + max level in diablo 3

[Renne Walker]

Easy answer to an easy question. LR is a BIG +++++

[oppotomus]

. . .

[quakeroats]

It really depends on what you want to do. For high-end litigation-related positions it really helps. Elsewhere, it's usually viewed as a proxy for good 1L grades. Most lawyers seem to know journals are a credentialing exercise with little value for the time commitment. They'll admit this with one breath and use law review to make decisions with the next, so it's probably safest to accept rather than decline and explain. In the end, it probably won't matter if you're not dead set on appellate litigation, the academy, or something similar.

[chiwachiwa]

Here is my experience. I'm top 10% at a T10 [#humblebrag]. I tried for LR and didn't get in.

So far it hasn't hurt me at all. I got CB's from everywhere I interviewed with [#humblebrag] (including 2 V5's [#humblebrag]) and offers from all but 1 [#humblebrag] (a V10 [#humblebrag]). Came out to around 13 CB's [#humblebrag] (of which I took only about 6 [#humblebrag]).

I'm also pretty happy I don't have to do the endless amounts of cite checking.

Take it for what it is worth...

Obviously it depends on the circumstances. Top 10% at T10 is probably going to be fine. If you are Top 1/3 at a Tier 1 school, you should not pass up the opportunity to get on LR.

[Ludo!]

I don't think you know what a humblebrag is

[chiwachiwa]

I don't think you know what a humblebrag is

True--could have just been #brag

[tstyler98]

I originally came into law school not wanting to do LR. But, I changed my mind because I decided that I didn't want to be applying for a job and not get it because someone else had LR and I didn't. It's not the greatest thing in the world, but it could be worse.

My advice is to speak to people currently on LR to see what their experience has been. I did that and it really helped me know what to expect, especially since the LR commitment varies from school to school.

[goodolgil]

I don't think you know what a humblebrag is

True--could have just been #brag

Not really, it's completely relevant to the thread.

[midwestls]

A top lateral recruiter told me only three law school-related things follow you your whole career: 1. Where you went to school; 2. If you were on law review; 3. If you were Order of the Coif. And the lower-ranked your law school is, the more important the other two factors are.

All things being equal, I wouldn't have done law review, and I didn't enjoy the first year work, but I'm glad I did. It's something that carries some professional weight and some of the best relationships I had in LS came from law review.

[Riles246]

I just wanted to chime in with my personal opinion. I knew I'd hate law review, so I didn't do it. Also didn't do any journals. My grades were high and I realized that it just wouldn't make a difference to employers. I had 10 callbacks with biglaw firms and took the first offer (since it was the one I wanted). All without LR.

If you think you want to clerk, then you probably need to do it. Otherwise, use the time that others spend on LR to better prepare for your classes and get good grades. You'll know before 2L whether you got biglaw (since that summer OCI is really the only one that counts for most people), so maybe you could accept LR but then back out once you get biglaw? It may seem flaky but you're the one paying for your education, so do whatever is absolutely the best for you.

I guess to summarize, I think higher grades > slightly lower grades + LR. Personal opinion, of course.

[NotMyRealName09]

I just wanted to chime in with my personal opinion. I knew I'd hate law review, so I didn't do it. Also didn't do any journals. My grades were high and I realized that it just wouldn't make a difference to employers. I had 10 callbacks with biglaw firms and took the first offer (since it was the one I wanted). All without LR.

If you think you want to clerk, then you probably need to do it. Otherwise, use the time that others spend on LR to better prepare for your classes and get good grades. You'll know before 2L whether you got biglaw (since that summer OCI is really the only one that counts for most people), so maybe you could accept LR but then back out once you get biglaw? It may seem flaky but you're the one paying for your education, so do whatever is absolutely the best for you.

I guess to summarize, I think higher grades > slightly lower grades + LR. Personal opinion, of course.

You likely went to a highly ranked school, which makes up for it. The lower rank the school, the more important law review is on your resume . . . I think that makes sense.

[jkay]

I changed my mind because I decided that I didn't want to be applying for a job and not get it because someone else had LR and I didn't.

Exactly. Hedge every bet.

I am loath to admit it, but I have actually learned useful things on LR.

At the same time: fuck LR.

[Lincoln]

First, 0Ls need to get out of this forum. Second, the importance varies from school to school. Third, do it if you think it's interesting.

[mia137]

First, 0Ls need to get out of this forum. Second, the importance varies from school to school. Third, do it if you think it's interesting.

Are you referring to me? When I said I was premature in worrying about this, I meant by 3 months, not a year.

Thanks again to everyone who has posted, and everyone who will post. I know that it's different at every school and it's impossible to predict whether whatever decision I make will turn out to be the right one, but your input is very helpful. I'll bug my 2L and 3L friends who are on LR at my school and talk to my favorite profs if I haven't made up my mind by write-on time (I'm certainly not going to rely on grading on if I want it...) but it's really nice to get some outside points of view.

Thanks!!

[Riles246]

I just wanted to chime in with my personal opinion. I knew I'd hate law review, so I didn't do it. Also didn't do any journals. My grades were high and I realized that it just wouldn't make a difference to employers. I had 10 callbacks with biglaw firms and took the first offer (since it was the one I wanted). All without LR.

If you think you want to clerk, then you probably need to do it. Otherwise, use the time that others spend on LR to better prepare for your classes and get good grades. You'll know before 2L whether you got biglaw (since that summer OCI is really the only one that counts for most people), so maybe you could accept LR but then back out once you get biglaw? It may seem flaky but you're the one paying for your education, so do whatever is absolutely the best for you.

I guess to summarize, I think higher grades > slightly lower grades + LR. Personal opinion, of course.

You likely went to a highly ranked school, which makes up for it. The lower rank the school, the more important law review is on your resume . . . I think that makes sense.

T30ish.

[reformed calvinist]

How is the experience of writing a case note for the competition? I guess it varies, but just wondering.

[johansantana21]

I just wanted to chime in with my personal opinion. I knew I'd hate law review, so I didn't do it. Also didn't do any journals. My grades were high and I realized that it just wouldn't make a difference to employers. I had 10 callbacks with biglaw firms and took the first offer (since it was the one I wanted). All without LR.

If you think you want to clerk, then you probably need to do it. Otherwise, use the time that others spend on LR to better prepare for your classes and get good grades. You'll know before 2L whether you got biglaw (since that summer OCI is really the only one that counts for most people), so maybe you could accept LR but then back out once you get biglaw? It may seem flaky but you're the one paying for your education, so do whatever is absolutely the best for you.

I guess to summarize, I think higher grades > slightly lower grades + LR. Personal opinion, of course.

You likely went to a highly ranked school, which makes up for it. The lower rank the school, the more important law review is on your resume . . . I think that makes sense.

T30ish.

How high was your class rank?

[TTH]

How is the experience of writing a case note for the competition? I guess it varies, but just wondering.

Not bad.

At my school, it was a closed ten-page essay and a four-page editing test. I think we had either a week or ten days. Either way, it was very doable.

[reformed calvinist]

Make sure you rank Law Review first if you want it even a little bit, even if you prefer something like International Law. I saw some people (in class) rank it second or third and I thought why even bother? I'm sure Law Review is like aviation in the military, it's so popular that if you don't rank it first you probably might as well not rank it at all. I have no idea why I just thought of that. I don't know from law experience, but I know from lots of experience with these sorts of ranking systems