Law review/journals competitive? Forum

[splittermcsplit88]

Are law review/secondary journal write-on competitions very competitive? or do most ppl get on to some sort of journal? And is it the same for all schools? T-14s tend to put everyone on some journal vs. tier 2/3 who open room for only a few.

[JVK]

Are law review/secondary journal write-on competitions very competitive? or do most ppl get on to some sort of journal? And is it the same for all schools? T-14s tend to put everyone on some journal vs. tier 2/3 who open room for only a few.

It varies school by school. There's almost always one flagship journal per school, though, i.e. the Columbia Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, and so on. It's competitive because people like to rate things, and for the importance that some judges may ascribe to it (for those students pursuing clerkships).

I'm a Columbia student, so I can speak to that best, but here almost all people get a journal if they want one. It might not always be their first choice, but they can get something if they want it. The Law Review takes 45 people, out of roughly 360 total students in the current class. The first selections are based solely on the quality of the student's writing component of their application: the top 15 students in that respect are automatically chosen, regardless of grades. The remaining 30 are taken on a more holistic basis, but with sizable weight given to the personal statement as well as grades and other factors. There are a number of Kent Scholars (top 3-5%, I've heard as estimates) who aren't selected for the journal. It's competitive.

Other schools have their own idiosyncratic selection criteria, though. Some take a number of students based on grades alone, sometimes so long as they made a good faith effort on the write-on competition. I can't compare to the rest of the T14 because I don't go there.

The other journals at Columbia are great too, though. For example, the Human Rights Law Review publishes the Jailhouse Lawyers Manual, a handbook of legal rights and procedures designed for use by people in prison. It's great. The Journal of Transnational Law also attracts a lot of great articles. Those are just two that come to mind, and the rest have solid traits of their own and attract high-quality content each year. They might vary based on the category of law they embrace (e.g., a tax-focused journal... the Law Review's the only real general law journal, plus maybe the Journal of Law and Social Problems) or if they require that all staff members write a note or not.

If you already go somewhere, other schools' practices don't matter much. What exactly are you looking for?

[Cicero76]

The flagship journal of every school is very competitive to get onto. Even at Yale, where YLJ has a ridiculously high acceptance rate (like 40%), there is still a competition that's fairly difficult.

[Zensack]

Yes, even at not so highly ranked schools like mine. If you have good grades and write a decent case note, you should at least qualify for one of the lesser journals though.

[Crowing]

Chicago has 80 journal spots for 200+ students (transfers are included). But in practice I believe a lot of people skip the writing competition, so most who actually participate can get a spot.

[First Offense]

UVA does grade on for the top ~6.5% of the class, or roughly 25 people, and another 15-20 spots for write-on. But yeah, it's tough to get. As far as secondary journals - if you want one, you'll get one. Might not be your top choice, but you'll get one.