Should I write on for law review?
Asked by: Prof. Maxine Rempel | Last update: September 20, 2025Score: 5/5 (52 votes)
The Write-On is the best way to ensure you get onto Law Review. You may have the option of "publishing on," meaning submitting a student article that gets chosen for publication and being asked to join as a result, but having an article accepted is not a guaranteed offer of membership.
Is it important to be on law review?
Law Review membership is important because it shows that the student has very strong analytical writing and reasoning skills which are some of the most important qualities in the practice of law. Most law reviews have a writing competition in order to become a member.
How do I get on to law review?
You can gain membership purely because of your grades, or simply because you aced the writing competition. There's normally a number of different ways of achieving membership, but some ask that you take part in the writing competition to express interest. A personal statement may also be required.
How hard is it to publish in a law review?
It can be difficult to publish in high-ranked law journals if you are not a professor. Law students do the screening, and they often use various markers of scholarly prestige to filter out articles. Articles written by non-academics face an uphill battle.
How to write a law review essay?
- Step 1: Picking a Paper Topic.
- Step 2: Preemption Checking.
- Step 3: Additional Research.
- Step 4: Write the paper. Make sure you check the rules for Plagiarism!
- Step 5: Check Citations.
- Step 6: Getting Published/Writing Competitions.
What Law School is Like (In Five Minutes)
What is write on for law review?
The Write-On provides the chance to learn about a new area of law that you may not have been exposed to during your 1L year. Because you'll be writing a Comment (a student article) as part of Write-On, you will come out of the process with a workable writing sample, regardless of whether or not you get on.
How long is a law review essay?
The topic drives the length of the article. Nevertheless, when we look around at law scholarship, the gold standard remains largely the same: a law-review article of around 40-60 law-review pages and 200-250 footnotes. Anything less is relegated to the ignominy of a “plus” piece.
How prestigious is law review?
Moreover, most law schools have a law review, typically the flagship legal journal of the school. Becoming editor-in-chief of any legal journal is prestigious, and becoming editor-in-chief of a law review is a paramount honor.
Do you get paid for law review articles?
Yet in most journals, this labor is not paid at all; in a select few, students receive meager stipends.
How long are typical review papers?
Most review articles are between 4000 and 6000 words in length and as a rule of thumb, 80–90% of the text should be within the main section/devoted to the core topic—make sure that your outline reflects this.
Is getting on law review hard?
At most law schools, membership on that flagship law review is a competitive process in some way. Part of that is because, historically, it's been seen as a privilege to be an editor of the flagship law review.
Who writes for the Harvard Law Review?
Its members are second- and third-year Harvard Law students who are selected after an annual writing competition. The Review is published monthly from November through June, including a special Supreme Court issue each November and a Developments in the Law issue each April.
When to submit to law review?
Law journals/reviews generally have two submission windows: a spring submission cycle in February and March, and a fall submission cycle in August.
How many hours per week is law review?
There's no way around it: law school is arduous and stressful, even without law review. An average law student can expect to spend around 40 hours a week preparing for and attending class, and the average law review member can expect to add another 20 hours a week on top of that.
How can I make my law review better?
Write in a style that's conversational but polished. Two good models: The Green Bag and The Scribes Journal of Legal Writing. Write your article so that any literate per- son can understand it. Too often, authors write law-review articles while thinking only about their academic colleagues.
Is law review based on grades?
A small portion of students will be invited to join based on a combination of their Write-on score, Personal Statement, and first-year grades. No students are invited to join the Law Review based on grades alone. All students must do well on the Write-on to be selected.
Why is law review a big deal?
Law review articles often express the thinking of specialists or experts with regard to problems, in a legal setting, with potential solutions to those problems. Historically, law review articles have been influential in the development of the law; they have been frequently cited as persuasive authority by courts.
Are review articles worth it?
A good review paper can clarify the state of knowledge, explain apparent contradictions, identify needed research, and even create a consensus where none existed before. Writing a good review can also help to advance your career. Because reviews tend to be highly cited, they help with recognition and promotion.
Is it legal to get paid for reviews?
Potential Consequences of Paying for Reviews
Engaging in paid review practices can have severe repercussions for businesses: Legal penalties: Violating FTC guidelines or consumer protection laws can result in hefty fines and legal action.
How much of a time commitment is law review?
Law Review is a significant time commitment. Most Junior Staff members put in between 10 and 15 hours a week regularly and occasionally an additional 5 to 10 hours when a deadline approaches.
Is the Harvard Law Review reputable?
The Harvard Law Review is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the Journal Citation Reports, the Harvard Law Review's 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of 143 journals in the category "Law".
What are the most important law reviews?
- Harvard Law Review. 114.
- Columbia Law Review. ...
- Yale Law Journal. ...
- California Law Review. ...
- University of Chicago Law Review. ...
- Stanford Law Review. ...
- Boston University Law Review. ...
- German Law Journal.
What is the difference between an article and an essay in law review?
Articles devote substantial space to situating themselves within existing research, and they often frame their arguments as comprehensive analyses of a given subject, while Essays are often narrower in scope than Articles, but the subject matter is of general scholarly interest.
What are the margins for law review?
Page size should be 8.5 x 11 inches. All margins (left, right, top, and bottom) should be 1 inch (3.8 cm), including your tables and figures. Single-space your text. Use a single-column layout with right-ragged justification.