Law Review: Advantages and Disadvantages
When it comes time to choosing an extracurricular program in law school, students should consider law review. Read further to see the positives and negatives!
Law Review: Advantages and Disadvantages
What is law review?
Law review is the name of the scholarly journal published by law students, and available at most law schools. Every law review publication has a different name, usually including the name of the law school publishing it.
Many attorneys view law review as an elite program, since acceptance usually requires a grade requirement (e.g. top 5%) or going through a write-on process.
Students should expect to edit the work that goes in the publication, which can include articles, book reviews, transcripts, Notes, and Comments. Editing includes making sure the citation and its content are correct.
Law students also write a piece of their own, called a Note, and law review chooses student’s Notes for publication.
Advantages
Research, writing, and editing skills
Students will use their legal research, writing, and editing skills immensely. Students use their editing skills while looking over pieces that go in the overall publication, and while editing their own work. And, students use their legal writing and researching skills for compiling and writing their Note.
Resume
Being a part of law review can look great on a legal resume. Employers look at this experience favorably as an indication that the student has good legal editing, writing, and researching skills. Publishing is another point to include on a well-rounded resume.
Disadvantages
Time commitment.
Students who want to do well on law review and hopefully get their note published must commit a lot of time and effort. Also, students plan to run for higher position need to put in their time second year to show their commitment. Each school has a different policy and procedure for choosing students to continue the next year, so this is something to look in to and consider before applying.
Learn scholarly writing skills, not practical.
While law review members advance their writing, editing, and researching skills, legal academics are the only ones who use these very specific skills.
Students write a Note, which is not the same format used on a court document, such as a brief. Also, the editing and citing format used is usually The Bluebook, which is not the same as what attorneys use in practice.
Despite the fact that law review does not specifically provide real-life, attorney experiences, the skills learned can translate to practice.
Rejection from law review is not the end of a student’s law career. Instead, that student should look to other programs that offer the same skills (e.g. moot court).
Watch out for more tips and strategies from JD Advising on legal writing, research, and editing; resume and interviewing tips; working for a firm; and, starting a law firm.
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