Each year, following the close of the academic year, the New York Law School Law Review looks forward to extending membership invitations to continuing students. This page contains information about the criteria for membership selection. In particular, please note the information below regarding the Law Review’s Write-On Competition, which will take place July 26 to August 2, 2012. The 2012 Write-On problem will be posted on this page at 9am on July 26, 2012.
- Grade-On Selection
- Write-On Selection
- Write-On Competition
- Membership Invitations
- Membership Requirements
The primary method of membership selection is based on a GPA requirement, as follows:
First-Year Students. The Law Review extends invitations to all 1L’s (rising 2L’s) who rank in the top 15% of their class at the end of their first year (upon completion of two semesters), based on their cumulative GPA, and who are accepted into the law school’s Harlan scholars program. Evening students who are accepted on this basis at that time will not start their Law Review duties until the beginning of their third year (upon completion of four semesters).
Second-Year Students. The Law Review extends invitations to all 2L’s (rising 3L’s) based on four semesters of grades (two semesters for transfer students) if their cumulative GPA places them in the top 10% of their class.
Rising 2L and 3L students who meet the GPA requirement for Law Review membership are notified via their NYLS email address prior to the start of the Write-On Competition.
The Law Review invites continuing students who are not extended membership invitations based on the grade-on criteria to participate in the annual Write-On Competition, subject to the following exceptions. Evening students may participate in the Write-On competition only if they have completed two academic years (four semesters) of law school. Students who are in the Comprehensive Curriculum Program (CCP) are not eligible to participate until they have completed two years (four semesters) of law school. Transfer students must complete two semesters at New York Law School in order to be eligible to participate.
The competition requires students to demonstrate their writing and substantive legal analysis skills by drafting a paper based on a problem that is developed by the Law Review. A brief substantive editing exercise may also be included. Please note that this is not intended to be a research project. Rather, the problem is designed to allow you to demonstrate your writing and analytical skills based on an analysis of a series of cases and/or other relevant law.
The Law Review editorial board and its Faculty Publisher will review all submissions and extend membership invitations to those students whose papers exhibit excellent writing and analysis. All submissions are reviewed anonymously, and invitations are extended based on the merit of the written submission only. There is no limit to the number of students who may receive a membership invitation through the Write-On competition. In August 2011, the Law Review received nearly seventy submissions and extended invitations to four students.
Due to the number of submissions, the Law Review is unable to provide feedback on students’ write-on papers following the end of the Write-On Competition.
The 2012 Write-On Competition will begin Thursday, July 26, 2012 at 9am and end Thursday, August 2, 2012 at 5pm. Participants are given one week to complete and submit their papers. Click here to access the 2011 Write-On Problem: Write-on Problem 2011_Final. The 2012 problem will be released on this page at 9am on July 26, 2012.
In order to accommodate the participation of students who spend their summers outside of the New York City area, students have the option of submitting their papers by overnight mail delivery to be received no later than Friday, August 3, 2012, so long as their submission is postmarked by 5pm August 2 and their electronic copy is received by the Law Review by 5pm on Thursday, August 2. Students using overnight delivery services are responsible for meeting any pick-up or drop-off deadlines and planning ahead to account for delivery times associated with overnight delivery services and students (particularly those who will be overseas) are urged to research this information in advance. The Law Review does not extend the deadline based on the timing of or any problems with the delivery service, and will not consider overnight submissions delivered after 5pm on August 3.
Submissions have historically been limited to 3000 words. All submissions should contain footnotes in the current Bluebook format. Full instructions for participating in the Write-On Competition and additional requirements for submissions will be included with the problem. Participants must submit two hard copies of their paper to the Registrar’s Office by the deadline provided.
The NYLS Library staff conducts optional citation workshops each July, which interested students may find helpful. Dates and times of the workshops will be circulated to NYLS students via email.
Students who receive an invitation based on their first-year GPA will be notified in the early summer and will be required to join the Harlan Scholars program and affiliate with one of the school’s seven Harlan academic centers. To be a Law Review member, a student must affiliate with a center as a Harlan Scholar, with the exception of students selected through the write-on competition or based on their second-year GPA; these students will not be part of the Harlan Scholars program and are not required to affiliate with a Harlan center. For more information about the Harlan Scholars program, please contact the Office of Academic Affairs.
All students who are selected for membership on the Law Review as a result of the write-on competition will receive formal invitations the week after the competition ends. The Law Review does not distinguish between grade-on and write-on students once invitations are extended. All student editors will have the same membership status as well as the same opportunities and responsibilities as part of their Law Review participation.
All students invited to join the Law Review at the end of the 2011-2012 school year (except second-year evening students whose participation in Law Review will not begin until August 2013) will be required to attend our Orientation, to begin on Monday, August 20, 2012 and extending through Thursday, August 24, 2012. Details will be forthcoming. All new members should expect to be at the law school all day on Monday, August 20. Evening students are thereafter expected to attend evening orientation sessions for the remainder of the week.
In addition, all Law Review members will be required to register for either the day or evening section of “Legal Scholarship,” a seminar course that will meet during Orientation and continue during the fall semester. Legal Scholarship meets once a week for one hour. A day section and an evening section will be offered. Students may register for either section regardless of their day or evening division status. Students must also register for “Law Review Member I” (fall) and “Law Review Member II” (spring). All of these courses are listed in the NYLS schedule on the NYLS Portal.
Information about other membership requirements will be provided at Orientation.
Questions?
For general inquiries about the Law Review, please contact Kaitlin Jaxheimer, Editor-In-Chief, at kaitlin.jaxheimer@law.nyls.edu.
For questions relating to Law Review membership generally or to the Write-On Competition, please contact Professor Marcey Grigsby, Faculty Publisher of the Law Review at marcey.grigsby@nyls.edu or 212-431-2330.
