Membership

Congratulations on completing the 2012-2013 academic year! Each year, the New York Law School Law Review looks forward to extending membership invitations to continuing students. This email contains important information about grade-on and write-on membership eligibility, selection, and invitations.

Grade-On Selection: Students selected for membership based on their class rank are expected to be notified in late June/early July.

Write-On Competition: July 25-August 1, 2013 (details below)

Optional Bluebook training sessions will be offered at the following dates and times in the library:

  • Thursday, July 25, 2013 – 5:30-6:15pm. Register here.
  • Monday, July 29, 2013 – 5:30-6:15pm. Register here.

 

Information about the Law Review is also available on the Law Review’s website at www.nylslawreview.com and in the NYLS Student Handbook. 

 

Grade-On Selection and Invitations

The primary method of membership selection is based on a class rank requirement, calculated at the end of each academic year. Students who meet the grade-on requirements for Law Review membership are notified via their NYLS email address in late June or early July. Grade-on membership is determined as follows:

  • First-Year Students. The Law Review extends invitations to 1Ls who rank in the top 15% of their division at the end of their first year (i.e., completion of two semesters) at NYLS based on their cumulative GPA. Day division students selected on this basis will begin participation in the Law Review in August 2013, at the start their 2L year. Evening division students who are accepted on this basis will not start their Law Review duties until August 2014 (i.e., upon completion of four semesters) at NYLS.
  • Second-Year and Transfer Students. The Law Review extends invitations to upper-level students, including transfer students who have completed two semesters at NYLS, whose cumulative GPA based on four semesters of grades places them in the top 10% of their class

Grade-On Invitations. Students who receive an invitation based on their class rank will be notified in late June or early July. Students who join based on their 1L grades will be required to join the Harlan Scholars program and affiliate with one of the school’s Harlan academic centers.  Students who receive an invitation based on their second-year GPA will not be part of the Harlan Scholars program.

 

Write-On Selection

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 (described below), subject to the following limitations: evening students may participate in the Write-On Competition only if they have completed two academic years (four semesters) of law school and transfer students must complete two semesters at New York Law School in order to be eligible to participate. Students who are in the Comprehensive Curriculum Program (CCP) may participate after completion of two semesters.

The competition requires students to demonstrate their writing and legal analysis skills by drafting a paper based on a problem that is developed by the Law Review. The 2012 problem is available here. A brief substantive editing exercise may also be included. The problem is designed to allow students to demonstrate their writing and analytical skills based on an analysis of a scholarly article, a series of cases, or other relevant law.

Members of the Law Review’s 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 pre-determined limit on the number of students who may receive a membership invitation through the Write-On competition. Decisions of the Publisher are final. 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 Write-On Competition and Invitations 

The 2013 Write-On Competition will begin Thursday, July 25, 2013 at 9am and end Thursday, August 1, 2013 at 5pm. Participants must submit their papers according to instructions that will be provided at the time of the competition. In order to accommodate the participation of students who spend their summers outside of the New York City area, students located outside of New York City have the option of submitting their papers by overnight mail delivery to be received by the Law Review no later than 5pm on Friday, August 2, 2013, so long as their copy is postmarked by 5pm on Thursday, August 1, 2013. 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 for any reason, including because of the timing of or any problems with the delivery service, and will not consider overnight submissions delivered after 5pm on August 2, 2013.

Historically, submissions have been limited to 3000 words. All submissions must contain footnotes in the current Bluebook (19th ed.) format.  Full instructions and additional requirements will be included with the problem. For 2012 submission instructions and requirements, see the 2012 problem here.

Bluebook Training Sessions (Optional). The NYLS Library staff will conduct optional citation workshops on the following dates, which students may find helpful:

  • Thursday, July 25, 2013 – 5:30-6:15pm. Register here.
  • Monday, July 29, 2013 – 5:30-6:15pm. Register here.

Write-On Invitations. All students who are selected for membership on the Law Review as a result of the Write-On Competition will receive formal invitations during the week following the end of the competition. Students selected through the Write-On competition will not be part of the Harlan Scholars program. (Note that the Harlan centers allow students who are not in the formal scholars program to associate with the centers and participate in coursework and other activities and projects.) 

 

Orientation and Membership Requirements

All students invited to join the Law Review (except 1L evening students whose participation in Law Review will not begin until August 2014) are required to attend our Orientation in August. Orientation will be held August 19-22, 2013.  All new members must be at the law school all day on the first day (Monday) of Orientation. Evening students are required to attend evening sessions for the remainder of the week. All Law Review members are required to take either the day or evening section of “Legal Scholarship” during the fall semester. Other requirements will be explained during Orientation.

 

Questions?

For general inquiries, please email Editor-in-Chief Will Bartholomew at george.bartholomew@law.nyls.edu.  For questions relating to membership requirements and the Write-On Competition, please contact Professor Marcey Grigsby, faculty advisor, at marcey.grigsby@nyls.edu or 212-431-2330.