Why You Should Join the Law Review
First, being on the Law Review gives students the chance to improve their research and writing skills, as well as technical skills like citation. Knowing how to research and write well is essential to law practice.
Second, serving on the Law Review can improve students’ job prospects during school and after graduation. Being a part of the Law Review is a major honor and accomplishment. Those who are looking to hire law clerks or lawyers know the students on the law review are attentive to detail, good writers, and dedicated to academics.
Finally, being a member of the Law Review gives students great networking opportunities. They have the privilege of working with other students who share the same passion and goals, as well as opportunities to join professional networks like Inns of Court.
How to Join the Law Review
Students are eligible to participate in Law Review after completing the first year of law school. There are two ways in which a student may be eligible to become an apprentice on the Law Review. First, a student is eligible to grade-on if he or she is in the top 10% of the first-year class. Second, if a student is not in the top 10% of the class, he or she may choose to enter the write-on competition.
The write-on competition is composed of four parts: the Bluebook quiz (15% of total score), the grammar quiz (10% of total score), the case note (25% of total score), and grades (50% of total score). The case note involves writing a short research assignment that the Editorial Board will review. Case notes must follow all technical requirements of the write-on competition and citations must be in Bluebook format. The Editorial Board will then issue invitations to those who score the highest in the write-on competition.
The Summer 2023 write-on competition will begin after finals and lasts for six weeks. Instructions for the 2023 write-on competition will be e-mailed shortly after the last day of finals. For questions, please contact lawreview@ualr.edu.
What Students Do on the Law Review
First Year
Once a student grades or writes on to the Law Review, she is an apprentice. She serves as an apprentice for one school year before becoming a member of the Law Review. During the course of this year, each apprentice writes a note on a case, statute, or issue of law that could possibly be published in a subsequent issue of the UA Little Rock Law Review (“The Review”). The apprentice may choose her topic, pending approval by the Notes and Comments Editor. The apprentice will then select a faculty member to serve as an advisor for the note, and the apprentice may use the note to satisfy her Upper Level Writing Requirement.
An apprentice will work on her note throughout the course of the school year and will then submit the note to the Editorial Board. If the Board determines that the note is of publishable quality, membership will be awarded. The Editorial Board may also select to publish one or more of the student-written notes, which is a major honor.
Although an apprentice’s note is the biggest assignment that an apprentice will complete, apprentices also have other duties and opportunities throughout the year. Apprentices may be assigned cite checks throughout the year. A cite check involves examining several footnotes from an article that is being published in an upcoming issue of The Review. Apprentices will read through these sources and make sure that they are correctly cited.
Beyond these duties, apprentices also have the opportunity to serve as an Assistant Editor in order to get a better understanding of how the Editorial Board works. This opportunity also helps apprentices decide whether they want to possibly apply to serve on the Editorial Board in the upcoming year.
There are many different editor positions that you can apply for toward the end of your apprenticeship. To learn more about what editors do please visit our Editorial Board page.
Second Year
During your second year on Law Review, if you are not on the Editorial Board, you will either be a member. Each semester, members have the choice of completing a second writing or being an Associate Editor.
We strongly encourage members to complete a second writing of publishable quality, either a note or a comment. This gives you the opportunity to explore a different area of law than you did during your apprenticeship and have another opportunity to have your work published in The Review.
If you do not wish to write again, you will be an Associate Editor. As an Associate Editor, you will work closely with a small group of apprentices on developing their notes. You will also compile into one document all of the edits that editors and apprentices have made to articles and make any technical changes as needed.
During your tenure as a member, you will be required to perform cite- and source-checking, proofing, and other work involved in the publication process.
Being on the Law Review requires a four-semester commitment. Each semester you must record at least 40 hours of work on your monthly time sheets. That sounds like a lot, but it is very easy to do!
If you have any questions about joining the Law Review, please contact lawreview@ualr.edu.