Why You Should Join A Law School Journal

What Is Law Review and Why You Should Join a Law School Journal

If you’ve recently started law school, you’ve probably heard students and professors talk about Law Review or law journals as a big deal. But what are they exactly? And why do so many students compete to join them? In this post, we break down what Law Review and other legal journals are, how students typically get on them, and—most importantly—why participating in one can be a major boost to your legal education and career.

What Is Law Review and Why You Should Join a Law School Journal

If you’ve recently started law school, you’ve probably heard students and professors talk about Law Review or law journals as a big deal. But what are they exactly? And why do so many students compete to join them?

In this post, we break down what Law Review and other legal journals are, how students typically get on them, and—most importantly—why participating in one can be a major boost to your legal education and career.

What Is Law Review?

Law Review is a prestigious student-run legal journal, typically considered the most competitive and academically rigorous publication at a law school. Most law schools have one primary law review (often called “The Law Review” or named after the school), along with several specialized journals focusing on areas like constitutional law, international law, or technology.

These journals publish scholarly articles written by legal academics, judges, practitioners, and sometimes law students. Student editors are responsible for editing, fact-checking, and formatting these articles to ensure they meet rigorous citation and style standards (often the Bluebook).

Joining Law Review is considered a mark of academic excellence, and it signals to future employers that you are serious, detail-oriented, and capable of advanced legal writing and research.

What Are Law School Journals?

In addition to the main Law Review, many law schools offer secondary or specialty journals. These publications may focus on specific fields—such as business law, civil rights, environmental law, or health law—and are also student-run.

While Law Review is typically the most selective, all journals offer valuable opportunities to:

• Deepen your expertise in a particular legal area
• Hone your legal writing and editing skills
• Publish your own student note or comment
• Collaborate closely with faculty and fellow students
• Stand out to future employers and judges

Joining a journal—whether it’s Law Review or a specialized publication—adds significant value to your law school resume.

How Do You Get on Law Review or a Journal?

The process for joining Law Review or other journals varies by school, but there are a few common paths:

1. Grades-Based Invitation
   Some schools extend invitations to students with top 1L GPAs. If you’re among the top performers, you may receive an automatic or semi-automatic offer to join Law Review.
2. Write-On Competition
   Most law schools host a write-on competitionafter 1L spring exams. Students are given a legal problem, a packet of source materials, and a few days to write a legal-style note using proper Bluebookcitation. Journals then review the submissions and offer positions based on writing quality, citation accuracy, and sometimes grades.
3. Hybrid Selection
   Many schools combine GPA and write-on scores to select journal members. This ensures a well-rounded editorial team with both strong academic records and demonstrated writing ability.

💡 Want to boost your grades or writing skills before the write-on? Our law school tutoring and law school outlines are great ways to get ahead.

Why You Should Join a Law Review or Journal

Joining a law journal is a serious commitment—but it comes with incredible benefits. Here’s why it’s worth considering:

Career Advantages

Law Review is especially valuable for students pursuing Big Law, judicial clerkships, or competitive public interest roles. Employers know that journal experience means you’ve mastered high-level legal research and writing—skills that are essential for top-tier legal work.

Judges, in particular, often favor clerkship applicants who have journal experience, especially if they served in an editorial leadership role or published a student note.

Legal Writing Experience

As a journal member, you’ll spend a lot of time editing legal scholarship, checking citations, and potentially writing your own student note or comment. This is outstanding preparation for bar exam writing and real-world legal practice—especially if you’re aiming for roles that involve brief writing or complex litigation.

Not confident in your writing yet? Don’t worry. The journal experience is designed to sharpen your skills, and support is often built into the process. Plus, we offer law school tutoring to help you level up your writing and analysis.

Networking and Community

Working on a journal connects you with other motivated students, professors, and legal professionals. It’s a great way to build relationships, gain mentors, and open doors to internships or clerkships.

Journals also tend to host symposia, speaker events, and alumni mixers, giving you more chances to connect with leaders in your field.

Leadership Opportunities

As you gain experience on a journal, you may be eligible for editorial board positions—like Managing Editor, Executive Editor, or Editor-in-Chief. These leadership roles look great on a resume and give you project management, mentoring, and organizational skills that will serve you well in your legal career.

Is Law Review the Only Valuable Journal?

While Law Review tends to carry the most prestige, don’t overlook specialty journals. If you’re passionate about a specific area of law—such as human rights, tax, or IP—joining a journal focused on that topic can be just as rewarding and impactful.

Specialty journals also tend to be less time-intensive than Law Review and may offer more opportunities for publication or leadership depending on the size and structure of the team.

Should You Join a Journal in Law School?

If you’re looking to stand out academically, improve your legal writing, and increase your chances at competitive jobs, then the answer is yes. Law Review and law journals provide skills and credentials that law firms, judges, and public interest employers deeply value.

That said, journal work is demanding. It requires time management, attention to detail, and the ability to work independently. But if you’re up for the challenge, the benefits are substantial—and long-lasting.

At JD Advising, we help students prepare for journal write-on competitions, excel in legal writing, and develop the study skills needed to make the cut. If you’re aiming for journal selection or want to boost your 1L performance, check out our law school tutoring and law school outlines.

Need help preparing for your journal write-on competition? Reach out for personalized support and tools to help you stand out.

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