LAW REVIEW Q & A FOR PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS

1. What is the Law Review?

The Western New England Law Review is a publication of the Western New England College School of Law. The Review is published by the student members of the Law Review. The members of the Law Review include the Junior Staff (comprised of students in their second year full-time and third year part-time of law school), and the Editorial Board and Senior Staff (comprised of “seniors” in their last year of law school). Each issue of the Western New England Law Review consists of at least on “lead article,” written by an author who is a scholar in his or her respective field, and several student “Notes,” written by members of the Junior Staff during their first year on the Law Review. The Law Review currently publishes three issues per year.

2. What are the responsibilities of Junior Staff members?

Each Junior Staff member is responsible for a detailed scholarly article on a current legal issue, his or her “Note.” The research, writing, and rewriting of the Note continue throughout the school year. In addition to the Note, Junior Staff members will be assigned production work for Articles and Notes that have already been selected for publication (Notes from the previous year’s Junior Staff). This work includes “tech-citing,” a careful check of each Article and Note, including verification of the proper citation form and substantive content for all footnotes, and proofreading. Junior Staffers may also be required to evaluate possible topics for use by the following year’s Junior Staff.

3. Do you get academic credit for your work as a Junior Staff member?

Yes. Junior Staff members receive two credits for the Fall semester and one credit for the Spring semester if they complete their Law Review work for the year in a satisfactory manner. These credits are awarded on a Pass/Fail basis. You must sign up for these credits as part of the registration process. If you are invited to join Law Review after you complete the course registration process, you may add Law Review and drop another course after you are invited to join the review without cost. The work you are expected to do for the review is especially heavy for the fall semester. Therefore the review recommends that students take a lighter load in the fall semester, preferably no more than 4 courses in addition to Law Review. This lighter load should avoid time consuming academic activities such as externships, Qualififying Writing Courses, clinics, and other similar activities.

4. What are the benefits of joining Law Review?

Writing the Note:

Law Review members have a unique opportunity to sharpen their legal research and writing skills. The research required for a student Note is rigorous; members of the Junior Staff gain valuable experience in researching legislative history, statutory construction, and complex issues of the law, in addition to being exposed to scholarly legal writing on their topics. Further, the process of writing and rewriting a Note allows the student to explore a specific area of the law in depth, acquiring a level of expertise in a particular area which is impossible to acquire through the traditional law school curriculum. Junior Staff members are assisted in their work on the Note by a Note Editor, a member of the Editorial Board who is charged with working with a particular student to ensure that his or her Note makes progress toward possible publication. In addition, each student’s work is reviewed by a faculty member who provides insight and helps direct the student’s organization and research.

Tech-citing and Proofreading:

The assignments that each Junior staff member completes for Articles and Notes that have been selected for publication help develop skills that are enormously useful in the practice of law. Junior Staff members become experts in proper citation form and learn to develop a careful eye for errors. This obviously improves each member’s ability to find and correct mistakes in his/her own work. In addition, Junior Staff members assist in editing the Articles and Notes selected for publication and therefore sharpen their editing skills. They learn to work quickly and efficiently, and their improved abilities are useful in their work on Notes as well as in their other legal writing both during and after law school.

Career Opportunities:

Students who have been on Law Review have a decided edge in applications for summer jobs and employment following law school. Employers recognize that the skills that members acquire are invaluable in their careers as lawyers or law clerks, and therefore are quite interested in interviewing Law Review members for jobs.

Publication:

Junior Staff members have the opportunity to have their Note published in the Review if it is accepted for publication by the Editor-in-Chief. A published student Note is obviously quite an achievement for the author. The Western New England Law Review is on-line on Westlaw and LEXIS in their Law Review databases, so student pieces published in the Review are available to be read by students, practitioners and scholars throughout the country.

Eligibility for Editorial Board positions:

Junior Staff members who exhibit excellence in their assignments and whose Notes are of high quality are eligible for consideration for a position on the Editorial Board of the Law Review at the end of the Junior Staff year. Editorial Board positions are among the most prestigious positions available to a student at the law school.

Contribution to the Law School:

The Law Review offers an opportunity for Western New England College School of Law to showcase the scholarly work of its students. The quality of the Review is therefore of critical importance. The publication of a high quality Law Review enhances the image of the school in the eyes of employers, judges, and scholars nationwide. Junior Staff members thus have an opportunity to actively affect public opinion about the law school.

5. How much time must Junior Staff commit to Law Review?

Law Review is a significant time commitment. Most Junior Staff members put in between 10 and 15 hours a week regularly and occasionally an additional 5 to 10 hours when a deadline approaches. This will affect a second year student’s ability to participate in internships or clinical programs. In addition, Junior Staff members are required to return to school before normal registration in order to attend Law Review Orientation and Training. (See # 9 below.)

6. Does anyone ever turn down an invitation to serve on Law Review?

Students occasionally turn down an invitation to join the Review for a number of reasons. First, some students realize they cannot devote the necessary time to Law Review due to employment or family commitments. Second, some students prefer to devote their energies to other law school activities such as moot court teams or clinics. Students who do not return to the law school because they transfer or take a leave of absence are unable to accept the invitation. You should not turn down an invitation to join Law Review lightly. Seek the advice of professors or practicing attorneys before doing so. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

7. If I transfer to another law school, will I be eligible to join Law Review there?

 No, unless they offer a writing competition during the summer to gain a place on Law Review. Even if such a competition is available, the odds are against law review membership after transfer. Likewise, when a student transfers here, we do not honor an invitation to join another Law Review.

8. If I join Law Review, when does my service begin?

Orientation for new Law Review members begins on the Saturday morning before classes begin and continues all day and Sunday. There are also additional obligations during the following week during the evening.

9. How can I find out more information about Law Review?

Any current member of Law Review will be willing to discuss the pros and cons of Law Review with you. Additionally, the Law Review office is on the third floor of the law library. The office phone number is 782-1463.