Law Review Selection Competitions:

1L Selection Guidelines

• Selection
  • Thirty (30) 1Ls are selected for Law Review membership each year.
  • The Law Review membership is composed of 15 students who have earned the top 15 GPAs in their class and 15 students who receive the top scores on the write-on competition.
• The Write-on Competition
  • 1Ls who participate in the write-on competition are required to submit a 2100-3800 word mini-note, a Bluebook exercise, and an editing exercise.
  • Students must make a “good faith” effort on the write-on competition to be considered for membership. To make a good faith effort in the competition, a student must complete a mini-note that is at least 2100 words, the Bluebooking exercise and the editing exercise. In addition, the student must also abide by the Honor Code for the duration of the competition.
  • Participation in the write-on competition is required for any student who later attempts to note-on to Law Review during their 2L year.

Note-on Guidelines

• Eligible students must have participated in good faith in the first year competition without receiving an offer for membership to any journal. At each journal’s discretion, there is an exception for students who faced extraordinary circumstances that prevented them from competing in the first-year competition.
• A participant may not submit her note to more than one journal for consideration.
• Although the editorial board of each journal ultimately decides whether the participant’s note will result in an offer for membership, the journals encourage participants to solicit guidance from faculty members while writing their notes. Please note below the journals’ official guidelines for providing assistance.
• Each journal has its own note submission dates and policies. The number of credits that a successful note-on student may receive varies according to the journal and date of acceptance.
• The Law Review does not require that the note be written on any particular area of the law.
• Anonymity is part of the note-on process for the Law Review and the Journal of Transnational Law.
• Membership to Law Review will be offered to any student who submits a note of publishable quality. The Notes Committee makes final determinations as to publishable quality.
• Participants selected for Law Review membership will be required to complete a minimum of two semesters of cite-checking responsibilities. Their notes will not be considered for actual publication in the Law Review.

 

• Faculty Assistance
  • The journals have adopted the following position with respect to the types of information a participant may seek from faculty members:
    • Throughout the school year, each participant is encouraged to speak with faculty members for the purpose of developing the participant’s topic and analysis. Each participant can obtain as much guidance as she would like with regard to the substance, development, and structure of her note. However, a participant may not seek or accept any editing of her work with regard to the mechanics of the participant’s writing (grammar, syntax, sentence structure, word choice etc.). If a participant chooses to seek guidance from a Law School faculty member, for example, that faculty member may be able to provide guidance with regard to that member’s area of expertise but should not reword passages to make them more effective. Acceptance of this sort of guidance is considered both grounds for disqualification from the competition and an honor code violation. Consequently, the journals suggest that each participant, before seeking guidance from anyone, explain that the participant cannot accept any editing or changes to the participant’s writing.

 

This competition is held in conjunction with the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law and the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law.  If you have particular questions, please contact Trish Thompson.