Sharpening an argument. Recruiting a scholar. Chasing a missing citation. The work happens in study rooms, shared offices, and over coffee — University of Chicago Law students preparing the next issues of the school’s four student-edited journals, and the symposia that animate them.

The Law Review, Legal Forum, Chicago Journal of International Law, and Business Law Review bring together more than 100 students each year, with most entering through the write-on competition held shortly after 1L exams. 

As 2L staffers, students write their own comments, long-form pieces of original legal analysis. As 3Ls, many move on to executive editorial boards, where they serve as managing editors, shaping each issue from article lineup to publication.

“Joining a student journal offers a distinctive form of experiential learning,” said Claire L. Parins, the Law School's senior director of academic publications. “It mirrors aspects of legal practice not always captured in the classroom or internships.”

The journals are independent, each with its own editorial identity and focus area. But the close-knit working teams — with their staff meetings, shared offices, late-night edits — often build friendships that last well beyond graduation. Students consistently call the experience one of the most formative parts of their law school journey. Here are four of them, one from each journal, on what the work has meant.

Olivia Libonati, Legal Forum: A Symposium Comes Together

By the third panel of the day, Olivia Libonati, ’26, could tell the 2025 University of Chicago Legal Forum symposium was a success. The debate on stage ran long because no one — not the legal scholars, the moderator, or the staffers in the audience — wanted it to stop.

As editor-in-chief of the Legal Forum, UChicago Law’s second-oldest student-led journal, established in 1986, Libonati was at the center of planning the annual event, held on the first Friday of November. The symposium, she said, was a preview and workshop for legal scholars from around the country to discuss and present early ideas for the following Legal Forum volume.

The symposium theme was “Authority, Oversight, and Accountability,” nodding to the political moment but reaching further, asking, in Libonati’s words, “What does the current time make us realize or wonder about in other areas of law?” 

“It was a serious topic,” she said. “We wanted it to be evocative of what’s going on in politics. It was important to bring the legal scholarship community together on this topic, and also make this an enjoyable and genuinely valuable experience in all respects.”

A philosophy major in college, Libonati knew early in her 1L year that she wanted to be part of a journal. The Legal Forum’s topical format gave her an entry point into legal scholarship. She joined the journal as a staffer her 2L year, writing her own comment, and was later selected editor-in-chief. The experience gave her the confidence to spot real gaps and questions in the law. 

“You develop that confidence, but you also realize you don’t have that confidence without it being a collaborative process,” she said.

The role made her reevaluate her leadership style. Instead of doing everything herself, she had to get comfortable trusting her executive team. Beyond helping plan the symposium, she was the final set of eyes on everything, including editing when the comments team was overwhelmed, handling communications, and filling any unexpected gaps.

“My role as a leader was more about support-giving than telling people what to do,” she said. “It was easy for me to step back and act in a supportive role because everyone on the journal is so brilliant, dedicated and skilled.”

 Now that she has graduated, Libonati is headed to Latham & Watkins in New York to practice litigation. 

“It much more closely mirrors what I’m going to be doing after law school,” she said about her time on the Legal Forum. “As opposed to just sitting down and taking an exam.”

Megan Cistulli, Business Law Review: A Young Journal Finds Its Voice

When Megan Cistulli, ’26, talked about the University of Chicago Business Law Review, she kept coming back to the same word: startup. BLR is UChicago Law’s newest journal, established in 2021. As executive editor, Cistulli saw herself less as an editor at a traditional publication than as part of something still being built. 

“When you think of a law journal, sometimes you think of tradition, or having a set way of doing things,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong with that. But if you do want to try something different and still have exposure to a prestigious journal, that is what Business Law Review has.”

Cistulli, a JD/MBA candidate, joined BLR as a 2L through the journal’s write-on process. As a joint-degree student, she sought an opportunity to remain close to transactional work and the business world. 

The executive editor’s day-to-day role had Cistulli vetting every piece that came in and voting alongside the board on whether it fit the journal’s direction. She chaired the selection committee for student comments and worked with editors on incoming pieces and web content. There were also formatting, layout, and troubleshooting technical glitches to tackle.

Cistulli appreciated the freedom she and the team had to “think outside the box” and make their own mark on the journal. When the BLR published “The Dark Side of Private Equity” by an anonymous writer, it “blew up” on social media, she said. 

“I'm going into startup law, and that was something that really drew me to the journal because it is a startup,” she said. “You're part of a founding team and surrounded by these incredible co-founders who have innovative ideas. You can do what you want to a certain extent, and that offers creative freedom to publish young scholars along with more established voices.”

That collaborative spirit, Cistulli said, was the most rewarding part of the work.

“I got to see my classmates’ brilliance in a very structured way,” she said. “Journal work is collaborative, dynamic, and iterative.”

Now that she has graduated, Cistulli is headed to Fenwick & West in California to practice tech and startup law. 

“I did not expect to have as much fun as I did on a journal,” she said. “Being on the BLR gave me the confidence and conviction to move forward on this path.”

Sara Evans, Chicago Journal of International Law: The Art of a Comment

As a Chicago Journal of International Law staffer during her 2L year, Sara Evans, ’26, wrote a comment exploring the intersection of intellectual property law and cultural heritage. The piece examined the US-EU trade war over geographical indications — protected placenames like Champagne, Parmesan, or Napa that signal where a product comes from — and argued that the United States should think of these terms not only as economic assets but also as cultural ones. 

A 12,000-word comment is its own kind of marathon. Evans said the hardest moments came early in the morning, deep in edits, when the whole argument suddenly stopped making sense. But she wasn’t alone. She had her faculty advisor and peer editors, who did multiple rounds of edits on the draft, plus office hours where students could drop in to talk through any issues. 

“That support meant a great deal to me,” said Evans, who is from Seattle and came to law school with a longstanding interest in international relations. “It made my comment so much stronger. I couldn’t have done it without all of them.” 

That hard work was recognized. Evans’s comment was one of only two student comments chosen for publication in CJIL last academic year. It was nominated for the journal’s annual Dye Prize, honoring the best student comment.

“It was a surprise,” she said. “I feel honored and humbled at the same time.”

The recognition only gave her more momentum going into her 3L year, when she took on the job as CJIL’s executive articles editor, reading submissions from scholars around the country and the world. She also came to appreciate the unglamorous aspects of journal work — Bluebooking and cite checking. Those detail-oriented skills, along with the breadth of knowledge she gained from being exposed to CJIL scholarship, will benefit her for years to come.  

“CJIL has been one of the hallmarks of my law school experience,” said Evans, who will practice litigation at Kirkland & Ellis in Texas now that she has graduated. 

Her advice to students considering journal work: “There’s a lot of great support and ways to connect with people to improve your work and learn about theirs.”

Zoë Ewing, Law Review: A Layer of Edits

For Zoë Ewing, ’26, the most satisfying aspects of editing a University of Chicago Law Review comment are learning about unfamiliar areas of law and working with authors. 

“It’s rewarding to collaborate with authors and help them strengthen their arguments while they’re still at the writing stage,” she said.

As executive comments editor of the Law Review, Ewing oversaw a deeply involved process. The journal receives around 50 comments from staffers each year and publishes only 15. Once a comment is selected, it undergoes multiple rounds of substantive editing. The journal aims for a light touch on style and voice, preserving each writer’s argument and choices, while pushing on structure, clarity, and the strength of the underlying reasoning.

Ewing, a New York native, joined the Law Review after her 1L year because she liked the idea of owning a piece of legal scholarship early in her law school career and a chance to pick her own topic. She wrote her own comment as a 2L and was later selected as the executive topics and comments editor.

While overseeing a team of eight comment editors, she tracked assignments, deadlines, and edits. Ewing also absorbed legal scholarship on everything from patent law to freedom of religion. 

“You’re exposed to so many areas of the law and ideas that you can’t possibly take in classes,” she said. “It gave me confidence in approaching a legal problem, regardless of my familiarity with the subject matter.”

Ewing’s advice for incoming students is to seek out feedback on your scholarship. Journal work is a great way to do just that while making “friends for life.” 

“Getting that depth of feedback on your writing is one of the best things you can do,” said Ewing, who is kicking off her legal career as a clerk for a federal judge. “Every employer in the legal field will care about your writing.”