6.1 Journals
The Law School has four student-edited law journals: Chicago Journal of International Law, The University of Chicago Legal Forum, The University of Chicago Business Law Review, and The University of Chicago Law Review. More than 200 law students, including 2Ls, 3Ls, and in some cases LLM students, are members of the journal staffs and editorial boards. They are all part of a robust community working to produce quality scholarship.
Each year, the journals hold a series of meetings for 1L students to discuss the ways students can join as staff members and to hear tips about how to compete. There are two ways to join. Students may participate in a writing competition right after their final 1L exam in June. Students also may join by completing a publishable comment through the Topic Access program.
The Chicago Journal of International Law
The Chicago Journal of International Law, a biannual student-edited journal, publishes comments and articles by students and scholars on matters of international and comparative law. Student editors also organize a biannual symposium from which to draw potential scholarship.
For more information visit http://cjil.uchicago.edu/.
The University of Chicago Legal Forum
Legal Forum is a topical law journal. Its student board annually publishes a volume of articles by academics and practitioners along with student comments that focus on a single area of the law. Each fall, Legal Forum hosts a symposium at which the authors of the articles present their work.
For more information visit http://legal-forum.uchicago.edu/.
The University of Chicago Business Law Review
The University of Chicago Business Law Review, founded in 2021, publishes its print volume twice a year. Articles and student-written comments cover business, corporation, and securities law. Its editors encourage authors to submit scholarship that is interdisciplinary, with a particular focus on economic analysis. The editors also maintain an active online forum for current cases and issues in the field. The journal organizes a biannual symposium and publishes articles generated from that event.
For more information visit https://businesslawreview.uchicago.edu/.
The University of Chicago Law Review
The University of Chicago Law Review, the Law School’s oldest journal, publishes articles and book reviews by leading scholars along with comments written by students. In addition to participating in the editing and publication of legal scholarship, staff members have the unique opportunity to develop their own skills as writers and scholars. Law Reviewemphasizes student works and, on average, half of each issue is devoted to student comments. IFor more information visit http://lawreview.uchicago.edu/.
Grades and Law Review
Approximately 10% of the first-year class is selected for the Law Review based on grades and their performance in the writing competition. Students must have 39 credits of graded coursework to be eligible to “grade on,” which means students typically cannot take an elective with a long paper requirement in the spring of their first year if they hope to grade on to the Law Review (because their papers will not be completed and graded in time for the competition process). Additional students also are selected for the Law Review based on the writing competition alone. Students who ultimately “grade on” must also participate in the writing competition, and their submissions must fall within the top 50% of graded submissions. These proportions are subject to change by the Law Review but are announced in advance of the writing competition.
Writing Competition
Students are invited to participate in the Writing Competition before the end of their first year. During the competition, students must draft a memorandum in response to an issue presented by the journal board and complete an editing assignment. Rules for the writing competition are set by the journals, published in the spring quarter, and must be strictly adhered to or students may be disqualified. Students are also required to submit a personal statement.
Topic Access
Students may also attempt to join any of the journals during their second or third year (except for Law Review, which only accepts 2Ls) through a journal’s Topic Access program. Through Topic Access, students propose and then draft a comment for publication. If the journal accepts the comment, the author will be invited to become a member of the journal. At the end of Spring Quarter before the Writing Competition begins, each journal updates its Topic Access Program requirements as a memo in consultation with the Senior Director of Academic Publications and Dean of Students. Students who are interested in joining through Topic Access should contact the specific journal editors that are listed in the memo with any questions about this process.
[1] Students who join a journal through a Topic Access program and do not prepare their submission as part of an independent research may have their final comment nominated for SRP credit by the journal if the student is accepted for membership.