Write-On Competition

A law review is a scholarly, generally quarterly, student-run scholarly legal journal that publishes work by professors, judges, attorneys, and law students. Some journals, such as the SMU Law Review, cover a wide-range of legal issues. Others, such as Journal of Air Law and Commerce, The International Lawyer, and SMU Science and Technology Law Review, focus on a particular area of law.

Service on a law review or journal provides invaluable editing experience, broadens your understanding of the law, and improves your research and writing skills. Former journal members have reported that their time deeply improved their attention to detail and ability to work with long, dense pieces of writing, a crucial skill in legal practice. In addition, all journal participants receive three hours of class credit in their first year of participation and two hours in their second year and fulfillment of the General Writing (GW) graduation requirement. Some journals also offer scholarships or writing awards for their members. Law review can also provide incredible opportunities in your search for employment. Many top law firms exclusively hire students with law review experience.

In addition to attending orientation and regular meetings, every journal requires the same three obligations for first-year members (known as “Staff Editors”): a casenote, a comment, and cite checks. While the specifics of each requirement vary between journals, the casenote is generally a 10-12 page scholarly article, due mid-Fall (typically in October), that focuses on the impact of a recent judicial opinion or legislative action. The comment is a 40-55 page in-depth scholarly article on a particular issue of law within your journal’s topic area that you find compelling and relevant. Comment topic selection is done in the Fall (usually November) and a final draft is usually due early-to-mid-Spring (typically February or early March). Each journal publishes their best student articles each year. Throughout the year, staff members are also required to perform cite checks on articles that have been chosen to be published in their journal. Students review the writer’s sources, check the accuracy of the writer’s citations, and edit the article’s content. Most journal members will complete 2-4 cite checks during their Staff Editor year.

Law review is generally a two-year commitment, so first-year students participating in the Write On Competition should expect to serve on the journal for both their 2L and 3L year. Second-year students may also participate in the Write On Competition; their services are considered fulfilled at graduation. In their second year of service, students serve in various leadership roles as members of the Editorial Board.

The application consists of four sections: editing, citations, writing, and a personal statement. The editing section resembles a cite check; you will be asked to review and edit an actual article according to Bluebook and MoUS citation and grammar rules. For the citation section, you will be given excerpts from several sources and asked to create an accurate citation according to Bluebook and Greenbook rules. For the writing section, you will be given several sources and asked to write a 4-5 page essay on a given prompt. No additional research is required for the writing section beyond the sources provided. The amount of time it takes to complete the competition packet varies significantly depending on each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses, but you should expect to spend at least 3-4 hours per section. The competition takes place over the course of a week to enable you to participate while also working, traveling, or fulfilling other personal obligations.

To be eligible to participate, an applicant must (1) be enrolled or accepted at SMU Dedman School of Law, and (2) have completed all 1L courses.

Due to the timing of transfer acceptances over the summer, it is impractical for most transfer students to participate in the normal Write-On Competition, so we also hold a special Transfer Competition in late July. Transfer students may participate in either competition, but they may only participate once each year. In other words, if you are able to participate in the normal Write-On Competition, you may not also participate in the Transfer Competition in the same year. Transfer students coming from law schools outside of Texas should be advised that Texas cases and statutes use a different citation format than the Bluebook and should familiarize themselves with The Greenbook: Texas Rules of Form before the competition begins.

No, all material is available electronically and is submitted electronically.

No. As part of the application process, each candidate will rank (“pref”) the journals based on their own individual interest. After all applications are scored, the journals will rank the candidates based on their scores and will cross-reference those rankings with the candidates’ preferences. You will only receive one Association offer, so make your rankings carefully. Please note that the SMU Law Review Association does not consider any candidates who do not rank SMU Law Review Association as their first choice.

Each journal association will receive an anonymous copy of the student’s application and will independently evaluate the entries based on writing ability, understanding of legal issues, editing ability, and citation accuracy. The emphasis given to each factor is entirely up to the individual associations. Journals also consider an applicant’s GPA, class year, and personal statement in making their decisions.

The names of those who are not selected remain anonymous in perpetuity.

All three Associations will co-host an information session in the Spring to share more about their journal and what they can offer to prospective members. You can also learn more about each journal by visiting their respective webpages.

No problem! It is not a requirement of any journal that you plan to practice in, or even have an interest in, any specific area. However, you should understand that you will be required to edit articles and write on topics in this area of law. You may come away from the experience more convinced that you have no interest in that area of the law, or you may be surprised by how much you like that area law. Even the topic-specific journals generally cover broad legal areas that may touch on more of your interests than you expect.

Yes, any student enrolled or accepted at SMU Dedman School of Law is eligible to participate in the Write-On Competition provided that they have completed their first-year courses. It is highly recommended to complete the Write-On as a rising 2L to receive the full benefits of journal membership.