Law Review

The New York Law School Law Review is a journal of legal scholarship edited and published by NYLS students.

Law Review

The New York Law School Law Review is a journal of legal scholarship edited and published by NYLS students.

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Under the guidance of faculty publisher Professor Michelle Zierler, the Law Review is led by an Editorial Board and assisted by Staff Editors and Junior Staff Editors to publish three issues per year. The Law Review also hosts symposia and events. Our publication includes articles on the subject of our symposia, edited transcripts of symposia, and student writing in the form of Case Comments and Notes. All published work is subjected to a rigorous editorial process.

The Law Review has both a scholarly and an educational mission. It serves as an academic forum for legal scholarship and is intended to provide effective research materials for judges, attorneys, and students of the law. The Law Review also provides opportunities for members to develop their editing and writing skills. By serving on the Executive and Editorial Boards, students can master skills that are relevant to a successful law practice, such as communication, time management, and organization. Each Junior Staff Editor also attends a semester-long class in Legal Scholarship, a course designed to improve students’ writing skills while providing panels and workshops on editing, professionalism, and career development.

Read the current issue or past issues of the New York Law School Law Review. To view past issues, select an issue from the drop-down menu on the left.

Join the Law Review

There are two ways to be eligible for the New York Law School Law Review.

By Class Rank

Class rank requirement is the primary method that Law Review membership selection is based upon. Class rank is calculated at the end of each academic year. Students who meet the grade-on requirements for Law Review membership are notified in late June or early July each year, following the close of the academic year. Grade-on membership is determined as follows:

  • First-Year Students:The Law Review extends invitations to 1Ls who rank in the top 15 percent of their division at the end of their first year (i.e., completion of two semesters) at NYLS based on their cumulative GPA. Day Division students selected on this basis will begin participation in the Law Review as early as June following their 1L year. Evening Division students who are accepted on this basis will start their Law Review duties the following year upon completion of their first four semesters of law school.
  • Second-Year and Transfer Students: The Law Review extends invitations to upper-level students, including transfer students who have completed two semesters at NYLS, whose cumulative GPA based on four semesters of grades places them in the top 10 percent of their class. These students will begin participation in August at the start of their 3L year.

Through the Write-On Selection and Competition

The Law Review is pleased to invite continuing students who were not extended membership invitations based on the grade-on criteria to participate in the annual Write-On Competition. To be eligible to participate, evening students must have completed four semesters of law school, and transfer students must have completed at least two semesters at NYLS.

The competition requires students to demonstrate their writing and legal analysis skills by drafting a paper based on a problem that is developed by the Law Review. The problem is designed to allow students to demonstrate their writing and analytical skills based on an analysis of a scholarly article, a series of cases, or other relevant law.

Members of the Law Review’s Editorial Board and its Faculty Publisher review all submissions and extend membership invitations to those students whose papers exhibit excellent analysis and writing ability. All submissions are reviewed anonymously, and invitations are extended solely based on the merit of the written submission. There is no predetermined number of students who will be invited to join the Law Review through the Write-On Competition. Decisions of the Publisher are final.

Membership Requirements

All students invited to join the Law Review (except evening students who have just completed their first two semesters of law school and whose participation on the Law Review will begin the summer preceding their 3L year) are required to attend our orientation in August. Orientation is typically held the week before fall classes start. All new Law Review members are also required to take either the day or evening section of the Legal Scholarship course during the semester they write their Case Comment.

Related Courses

Law Review  •  T 212.431.2100 ext. 4114  •  F 212.431.8193  •  E law_review@nyls.edu