Each year the Review selects approximately 45 members from the rising Columbia 2L and Transfer Student class through its annual Writing Competition. The Competition asks participants to use a closed set of materials to analyze a legal problem in under 3000 words. The problem has varied from year to year – in the past students have been asked to write an essay justifying a position recently taken by a judge on a cutting-edge legal issue; write a bench memorandum; complete a classic law school issue spotter; or do something completely different. No outside research is expected or permitted on the problem. The citation format for the Competition is part of the problem itself and does not follow the Bluebook. No preparation is required or possible. Rising 2Ls need only register for the Competition on Lawnet – instructions for doing so will be emailed in late April or early May.
This year, the Writing Competition problem will be made available the morning of May 14, 2010 and will be due on the afternoon of May 21, 2010. Students need not be present in New York City to participate in the Writing Competition. On the opening day of the Writing Competition, 1L participants will download the packet online through Lawnet. The Competition is designed to be completed in less than seven days, but participants may take as long as they feel necessary. The entire application packet – the required forms, the Competition, and the optional personal statement – may be submitted either by hand (to the law school’s information center) or by overnight mail (postmarked for delivery by May 22). All instructions regarding the logistics and format of the application will be provided in the Writing Competition material.
The Review will not accept late competitions. Extensions will not be granted, except under exceptional and dire circumstances. Such circumstances categorically exclude travel difficulties, computer failure, and illness such as the flu. Requests for extensions should be made directly to Farhang Heydari, Editor-in-Chief (farhang.heydari@gmail.com) as early as possible.
Of the approximately 45 students invited to join the Review as editors, 15 are selected solely on the basis of their Writing Competition Scores. Next, 20 students are selected on the basis of a combination of their Competition Scores and 1L grades. Finally, 10 students are selected based on a combination of their personal statement, Competition Scores, and 1L grades.
Transfer students are likewise eligible to apply to the Review through the Writing Competition. The Competition must be taken at the same time as rising Columbia 2Ls. Transfer students, however, are considered for membership only on the basis of their Writing Competition scores, and therefore are eligible only for the slots reserved for the Competition’s 15 highest scores. Please note that any offer of membership is contingent upon a transfer student’s admittance to Columbia Law School. While it is the Review’s policy to notify the law school’s admissions office when a transfer applicant is invited to join the Review, this invitation does not guarantee a transfer applicant’s admittance to the law school. Prospective transfer students must contact Tejas Narechania, Executive Notes Editor, before May 7 to register for and receive information regarding the Writing Competition.
The Review typically has made membership offers in early July. The Review’s editorial staff is required to return to the Review’s offices to begin full-time production in early August of each year.
Students not selected to join the Review through the Writing Competition may still gain membership through participation in the Review’s Publishable Notes Program.
