写在竞争

法律评论是学术性的, 一般每季度, 学生开办的学术法律杂志，发表教授的著作, 法官, 律师, 法律专业的学生. 一些期刊，如the 新大法律评论，涵盖范围广泛的法律问题. 其他的，比如 航空法与商业杂志, 国际律师, 新大科技法律评论，专注于一个特定的法律领域.

Service on a law review or journal provides invaluable editing experience, 拓宽你对法律的理解, 还能提高你的研究和写作技巧. Former journal members have reported that their time deeply improved their attention to detail and ability to work with long, 密集的文字, 法律实践中的一项关键技能. 除了, 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. 一些期刊还为其成员提供奖学金或写作奖. Law review can also provide incredible opportunities in your search for employment. 许多顶级律师事务所专门雇用有法律评论经验的学生.

除了参加培训和定期会议, every journal requires the same three obligations for first-year members (known as “工作人员 Editors”): a casenote, 一个评论, 并引用检查结果. 虽然每个要求的具体内容因期刊而异, 案例笔记通常是一篇10-12页的学术文章, 预定在秋季中期(通常在十月), 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). 每个期刊每年都会发表他们最好的学生文章. 全年, staff members are also required to perform cite checks on articles that have been chosen to be published in their journal. 学生回顾作者的资料来源, 检查作者引用的准确性, 并编辑文章的内容. Most journal members will complete 2-4 cite checks during their 工作人员 Editor year.

法律审查通常是两年的承诺, 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. 在他们服役的第二年, students serve in various leadership roles as members of the Editorial Board.

The application consists of four sections: editing, citations, writing, 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. 在引文部分, you will be given excerpts from several sources and asked to create an accurate citation according to Bluebook and Greenbook rules. 写作部分, 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, 但你应该在每个部分至少花3-4个小时. The competition takes place over the course of a week to enable you to participate while also working, 旅行, 或者履行其他个人义务.

有资格参加, an applicant must (1) be enrolled or accepted at SMU 戴德曼法学院, (2)已修毕所有11门课程.

由于夏天的转会接受时间, it is impractical for most transfer students to participate in the normal 写在竞争, 所以我们也会在七月底举办一场特别的转会比赛. 转学生可以参加任何一项比赛, 但他们每年只能参加一次. 换句话说, 如果您能够参加正常的Write-On比赛, 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. 作为申请过程的一部分, each candidate will rank (“pref”) the journals based on their own individual interest. 所有的申请都被评分了, 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 新大法律评论 Association does not consider any candidates who do not rank 新大法律评论 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, 了解法律问题, 编辑能力, 引用准确性. The emphasis given to each factor is entirely up to the individual associations. 期刊还会考虑申请者的GPA, 类一年, 以及做决定时的个人陈述.

那些没有被选中的人的名字将永远保持匿名.

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.

没有问题! 这不是任何你打算练习的杂志的要求, 甚至没有兴趣, 任何特定区域. 然而, 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, 或者你可能会惊讶于你有多喜欢那个地区法. Even the topic-specific journals generally cover broad legal areas that may touch on more of your interests than you expect.

是的, any student enrolled or accepted at SMU 戴德曼法学院 is eligible to participate in the 写在竞争 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.