St. John's Law Review is a student-run organization
that publishes scholarly articles of legal significance across all
topics. First published in 1926, the Law Review
publishes four issues each year. The Law Review also
publishes two issues of The Journal of Catholic Legal
Studies, a scholarly journal devoted to the study of law and
religion in general, and law and Catholicism in particular.
All articles accepted for publication in the Law
Review—even those from recognized figures in the law—are
subject to an editorial process that is intended to strengthen both
the substantive and technical aspects of the piece. Member
responsibilities include verifying sources, checking citations,
proofreading, and critically analyzing these articles.
Members are also given the opportunity to write Notes, Comments,
and Recent Developments for publication. Accordingly, each
issue contains pieces by student editors as well as outside
authors.
Aside from serving as an academic forum, the Law Review
has two other goals. First, it provides students with the
opportunity to develop their research, writing, and analytical
skills through the scholarly treatment of current legal
issues. Second, the journal serves as an effective research
tool for practitioners, judges, and students of the law.
The Law Review conducts a writing competition each year at
the conclusion of the spring semester. Students are selected
for membership on the Law Review based on a combination of
their performance on the writing competition and their
grades. In recent years, approximately 200 students have
completed the competition. Of these, between 32 and 37 are
asked to join the Law Review. Students who take the
competition will be notified of the results in late June.
Those students who are selected to join the Law Review
must be prepared to begin work in early July.