Law Reviews

I’ve been told that being on a law review is a sought after quality that employers look for. Lewis and Clark Law School is great for this purpose. They have three law reviews; The Lewis & Clark Law Review, The Environmental Law Review and The Animal Law Review.

You can grade or write on to the first two law reviews and begin in your 2L year. 1Ls can join the animal law review as a voluntary source checker; if you do an “outstanding” job you could be asked to return for the next year without needing to grade or write on. If you’re invited back in your 2L year, you could shoot for an editor position. This sounds much better than slaving away your second year source checking, when you can get that out of the way your first year.

If you think the Animal Law Review is an activist group you are wrong. They publish articles from all spectrums of the animal law and animal rights world. You don’t have to be interested in Animal Law to be on the law review, nor do you have to be a vegetarian or vegan (of which I am not), and you don’t have to own a pet (but would, however, I fear the lifestyle of a poor law student would subject my pet(s) to scraps and DIY veterinarian care). According to our speaker, the Animal Law Review has twice the readership of both the other law reviews combined. It is also the nation’s first law review devoted exclusively to animal issues (according to their website http://www.lclark.edu/org/animalaw/)

Personally, I believe it will be a great experience and the law review office is animal friendly, which is a definite plus for my non-existent pets. It will also be one of the rays of light emanating from my resume, especially during a time when law firms are cutting the size of their summer programs or doing away with it completely.

Lay Down the Law!