Becoming a Member

Michigan State Law Review is a student-run journal that publishes scholarly articles on a quarterly basis. The Law Review also sponsors various forums throughout the year; we have co-sponsored symposiums on international Intellectual Property, Contracts, and Water Law, to name but a few.

Membership on the Michigan State Law Review has many benefits including the chance to publish a scholarly article, the development of research, writing, and editing skills, and many leadership opportunities. The primary responsibilities of Law Review "Staff" include "cite checking" articles that are published in our journal and developing a Comment, several of which are selected for publication in the Law Review each year.

Eligibility for Law Review

Students who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0, who have completed 29 credits, and who have at least 4 semesters remaining at the Law College are automatically eligible for Law Review membership. This means that full time students are eligible at the end of their second semester, while four-year evening students are eligible at the end of the fourth semester and five-year evening students become eligible at the conclusion of their sixth semester.

Any student who has failed or withdrawn from any required first year course is not automatically eligible. A student who find themselves in such circumstances or who fails to meet the credit hour, GPA, or semesters remaining requirements may appeal to the Law Review to be eligible. In addition, students must attend the mandatory informational meeting, may only participate in one competition during their time in law school, and must be able to serve on Law Review for two academic years.

"Writing-on" or "Grading-on" to Law Review

Law Review invites students who are in the top 5% of their class after completing 29 credit hours, have at least 4 semesters remaining, and pass the Bluebook portion of the Write-On Competition to become members. However, since the Write-On Competition will take place before class rankings are available, all interested students are strongly encouraged to participate in the casenote portion of the Write-On Competition.

The Write-On Competition is a two-part, anonymous competition. The first part of the Competition is a Bluebook exam, which is an open book examination that tests students’ Bluebook skills. The second part is a 12 to 15 page casenote. The casenote will detail the merits of a particular topic using only the research and information provided in the Competition packet.

Write-On Competition packets will be distributed May 7, 2008 in the Law Review Office (210). Offers of membership will be extended in late July or early August.

Upcoming Events for Potential Members

Mandatory Informational Meetings:
Note: Attendance at one of these meetings is required to be considered for admission

Monday, March 31, 2008, 9:00 AM in Room 472
Monday, March 31, 2008, 8:00 PM in Room 471

This meeting will describe the Competition in much greater detail. Students who are close to a 3.0 GPA should come, since grades after second semester are considered for eligibility purposes. Similarly, students who do not meet any other eligibility requirement should come and find out about appeals. All students who are contemplating Law Review membership are urged to attend!

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact: Gerald Aben, Senior Notes Editor at abengera@msu.edu.