Membership Selection
General Description
Members of Vermont Law Review are
selected in a process that focuses on academic excellence and legal
writing and editing skill. Thirty-two students are invited to join
Vermont Law Review at the end of their first year. Students in the Juris Doctor program have the option at the end of their first year
to participate in the write-on competition.
Those students whose submissions to the write-on competition meet the high standards of the Law Review will be invited to join the journal. Any remaining positions up to the thirty-two available slots are filled starting with the first person in class rank and working up until all invitation positions are filled.
Information for Transfer Students
The Vermont Law Review is happy to consider transfer applicants for the 2L staff. Any applicant seeking admission to Vermont Law School as a 2L transfer can be considered for an invitation to the Law Review based on several criteria. The primary factor will be the write-on competition. This is also the primary factor used in selecting current Vermont Law students. However, unlike current students, transfer write-on submissions will not be evaluated anonymously. Instead, we ask all transfer applicants to please submit the write-on competition with a name and current institution rather than a student number. The instructions included with the competition packet are explicit about anonymity and student numbers. When transfer applicants begin work on this competition, they should be sure to substitute their name and current institution in all places where student ID number is required for Vermont Law students. Aside from this change, transfer students are also invited, though not required, to submit a writing sample, transcript, and evidence of an invitation, if any, to a journal at their current institution. All of this, if submitted, should be included with the write-on packet and is due at the same time as the write-on.
The write-on packet will be available in PDF format for transfer students to download in early May. Other than the identification instructions mentioned above, all instructions in the packet apply to transfer applicants.
Write-on Competition
To receive a hard copy of the write-on packet, Vermont Law School students may sign up at the library circulation desk in late April. The packet will then be distributed to student mailboxes. If, for whatever reason, students do not receive a hard copy of the write-on packet, students are permitted to use the electronic version that will be available on this page.