Membership Information
The process for becoming a member of the Stanford Law Review is open to all first-year Stanford Law School students and transfer students. Members are selected at the end of their first year through a blind-graded exercise that tests candidates on their editing skills and legal writing ability. Grades are not a part of the selection process. Out of the first-year class and transfer students, roughly forty-five membership offers are extended.
Candidates who accept membership offers must serve a two-year commitment to the Review. During their first year on the Review, members are part of editing teams that substantively edit, bluebook, and proofread the content that goes into the Review. During their second year, members either become senior editors that lead editing teams or serve on various committees, including the Articles Committee, the Notes Committee, the Development Committee, and the Symposium Committee. Members are also responsible for writing a Note or Comment for possible publication. In addition, those in their second year of membership are eligible to serve on the Stanford Law Review's Managing Board. The Stanford Law Review strongly encourages all current Stanford Law School first-year students to consider becoming a part of the Review.
The Stanford Law Review is committed to diversity in its membership. This year we have demonstrated our commitment in a number of ways, including:
- Institutionalizing efforts to recruit diverse candidates by adding a focus on diversity to the responsibilities of the Senior Development Editor in charge of membership
- Conducting a critical review of the candidate exercise with experienced professors in order to minimize the disparate impact of the exercise upon students of color
- Holding informational sessions for purposes of recruiting students of color
- Reaching out to students (and especially women) from typically underrepresented career interests (corporate, business, public interest, and others)
Questions about the selection process and the candidate exercise for Volume 63 (2010-11) should be directed to Jen Clark, development@stanfordlawreview.org.
