Membership

General Application Information

Each year, the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal selects the most qualified students to join the Journal. Historically, the number of new members has been between thirty and forty-five students; however, this number may vary depending on the first-year class size. Eligible students for the Law Journal include full-time students who have completed their first year of law school and part-time students who have completed the same curriculum as the full-time first-year students (e.g., Weekend JDs who have taken Torts, Property, Civil Procedure, Contracts, Constitutional Law, and Criminal Law).

To apply to the Law Journal, students must participate in the writing competition at the end of the Spring semester when they are first eligible for the writing competition (after the conclusion of 1L for full-time students and the first Spring semester after the conclusion of the core curriculum for the Weekend JDs). The writing competition requires applicants to complete a footnote editing exercise and write a 12-15 page article based on a predetermined topic with provided sources. 

Applications are scored with 75 percent weight given to the article and footnote exercise and 25 percent weight given to the applicant’s GPA. Additionally, applicants in the top 5 percent of the full-time class and Weekend JD program, plus the top-ranked student in each full-time section, will be automatically invited to join regardless of their writing competition scores. However, these top-ranked students must still complete the writing competition to be eligible for an invitation.

Law Journal Application Information

The write-on period for Volume 54, running Summer 2022–Spring 2023, took place during May 2022 and offers for membership have been extended in accordance with the above criteria. Thank you to everyone who participated.

Information on the Volume 55 application, for the year Summer 2023–Spring 2024, will be forthcoming. Details on information sessions will be posted on this website, social media, and on the daily Law School Announcements email. The write-on period will take place in May 2023 following final exams.

For more information about the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal application process and why students should join, please see the Journal Information Packet below, or click here.

New Member Tasks

New Law Journal members have two primary tasks. Throughout the academic year, new members will prepare articles for publication by checking sources cited in each article, editing the article, and ensuring the footnotes are in accordance with Bluebook standards. These articles are generally written by academics from across the globe as well as by active practitioners. New members will also write their own article during the fall semester on a legal topic of their choice. This article can take the form of either a Note—focusing on a major recent court case—or a Comment—focusing on a novel question of law. At least one member will have the honor of having his/her article published in the Summer Issue of the volume for that year. Additional publishing opportunities may arise within the Journal, and students are encouraged to submit their work to other potential publishing outlets. 

Please browse the information below to learn more about the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal.

[su_button url=”http://blogs.luc.edu/lawjournal/files/2022/06/Journal-Info-Sheet.pdf” target=”blank” style=”ghost” background=”#922247″ color=”#922247″ center=”yes”]Information Packet (PDF)[/su_button]

[su_button url=”http://blogs.luc.edu/lawjournal/files/2022/06/Vol.-54-Loy.-U.-Chi.-L.-J.-Bylaws-3.6.22.pdf” target=”blank” style=”ghost” background=”#922247″ color=”#922247″ center=”yes”]Law Journal By-laws (PDF)[/su_button]