The following blog post was written by peer advisor Zach, a CCAS junior studying history, law and society, and jazz studies. Zach is also on the pre-law track and wrote an amazing blog post last year about all things pre-law at GW! You can learn more about Zach here.
Happy finals week, UHPers! Today, I’m taking a break from finals studying and paper writing to tell you all about an incredible, unique opportunity on GW’s campus for anyone interested in law, policy, politics, history, philosophy, and the like. I’m referring to the two publications of the GW Pre-Law Student Association, the Undergraduate Law Review and the GW Justice Journal. Both provide incredible opportunities for students with great ideas to get them published in a professional platform that can be marketed for jobs, internships, etc.
The GW Undergraduate Law Review (ULR) is the premier publication of the Pre-Law Student Association and one of only about twenty law reviews of its kind in the nation. Writers and editors apply within the first three weeks of the academic year and work throughout the year to research, draft, revise, and publish their pieces. Each year, the ULR publishes approximately ten to fifteen full-length law review articles, composed and edited entirely by GW students, while most other undergraduate law reviews solicit articles from the general public, including other student authors around the country. We additionally pride ourselves on the use of Bluebook citation standards—the preferred citation system throughout the legal academy and profession, and a skill generally not taught until your first year of law school.
Do you want to suggest a new, more practical interpretation of the Mann Act? Do you think that the United States should do more to regulate offshore banking? Do you believe that the Supreme Court should have had a more active role in the Civil War? The ULR is the perfect place to spend a semester researching and then publish your work. We utilize a thorough process that you’ll be hard-pressed to find anywhere else, and it’s a process that produces high-quality, polished work at the end of the semester. And, yes, you can write about anything you want—all of the above examples are topics from last year’s ULR!
The final publication is housed in Gelman Library, on the shelves of the American Bar Association Library, and catalogued in the Library of Congress. So, yes, it’s REAL publication! This year’s team is already assembled and well on its way towards the April publication deadline, but stay tuned for next year’s application process! You can peruse past editions of the ULR at http://www.gwprelaw.com/undergraduate-law-review-1 (check out my article on page 217 of last year’s edition!).
However, if you want to find a place to get your ideas out there RIGHT NOW, the GW Justice Journal may be the place for you. The Justice Journal is the PLSA’s blog for legal commentary, with pieces published by a staff of writers as well as guest writers. With the Justice Journal, you’ll have the opportunity to form your opinions into a succinct article and have a staff of editors revise and comment on your piece before publication.
Topics for the Justice Journal tend to be more current-event focused, but run the gamut from every end of the legal commentary spectrum. Recent articles have dealt with the flaws of the electoral college system, racial discrimination in jury selection, foreign NGOs in China, and prosecutorial oversight. Read them for yourself at http://www.gwjusticejournal.com, and email gwplsa@gmail.com if you’re interested in getting involved!
Additionally, the Justice Journal assembles its best pieces every year in the Legal Annual Review, which gets catalogued in Gelman and the Library of Congress right alongside the ULR.
What does writing for the ULR or the GW Justice Journal get you, you ask? For one thing, you get to put a “Publications” section on your resume, which makes you feel like a BOSS. For another, you get to give prospective employers and internship bosses a glimpse into how you think about critical issues as well as your research and writing skills. From personal experience, writing for the Law Review and the Justice Journal helped start conversations at my summer job, got me internships last semester and next semester, and makes law school admissions officers’ ears perk up.
If you’d like to get any more information about either of the PLSA’s publications, or about joining the PLSA in general, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at zsanders@gwmail.gwu.edu. I love talking about the Pre-Law opportunities we have here on campus, of which the PLSA publications are only a very small part.
Skip to content
University Honors Program Blog
Intellectual Omnivores Unite
