For 2L Denise Turner, it all started during 1L year. "I heard it from older students...I mean, it's just one of those 'staples' of the legal community. I remember one of the attorneys I worked for over the summer said, you're a really good writer, you should try to get on a journal like it's some right of passage for lawyers or something."

As the spring journal competition approaches and the law school looks to possibly expand our number of journals, many students are starting to question the true value of journal membership. For years, law students have encountered the Myth of the Journal - a collection of beliefs that characterize membership on an academic journal as the ultimate law school prize.

An annual contest for membership on one of the five academic journals at GW Law, the journal competition is limited to 1L day students, 2L evening students, and 1L evening students transferring this semester to the day division. This year's competition runs from Thursday February 26th through Monday March 2nd. It is a "closed universe" problem, involving a packet of sources that are kept confidential until the day of the competition. Students are required to Bluebook and use for a short case note with an objective and subjective analysis.

Once journal boards make their decisions on membership, students do not have any subsequent opportunity to join, adding to the stress of the competition. 1L Joon Song noted, "Journal seems to be a rite of passage for 1Ls, so important in fact that it requires us to spend half of our Spring Break holed up in the library--as if the rest of the semester is not enough."

Potential participants encounter a number of opinions about journal, some of them common and others controversial. Even for this article, some students interviewed asked not to be identified, fearing the possible stigma of speaking frankly about the pros and cons of journals. "As a 1L I was clueless about journal," one 3L on AIPLA said, "I knew it was something I had to do. I ranked AIPLA QJ first because my Dean's Fellow pointed out that AIPLA QJ based its entire membership on the writing competition only. Not knowing what my second semester grades would be - I gamed the system."

As students interviewed for this article noted, there are several positive aspects to journal, including learning legal research and writing skills, and making connections with other members of the law school community. The AIPLA 3L said, "Overall, I would say it has been a good experience. I have improved both my bluebooking and editing skills. Additionally, as a 3L I have gained management experience."

However, many students reported that the mystique surrounding journal, is sometimes overshadowed by the reality of how much work journal requires into their second and third years. Students receive assignments from their editors that involve checking Bluebook citations and sources for submissions to their journal. Christopher Meeks, Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review, described the work process of his journal. "First and second year members of the Law Review commit approximately five hours a week to the Law Review. Those students who choose to accept editorial positions during their second year on the Law Review commit more time."

Some students offered the view that it was more time-consuming that they originally conceived. A 2L warned, "Be prepared to put in anywhere from five to twenty hours in a given week on an editing assignment. This isn't every week in the semester, just a few weeks interspersed, and you don't necessarily know ahead of time. Remember you have FRP in the fall as well." An AIPLA 3L added, "At times, there is a lot of work to do in both terms of note writing and production work. I have given up quite a few nights to edit articles or write my note. However at those times I remind myself that I am getting credit towards graduation."

Benjamin Richards, a 2L on the Federal Circuit Bar Journal (FCBJ) admitted, "It's work to be on a journal. And it's work that may not have any noticeable results right now, or ever. But, we could say that about lots of things in law school. We're all too old at this point to be expecting anyone to make us guarantees about whether a particular investment (in this case journal) will pay dividends later. That's asking for omniscience and there just isn't anyone here at GW Law who can offer you that." He added, "Not even Roger Schecter or Peter Raven-Hansen who have given me some of the best advice since being here."

With all the work that goes into journal, it seems baffling that people continue to perpetuate the idea that it is the ultimate law school prize. When asked, Turner said she believed the hype perpetuated during her 1L year was "to get people to compete for it...I think if they advertised just how much work it is and how much time and energy it is and that it really won't make that big of a deal for FRP, few people would try for it."

A senior editor on the Law Review voiced a different view. "As with most things like this, I would guess that there's a kernel of truth: being on a journal does help with certain kinds of things [like] getting a clerkship, for example. Many people probably say that it's helped them get a job, or that getting published got them a clerkship; somehow that statement got twisted into 'the only way to get a job or a clerkship is to be on journal.' And I think that some of it is probably due to the pre-law school buzz that we all hear as we're taking the LSAT and touring schools. Finally, some of it is probably just word of mouth getting passed on from class to class, year after year."

Matt Orlins, a 3L, agreed. "I wasn't on a journal, I got jobs through FRP. Employers want to know that you can think critically and write. There are ways to prove that other than being on a journal. If I had to do-over again, I wouldn't have done the competition. Sometimes you do things to keep up the Jones' and you shouldn't."

Another part of the problem is the mixed signals that students receive about its importance. Carole Montgomery, Director of Career Services, emphasized that journal membership is a valuable criteria for job selection. "Legal employers are always telling us how much they value journal membership. This seems to be the case for two main reasons. First, because journal membership is selective, employers regard it as another "gold star" on a student's resume. Second, and more importantly, employers believe that journal membership provides students with the opportunity to further develop their legal research and writing skills."

When asked if she believed the that journal membership is required for jobs, Montgomery responded, "That is 100% not true. When considering who to interview and hire, employers consider candidates as a whole - and in many cases, practical work experience, relevant contacts and a student's demeanor will be more persuasive than grades or journal membership." In response to Montgomery's comments, one 2L non-journal student noted, "That's what's frustrating about journal - people will tell you it's the gold standard for employment, but then say it doesn't matter at all."

Rather than emphasizing the importance of journal, several students noted that they were never asked about their journal during Fall Recruitment. The 3L on AIPLA said that, while she was asked about it, "It was one of many topics discussed. So while journal membership did help me in interviews - I talked about my experiences just as much as I talked about my 1L summer job."

Richards imparted, "If nothing else, being on a journal certainly doesn't guarantee you a job. I don't have one yet for instance, and very few people who have interviewed me seem to care about the FCBJ at all. The only question I've gotten about it is, 'Is it true GW stole that journal from GMU? I didn't even know a school could do that.'" Richards said, while he was a solid B+/A- student, "that doesn't seem to be enough to 'wow' employers into interviewing me."

Several students defy the notion that a lack of journal membership equals poor job prospects. Megan Doyle, a 3L on the International Law Review said, "There is some overlap between people with good grades who are both on journal and have firm jobs. That being said I know lots (LOTS) of people who are not on a journal and are working at firms. There is some overlap but journal should not be seen as a make or break activity when it comes to getting a firm job."

Lindsay Bourne, a 3L, is one of those people. She is heading to Weil Gotshal in Washington, D.C. next year and is not a journal member. "I guess I'd say that I didn't try out for a journal because I didn't realize how much weight people put on it, and the competition seemed like a not very fun way to spend a weekend. The upside to not being on a journal is I guess I don't have to be anyone's bluebook lackey. It also means - I assume - that you spend interviews talking about more exciting things than your note." She added, "The downside is that you've got to find someone on a journal to take you as their date if you want to go to nerd prom."

Turner, who will be working at Frost Brown Todd in Indianapolis this summer said, "I think it's more of a bear trap than a myth and for me, I think what they told us as 1Ls is totally not true. I'm not a journal and I'm quite happy about it. I found that not being a journal didn't have much of an affect on my job search, although, my second semester grades were really good."

While some students are happy not to be on a journal, Dean Renee DeVigne has sadly noted that she has met with several students over the years who felt they had to defend their choice to turn down journal or not go out for it at all, telling her, "You're made to feel like you're a leper if you don't want journal."

Associate Dean for Student Affairs and an advisor on the journal committee, Dean DeVigne sat down one recent Friday afternoon to talk about the myths associated with journal. "The ideal is to have a healthy appreciate of what journal is and what journal isn't." Journal can lead to publishing articles, honors, and prestige - but students can get this kind of recognition in other ways, such as skills competitions, clinics, and internships. "Journal is a distinguishing honor of the transcript, but that's just a byproduct. It's a lot of work."

A former journal member of the American Criminal Law Review at Georgetown University, Dean DeVigne said that students should consider their transcript when they take on journal, especially that to quit journal would result in four incomplete credits. "One of the reasons it is an all-or-nothing proposition...is that there was a trend of students who would drop journal" once they reached their 3L year and received their permanent job offer. "They were banking on the cache of journal," Dean DeVigne said, and dropping it to avoid doing the production work.

Students and faculty members have a wide range of advice for students thinking about participating in the upcoming journal competition. Dean DeVigne also encouraged students not to spend every waking moment on the competition. She pointed out that the competition has extra time built in for emergencies, faith observances, and general rest time for students. "Students should think of it as a work assignment, like a summer associate." She stressed that the competition requires no extra research and there is "no fight to get to the library first," so students should take it in stride.

For undecided students, Dean DeVigne said that students should err on the side of participating in the journal competition in order to keep doors open in the current turbulent economy. "You can always say why you chose to turn down a journal."

Richards agreed, saying, "I really believe in my no regrets approach to law school. Maybe you'll go up to bat and swing the bat and strike out completely... but you'll never have to wonder if you could have hit a home run."

Meeks encouraged students to attend the information session on Thursday, February 19, at 8:15pm in room L201. Doyle seconded this view encouraging students to talk to current members on journals, attend the information session and ask people about journal. "I do not think it makes sense to spend four days on a competition with out spending the time to ask about it up front." However, she said, "I would strongly suggest that all the 1Ls take part in the competition, even if they were not thrilled with their first semester grades."

Others cautioned undecided students against doing the competition just for accolades. "I think it is in each student's best interest to try as hard as they possibly can on the journal competition," Anthony Prestia, the Executive Editor of AIPLA. "That said, students with no real interest in doing journal work should not feel compelled to participate. Journal participation is a two year commitment and, at times, can require significant personal commitment. Students that compete just to add a line to their resumes will generally end up disappointed and, in some cases, with four 'no credits' on their transcript if they cannot satisfactorily complete their assignments."

David Johnson, Senior Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, concurred. "Journals - like skills boards - are not ends to themselves, but rather opportunities. Employers won't be that impressed if you just get on a journal and only check cites, in the same way that getting on a skills board and only judging a first year competition doesn't carry much weight. However, if you get on a journal and become an editor or get your note published, you have then accomplished something and will be noticed, just like membership on a skills board and excelling in a competition is impressive. Ultimately, students should focus their energies on activities that interest them and that they have an aptitude for."

On a personal note, Johnson offered up hope for non-journal members, saying, "I had no interest in journals, was not on one, and my life wasn't ruined."