About

The University of Illinois Law Review is an academic publication published five times per year by the students of the University of Illinois College of Law. The Law Review provides practitioners, judges, professors, and law students with cogent analyses of important topics in the law.

The College of Law’s history of student publication dates back to 1917, when a group of high-ranking students began to publish the Illinois Law Bulletin. The publication appeared as the Illinois Law Quarterly from 1922 until 1924. Students of the College joined with editors from the Northwestern and University of Chicago law schools from 1924 to 1932 to publish the Illinois Law Review. Between 1932 and 1948, students of the College published a “current law section” in the Illinois Bar Journal. In 1949, the University of Illinois Law Forum was established as a quarterly under the guidance of then-Professor John E. Cribbet. During the next three decades, the Law Forum became one of the twenty most widely circulated law reviews in the country. In 1980, in an effort to more accurately reflect the contents of the journal, the members voted to change its name from Law Forum to Law Review.

The editorial policy and control of the Law Review has evolved as well. From 1949 to 1968, a faculty editor and faculty committee published the lead section, while the Board of Student Editors prepared the student section. In 1968-69, the Board assumed control of the entire publication. In 2001, the Board of Editors increased the number of issues per Volume from four to five.

Lectures & Symposia

Since 1973-74, the College of Law has hosted the David C. Baum Memorial Lecture Series on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights. The Law Review, in turn, invites the Baum Lecturers to publish their work in the journal.

About the David C. Baum Memorial Lecture Series on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

David C. Baum, 1934-1973

The family and friends of David C. Baum endowed the David C. Baum Memorial Lecture Series on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights not only in his memory, but at his request.

Deep concern for the dignity and rights of all people was central to Professor Baum’s character and activities. After receiving his undergraduate and legal education at Harvard University, Professor Baum served as law clerk for Justice Walter V. Schaefer of the Illinois Supreme Court, 1959-60. He then practiced law with the Chicago firm of Ross, McGowan, Hardies and O’Keefe until he joined the faculty of the University of Illinois College of Law in 1963.

Professor Baum was an inspiration to his student and colleagues, not only because of the excellence of his teaching, scholarship, and public service, but because of his remarkable human qualities. Conscientious and judicious, blending passion for justice with dispassionate objectivity, he inspired the highest level of discourse and endeavor in all who had the privilege of knowing and working with him.

It is hoped that the David C. Baum Memorial Lecture Series on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights will constitute a fitting memorial to a man whose unrelenting intellectual vigor and moral commitment made his presence in the world of law invaluable.

Volume 2008 Symposium – Economic Analysis and the Design of International Legal Institutions

In December 2006, leading scholars from the United States and Europe gathered at the Max-Planck-Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn, Germany, to examine the design of international legal institutions from an economic perspective. Organized by Professor Tom Ginsburg and Professor Thomas Ulen, this conference explored issues such as treaty design, the role of customary international law, and the role of international law in national level governance. The Law Review looks forward to publishing many of the articles and comments presented at the conference in the first issue of its 2008 Volume.

Volume 2007 Symposium – Consumer Bankruptcy and Credit in the Wake of the 2005 Act

On April 20, 2005, President George W. Bush signed into law the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA). BAPCPA not only brought the most sweeping changes to the United States bankruptcy laws since the enactment of the 1978 Bankruptcy Code, but also marked a radical reorientation in the fundamental nature and premises of consumer bankruptcy in this country.

In April 2006, one year after the enactment of this controversial reform, over a dozen of the leading bankruptcy scholars in North America explored the significance and impact of the new law on consumer bankruptcy and credit at a conference organized by Professor Charles Tabb and Professor Ralph Brubaker. The symposium participants’ papers were published in the January 2007 issue of the Law Review.

Membership

Becoming a Member of the University of Illinois Law Review

There are two ways to become a member of the University of Illinois Law Review. Generally, a student may be invited to become a member based on a writing competition held before the beginning of the fall semester or by writing a note that is selected for publication in the Law Review.

Writing Competition

Before the beginning of each fall semester, the Editor-in-Chief invites the top-ranking applicants to become members of the Law Review. The Board will invite a minimum of 30 participants for membership. If there are 3 first-year sections, the top 5 ranking applicants (based on class rank) from each first-year section, if they have also made a good faith effort in the writing competition, will receive invitations. If there are 4 first-year sections, the top 4 ranking applicants (based on class rank) from each first-year section, if they have also made a good faith effort in the writing competition, will receive invitations. “Good faith effort” is defined as a paper that falls within the top 75% of the papers submitted. The remaining needs of the membership will be filled by selecting applicants with the highest scores on the writing competition who have at least two remaining semesters and are in good academic standing. Transfer Students are eligible and encouraged to participate in the writing competition.

“Note on” Admission Procedure

In addition to the writing competition admission procedure, any student who has previously participated in the writing competition or who, upon application to the Editor-in-Chief, can show good cause for failure to participate, and who is in good academic standing may be invited to become a member by participating in the “Note On” option.

All College of Law students in good standing will have equal opportunity to have their submissions evaluated without prejudice under the blind-grading scheme established by the Board to review note submissions and shall be allowed to submit a note for evaluation at any time the Board accepts submissions from Law Review Members. All submissions must comply with the student note submission guidelines set forth below.

Should the Board decide to publish a note written by an eligible student who is not already a member of the Law Review, the announcement of the student’s selection for publication shall be accompanied by an invitation for the student to join the Law Review as a member beginning at the start of the subsequent academic semester.

Without affecting any student’s right to submit a note for the Board’s consideration, no first-year student at the College of Law shall be eligible to receive an invitation for membership under this Note On procedure.

Any member invited under the “note on” provision will, upon becoming a member, assume all privileges and obligations of membership.

Submission Requirements

This year’s deadline for student note submissions is 5:00 PM on March 15, 2013. All submissions should be turned in to the Law Review office (Room 245).

Any nonmembers who are planning to submit notes and any returning members who are planning to resubmit their notes must contact Jennifer Duffy before 5:00 PM on March 13, 2013 to receive a note entry number. Students failing to contact Jennifer by this time WILL NOT be allowed to submit a note for consideration.

Each submission must consist of six stapled copies including entry number on each page of each copy and NO NAME OR OTHER IDENTIFYING MARK. In order to preserve  the anonymity of each submission, all formatting must meet the following specifics:

  1. Length: Notes are usually around 40 double-spaced pages of publishable quality text and an appropriate number of triple-spaced pages of endnotes.  These are merely guidelines.
  2. Margins: All margins on all pages should be 1-1/2 inches.
  3. Copies: Six copies of each note must be submitted by the deadline.
  4. Type: All notes must be typewritten.  No exceptions.  Text and endnotes should be in 12-point Times New Roman font.
  5. Pagination: Please number your pages.

Unless otherwise indicated, all publication decisions are contingent upon the production of an acceptable post-publication decision draft.  The Board reserves the right to make stylistic and other necessary changes to this post-acceptance draft.  Some of the factors that the Board will consider in making publication decisions include: (1) depth of research, (2) complexity or importance of the issues discussed, (3) organization of the paper, (4) depth of analysis, (5) creativity of analysis, (6) resolution of the issues, (7) clarity and style of writing, and (8) proper citation form.

Note: A nonmember who writes a note that is selected for publication in the Law Review may be eligible to become a member of the Law Review under the “Note-On” Admissions Procedure.