Membership

Students become eligible to join UDC Law Review at the end of their full first or second years at UDC Law by participating in a write-on competition that takes place once a year, during the summer.

Writing On

Students who have completed at least thirty hours of coursework and are in academic good standing, as defined by the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law Student Handbook, may attempt to write on. Students typically have two weeks to complete the submission, which consists of a Bluebook exercise, a research exercise, an editing exercise, and a legal essay based on a closed-universe of cases and articles provided by the Law Review staff. The essays are graded anonymously and offers of membership are sent before the start of the Fall semester.

For more information, please contact a member of the Editorial Board.

2019-2020

• Reimagining Community Economic Development (March 27, 2020; Canceled Due to COVID-19 Precautions)

2018-2019

• Disability Rights: Past, Present, and Future (March 29, 2019)

2017-2018

• FHA@50: Renewing Our Commitment to Housing Equity (April 20, 2018)
• Cannabis and the Law: The Impact of Marijuana Legalization on the Drug War, Public Policy, and Social Justice (March 22, 2018)

2016-2017

• DC Democracy During the Time of Trump: 51 and 45 (April 14, 2017)
• Poverty’s Cost: How Privatization, Profits and Public Policy Place Higher Burdens on the Poor and People of Color (March 30, 2017)

2015-2016

• From Protest Movements of the ’60s to #BlackLivesMatter: Legal Strategies for an Emerging Civil Rights Movement (April 7, 2016)

2014-2015

• Not All Controversies End in Court: Checking the Balance in Alternative Dispute Resolution (March 27, 2015)

2013-2014

• Overcoming Barriers to Economic Opportunity in America Today: Renewing the War on Poverty Fifty Years Later (April 4, 2014)

2012-2013

• Expanding the Civil Right to Counsel: 50 Years After Gideon (March 29, 2013)
• Student Journal Symposium (November 13, 2012)

2011-2012

• Smartphones and the Fourth Amendment: The Future of Privacy in Our Hands (March 23, 2012)
• Student Journal Symposium (November 16, 2011)

2010-2011

• Life After the War on Drugs: Reviewing Past and Present Policies With an Eye Toward Legal Reform (March 24, 2011)
• Student Journal Symposium (November 18, 2010)

2009-2010

• A Review of Developmental Disability Law in D.C., Child Welfare and Justice Issues, and the Impact of the Freedom of Information Act in Keeping the Executive Branch of the D.C. Government Accountable to Citizens (February 26, 2010)

2008-2009

• The Struggle to Vote: the Right to Political Self-Determination in the District of Columbia and Beyond (March 27, 2009)

2007-2008

• Katrina’s Wake: Emergency Preparedness and Response from the Bayou to the Beltway (February 29, 2008)

2006-2007

• The 3rd Branch: Law, Justice, Democracy and the District of Columbia Courts (April 20, 2007)

2005-2006

• Strategies for Addressing Poverty and Inequality (April 7-9, 2006)
• Election Reform: Voting Rights for the New Millennium (September 30, 2005)

2004-2005

• Educating At-Risk Children in the 21st Century (October 29, 2004)

2003-2004

• In the Aftermath of September 11: Defending Civil Liberties in the Nation’s Capital (November 21, 2003)

2002-2003

• Zealous Advocacy in a Time of Uncertainty: Understanding Lawyers’ Ethics (April 25, 2003)

2001-2002

• Louisa Van Wezel Schwartz Symposium: Mental Health Issues in Correctional Institutions (March 25, 2002)

Timing

The UDC Law Review is currently accepting article submissions on a rolling basis. The UDC Law Review will accept submissions until the issue is filled, and the issue will be published in Spring 2022.

Requirements

Font, Formatting, and Style

All submissions should be formatted with 1” margins on all sides. Please use 12-point Times New Roman font for the main text and 10-point Times New Roman font for the footnotes. Gender-neutral language is preferred.

Length Limitations

The UDC Law Review strongly prefers articles under 25,000 words in length, including text, footnotes, and appendices.

For background on this length policy, please see the joint letter issued by a group of law journals from across the United States. The current UDC Law Review Editorial Board supports efforts to improve the quality and accessibility of legal scholarship and has therefore adopted the position taken by the authors of this joint letter.

Citation Format

Please use footnotes rather than endnotes. Footnotes must conform to the latest edition of The Bluebook. Authors should be prepared to supply any cited sources upon request.

Submissions

The UDC Law Review prefers electronic submissions via e-mail or Scholastica.

Microsoft Word-compatible file types (e.g., .docx, .doc, or .rtf) are preferred.

Regardless of the method of submission, please include the author’s curriculum vitae along with the manuscript.

Submissions via Email

Please e-mail the submission to: lawreview@udc.edu.

Submissions via Scholastica

Please submit through the Scholastica portal: https://udclawreview.scholasticahq.com/for-authors.

Please direct any questions regarding submission requirements to lawreview@udc.edu.

The UDC Law Review can expedite the review of a submitted Article if the author is facing strict response deadlines by other journals that have already accepted the Article. To request an expedited review, please e-mail the Law Review at lawreview@udc.edu, and include “Request for Expedited Review: TITLE OF ARTICLE” in the subject heading. Please also provide the titles of journals that have accepted the article, as well as the deadline provided by each journal.