Write-On Information

The Georgetown Law Journal selects its membership in part based on a writing competition open to all first-year Georgetown Law students, as well as students who are transferring to Georgetown after their first-year.

Each participant in the writing competition will be asked to write a seven to ten page essay of legal analysis on a recent real-world court case. Each participant is given a fixed set of cases, statutes, law review articles, and other source materials to use as research for the essay. Any research outside of the provided materials is not permitted. In recent years, participants have been asked to write about gun control laws, academic freedom and the First Amendment, the constitutionality of juvenile curfew laws, and the scope of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Both technical and substantive excellence are requirements of a successful essay.

The competition spans approximately ten days beginning soon after all first-year final exams are complete. The competition for transfer students begins later in the summer. The exact dates for both competitions are determined by the Office of Journal Administration.

All participants in the writing competition are asked to rank Georgetown's journals in order of preference. Only candidates who rank the Journal first are considered for membership.

We wish you the best of luck in the writing competition. Please feel free to discuss your interest in The Georgetown Law Journal with any of our members.