General Membership Information
J.D. students at the University of Washington School of Law are invited to join the Washington International Law Journal based on their performance in the Melissa S. Landers Write-On Competition following their first year of law school. Selection of journal candidates is competitive, and based on writing competency and academic performance. In addition to J.D. students, the Journal also accepts LL.M. and Ph.D. candidates on a limited basis
Candidates for membership, in the J.D. program, serve on the journal for two
years. During the first year of candidacy, Journal duties
entail editing and reviewing materials for publication.
During the second year, a candidate serves in either the Editor-in-Chief’s
Office or one of Washington International Law Journal’s four
departments—Articles, Comments, Managing Editing, or Translations).
The Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editor-in-Chiefs, and Department heads
serve on the Executive Board. Full membership is offered
after a candidate completes these duties and produces a comment suitable for
publication on a topic of international law.
Melissa S. Landers Write-On Competition (1L-Write-On Competition)
First-year students and transfer applicants interested in joining Washington
International Law Journal must participate in the Melissa S. Landers Write-On
Competition held after the completion of first-year exams.
The Competition is comprised of a writing component and personal statement. The
writing component is a closed-universe and time-constrained prompt that asks the
applicant to produce a legal memo. The memo seeks to test an
applicant’s editorial skills, legal reasoning, and writing style. This writing
prompt is universal to all four journals at the University of Washington School
of Law. While all four journals require an applicant to
submit a personal statement, the Washington International Law Journal’s personal
statement is specific to the Journal.
Invitations to join the Journal are based on the quality of the applicant’s
write-on submission, first-year grades, and personal statement.
Transfer students are invited to join the Journal based on the quality of
their write-on submission and personal statement.
Second-Year Student Write-On Competition
The Washington International Law Journal hosts a competition for second-year
students during the winter quarter. This competition entails
an applicant submitting a publishable quality manuscript about a topic related
to international law to the Journal for review. Candidates
are selected based on the quality of the manuscript submitted.
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LL.M. & Ph.D. Candidate Selection
LL.M. & Ph.D. candidates are selected on a rolling basis.
Applicants are required to submit a publishable manuscript that is reviewed for
writing competency, novelty, and relevance to international law.
Concurrent J.D./LL.M. students are not eligible to join the journal
through this process.
First Year Students
The Washington International Law Journal, and all other journals at the
University of Washington School of Law, do not accept potential candidates
during their first year of law school. However, first year
students are encouraged to attend public Journal events and reach out to Journal
candidates for information about the Journal.