Law Review

As a first-year law student, you’ll have no shortage of opportunities to get involved. LSLAP, LSS, and a host of other acronyms will vie for your time, energy, and attention (not to mention your lunch hours). If you’re like most other students, you’ll probably try to balance multiple commitments during 1L. One you’ll want to make sure to save some time for, however, is the UBC Law Review Society.

Completely run by UBC law students, the Society publishes two important works. The first is the UBC Law Review, a peer-reviewed academic journal where law professors from around the world publish up-to-date articles on a variety of legal issues. The second is the Table of Statutory Limitations, a compilation of the legal limitation periods for laws across Canada. A few dozen law students are selected to work with the Society each year, helping to review, edit, and publish these works.

There are many good reasons to get involved. It looks good on a resume. You can meet like-minded people. The hours, not more than a few each week, are very flexible. In upper years, you can earn course credit for your time, also fulfilling the Advanced Legal Research course requirement. There are even a few paid positions each summer, when not everyone can find law-related work. And you’ll get a head start on learning proper legal citation style, which you will eventually need to learn anyways.

But it’s not all about the perks. We’re looking for the type of people who will enjoy the work. Perhaps you’ve been an editor in the past, and want to keep sharpening your skills. Perhaps you own a well-worn copy of Eats, Shoots & Leaves, and love everything it stands for. Perhaps you secretly cheered for the two guys who took a road trip around the U.S., correcting spelling and grammar on signs along the way. Or perhaps you have no experience at all, but are really eager to learn and contribute. We’d love to hear from each of you.

In the first few weeks, keep an eye out for information on how to get involved. Our editor-in-chief, Sandra Raath, will be speaking at the student services rotation, and we’ll have a booth at the LSS clubs day. You’ll have to apply, though last year we did accept around two out of every three applicants. If you have any questions in the meanwhile, we’d love to hear from you: I’m one of two editors working on the Review this summer, and you can email us any time at lawrev@interchange.ubc.ca.

Enjoy your Orientation Week, and we look forward to meeting you soon!

- Andrew Dilts is a second year UBC Law student who is a summer editor for the Law Review.