Kolleen Gladden ‘21
Photographer
Pro Journal Tryout
The journal tryout is perhaps the most important, life-altering process you can undergo as a student at UVA Law. It is, without a doubt, an absolute necessity. I’m sorry, did you say that you don’t intend to be an appellate clerk? Move on, this is not the article for you. Oh, you want to do public service? Go forth, live your life of journal-free luxury. This is not about you. I’m talking strictly to the private sector folks. You see, the reason to jump through the hoops of landing a journal has little to do with prestige and even less to do with relevant experience. You should join a journal because it offers the closest insight you’ll get in Law School on what it’s like to work for a firm. Those three grueling days spent trying out for journals offer the tiniest glimpse into the next two years of your life spent doing doc review. Picking a journal is much like picking a firm, attempting to discern the right choice for you based on the vague promises of snacks, the possibility of prestige, a collegial vibe, and relevant experience to be gained. You then get to spend the remainder of your time doing thankless work under superiors with a modicum more experience than you under vague instruction and strict deadlines. The shimmery snacks dull in their sparkle under the weight of impossibly elusive sources. Your eyes glaze over as you highlight quotes, proving they in fact exist. Welcome to the real world, kiddo. Or at least, as close as you’ll get to it in this institution. So go ahead, join a journal, and let yourself be immersed in the work; soon you’ll be remembering the most anguished moments as “the good ol’ days.”
Corey Parker ‘20
Guest Writer
Con Journal Tryout
“You must try out for a journal.” “To get a job, you have to be on a journal.” “Everyone has to do the journal tryout.” Does this sound familiar? It is what 1Ls at UVA Law hear from their peer advisors, classmates, and professors every spring. At first, I believed the hype. I had no interest in being on a journal and felt overwhelmed by the tryout process, but I thought I had no choice.
I went to an informational meeting held by the Law Review Managing Board. I starting planning how I would get my other work done that was due the weekend after the tryout. Then the week of tryouts, I remembered a short conversation that I had with two 2Ls very early in the fall semester. I really admired these two and one was even on the Managing Board of Law Review. They quietly whispered to me, “You know, you don’t have to be on a journal.” One of them said that being on a journal was her biggest regret in law school.
As I prepared to study my Bluebook and color code it with hundreds of little sticky tabs, I thought about that advice. And I decided I wasn’t going to do it. When one of my PAs organized a small section gathering in ScoCo to talk about tryouts, I walked up and told her that I was out. She was appalled and told me that I was making a huge mistake. I immediately went to the Career Center and walked into my advisor’s office, without an invitation. “Can I still get a job without a journal on my resume?” My career advisor slowly got up, shut the door to the office and told me that, yes, without a doubt I could still get a job. In fact, not only could I get a job, but I could get the job of my dreams.
That weekend, while my classmates slogged their way through journal tryouts, I read for class. I worked on a midterm that was due the following week. And I slept.
To be clear, this decision was not about laziness. It was not about wanting to avoid extra work. My decision was based on not believing that checking the citations on someone else’s writing was going to make me a good lawyer. It was also based on a belief that we should choose our own path. Instead of joining a journal, I worked as a Legal Writing Fellow. Through that role, my legal writing improved tremendously, which is something that will make me a better lawyer. That role also created the opportunity to meet and work with 1Ls whom I might not otherwise know, some of whom are now close friends.
I get it. Some of you want to clerk. If so, I am guessing you should probably try out for a journal. Some of you want to go to a top tier firm. Maybe you should also try out for a journal. But the point is, before you work very hard on a journal tryout, only to be “rewarded” with more work, it is okay to question the process. Ask yourself if there are other ways that you can develop the skills to be a good lawyer. More importantly, ask your career advisor whether your job market absolutely requires a journal. You might be surprised by the answer . . . I was. But I did get the job of my dreams and will be a public defender in Colorado later this year.
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kcg3ar@virginia.edu
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