Eligibility
All full-time day division students who have successfully completed two semesters of law school and all part-time day and evening division students who have completed four semesters of law school will have the opportunity to become junior staff members of Duquesne Law Review.
If a student has not successfully completed all courses required for the necessary semesters of law school (two for full-time students, four for part-time students), but otherwise meets the law school’s requirements for continued enrollment, that student may participate in the write-on competition that follows the student’s second or fourth semester, as applicable. However, that student will not be eligible for membership on Review for the upcoming year. The Editor-in-Chief and Executive Editor may, but will not be obligated to, allow the student to cure the membership eligibility defect over the following academic year, and extend the student an offer to become a junior staff member in the student’s third or fourth year of school, as applicable, contingent upon the student successfully curing the membership eligibility defect. If the student chooses not to participate in the write-on competition following the student’s second or fourth semester, as applicable, the student will not be permitted to participate in a later write-on competition absent the Board finding extenuating circumstances justifying participation. There is no appeal to the Faculty from the Board’s decision.
Editing and Writing Requirements for Membership
Membership decisions will be made according to a tiered evaluation system that is correlated to a student’s class ranking in the student’s respective division and section as well as the student’s overall class rankings, and to the student’s performance on the Write-On. The Executive Editor shall design the Write-On used to determine Review membership and shall, along with the Editor-in-Chief, determine the accepted levels of performance on the Write-On. A student seeking to be a member of Review shall be required to complete the entire Write-On in order to be considered for membership of Review.
(a) Top Tenth Percentile:
(i) Any participating student ranked within the top tenth percentile of the student’s respective division and section and/or the top tenth percentile of the student’s overall class who completed the Write-On will be offered Review membership.
(b) Discretionary Membership:
(i) Students in good academic standing who ranked outside of both the top tenth percentile of their respective division and/or section and the top tenth percentile of their overall class as well as transfer students who did not have an opportunity to obtain membership upon completing the requisite course of study, may achieve discretionary membership by competing in the Write-On.
(ii) Offers of membership from this grouping will be at the discretion of the Executive Board based on Duquesne Law Review’s needs.
(iii) Nothing herein requires the Board to offer membership to any student from this grouping.
(iv) In making determinations of membership, the Board may consider the effect on a student’s performance on the Write-On caused by circumstances unforeseen by the student or outside of the student’s control, if timely made aware of such circumstances. The Board may ask the student to redo the Write-On or take other action the Board believes may allow the student to perform acceptably. The decision of the Board in such matters is final and may not be appealed to the Faculty. For the purposes of this section, an example of an exceptional circumstance is the death or sudden, serious illness of an immediate family member. An immediate family member is limited to include father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, or child.
Deferring Membership
If a student competes in the Write-On competition after the student’s second or fourth semester, as applicable, and receives an offer for membership on the Duquesne Law Review, that student may request to defer membership until the student’s final year of law school if extenuating circumstances arise. The student seeking such a deferral must submit a timely request in writing to the Editor-in-Chief of Review, explaining the circumstances that would inhibit the student’s membership on Duquesne Law Review. The Editor-in-Chief and the Executive Editor may permit the student to defer membership if they determine that the circumstances warrant such a deferral and that the deferral would not have an adverse effect on Duquesne Law Review, after consultation with the Faculty Advisor. The decision of the Editor-in-Chief and Executive Editor is final and may not be appealed to the Board or the Faculty. The Board may administer additional editing and citation exercises and/or writing competitions when necessary to supplement the membership of Review.