The University of Chicago Business Law Review Welcome Letter

Spring 2024

Dear Class of 2026 Transfer Candidates,

We are excited to invite you to apply to The University of Chicago Business Law Review (BLR)! This letter describes BLR, our member selection process, membership responsibilities, and the enriching personal and professional benefits of BLR membership.

I.     Overview of Business Law Review

The Business Law Review (BLR) was founded with two goals in mind. First, BLR provides both students and academics an avenue to publish novel scholarship broadly related to business and the law. BLR’s scope thus encompasses scholarly works that explore the law's many intersections with business and industry, including, but not limited to, corporate, securities, tax, regulatory and bankruptcy-related inquiries. Second, BLR fosters and contributes to dialogue among practitioners, academics, regulators, and students interested in business law both in the United States and around the world.

Our Journal achieves its goals through various means. We maintain an active Online Edition that publishes year-round as well as a print volume with two issues in December and June, and host a Biennial Symposium that is selected and planned by the entire Journal membership over a two-year planning horizon. At this year’s symposium, “The Corporation's Role in Politics,” panelists used recent events to explore themes at the intersection of corporate governance, election law, and free speech. This symposium questioned the means through which corporations have taken on roles as political actors, whether the existence of corporate political actors is good or bad, and what corporations can or should do in these roles. Notable panels and panelists included “Navigating the Gray: Campaign Finance Reform, Lawbreaking Innovations, and Tax Tactics” and a Keynote Discussion led by Anne Robinson, the Managing Director, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of the Vanguard Group, Inc.

The BLR Editorial Board takes pride in our commitment to providing members valuable training in legal research and writing, professional development engagements with practitioners in business law, and opportunities to forge lifelong friendships with fellow BLR members. The Law School rewards Journal membership with three pass/fail credits. New members will be active in the editing process of pieces from top academics in the field and will produce a Comment in the area of business law that satisfies the Substantial Research Project (SRP) credit for graduation requirements and will be considered for publication in our print volume. New members will also produce an online piece eligible for publication in the Online Edition. Transfers pursuing a JD/MBA are encouraged to reach out to Ally Swartzberg (aswartzberg@uchicago.edu) to discuss how joining BLR will support your progress towards a dual degree.

II.     Member Selection Process

BLR has been the proud beneficiary of transfer students, with our previous Editor in Chief and members of our current Editorial Board having joined the Journal after transferring to the Law School. Transfer students can join BLR via two paths: the Writing Competition or “Topic Access” Program.

Writing Competition — The Writing Competition, held in early June, consists of three components: a Topic Analysis, an Editing Exercise, and a Personal Statement detailing the student’s interest in Journal membership generally, or if pertinent, interest in BLR specifically. Applicants are required to complete all three portions before the deadline in order to be eligible for membership on BLR. Transfer students interested in the Writing Competition should sign up for the competition through the webform on the transfer student website before the sign-up deadline. While we excitedly welcome any and all questions about life in Chicago, at the Law School as a transfer, and membership on BLR, we must respect the anonymous process of the Writing Competition. Because of this, we will not solicit information from you on your application through the Writing Competition, and respectfully ask that you do not indicate anything that might compromise anonymous grading and selection in your correspondence with us.

Topic Access — BLR also accepts members through our Topic Access Program. Topic Access is ideal for those applicants who would like to develop scholarly work that explores and analyzes a particular business subject. Topic Access involves writing a Topic Proposal and Topic Analysis. Our Topic Access program provides prospective members “Schedules” over the Summer. Schedule A allows prospective members the opportunity to receive offers before OCI. Those interested in Topic Access should reach out directly to Executive Comments Editor, Sofia Gracias at smgracias@uchicago.edu and Managing Editor, Sabrina Marie Vera, at svera@uchicago.edu. Those interested in Topic Access are not required to partake in the Writing Competition to be considered for membership with BLR. Topic Access Schedules are listed below:

III.     Member Responsibilities

New members are expected to attend BLR summer orientations in late July and mid-September. Upon accepting membership offers, members will be notified of dates and provided the Journal’s annual calendar. The goal of our first orientation meeting is to provide members with an introduction to Business Law Review. This will include discussing how the process works over a given year, member responsibilities, Board selection, volume publication, and initial guidance on starting the Comment Process. Our second orientation will provide you an introduction to the editorial process and feature advanced legal research training from D’Angelo Law Library Staff.

Throughout the year, new members are to work with the Comments and Online teams to complete the following deliverables: up to two Topic Proposals, two Topic Analyses, one Comment Outline, two Comment Drafts (a Rough and Final Draft) and one Online Edition piece. This process spans from early July through the end of January, and new members will be paired with a faculty advisor to oversee the process. New members will also be placed on a “Comment Teams” overseen by the Executive Comments Editor and one Comments Editor. These Editors will provide mentorship and valuable feedback as you begin your Journal career. Beginning in the Fall, members will also partake in hands-on editorial tasks to facilitate publication of our December issue and receive exposure to content solicitation and intellectual engagement with leading scholars from across the world. Finally, as part of our Biennial Symposium Model, every member of the Journal (Board members and new members) will be afforded the opportunity to submit a topic for the following year’s Symposium. These proposals will be put to the entire Journal membership for a vote on the following year’s Symposium topic.

IV. Why the Work is Worth It

Journal membership is a time-honored and rewarding commitment for Law Students. Members of the Business Law Review receive the unique opportunity to contribute to legal scholarship that intersects with the rich field of business at The Law School, an institution renowned for its focus on law and economics. Members have the opportunity to gain vital experience in an area of law that interests them and will be formative in their professional development. This experience also allows members to forge lifelong connections that will extend beyond law school, as our Journal holds events with law firms and experts in the field. Business law is a complex, diverse, and fascinating legal focus within scholarship, and we excitedly await the opportunity to bring our next membership class into our community.

We look forward to engaging with your materials, either via Writing Competition or Topic Access. Please feel free to reach out to any member of our Executive Board listed below with questions about BLR, The Law School, or Chicago generally. We look forward to hearing from you in the near future, and best of luck in your transfer admissions application cycle!

Sincerely,

 The University of Chicago Business Law Review Executive Board