HOW CAN I BECOME PART OF HBTLJ ?

There are three ways to become a member:

1.Grade on: If you are in the top 30% of your 1L section, you will automatically be invited to be a member. After rankings are posted in late June or early July, a representative of HBTLJ will contact you. You will have a limited amount of time to respond to our invitation, so please be sure that your address and phone number are updated in Student Services.

2. Apply on: If you are in the top 40% of your section or made an A or A- in your LRW class in any semester, you are eligible to participate in the apply-on competition. After rankings are posted in late June or early July, a representative of HBTLJ will contact you. You will have a limited amount of time to respond, so please be sure that your address and phone number are current in Student Services. You may also apply prior to being contacted. In order to apply on, you must supply the journal with a cover letter detailing why you are qualified for journal membership and would make a valuable addition to the journal, a minimum ten page writing sample, and a resume which includes your 1st year grades. The results of the apply-on competition will be announced on a rolling basis as applications are received.  Please note that HBTLJ has its own apply-on process that is separate from that of other journals.  Click here for the Apply-on Candidate Application.

3. Write on: All full time students who have successfully completed their entire first year are eligible to participate in the write-on competition. All part-time students, who have successfully completed their entire first year and no more than 12 hours of their second year course work, are eligible to participate in the write-on competition. HBTLJ does not have a "floor" for participation in the write-on competition - all students who have finished their first year of course work are eligible.

4. Transfer Students: If you are a transfer student, you are eligible to apply on.  The transfer student apply on requirements are the same as the apply on requirements set forth above, including:  a cover letter detailing why you are qualified for journal membership and would make a valuable addition to the journal, a minimum ten page writing sample, and a resume which includes your 1st year LARC grades. The results of the apply-on competition will be announced on a rolling basis as applications are received.

HBTLJ recognizes that performance on final exams is not always an accurate gauge of a student's abilities; therefore, HBTLJ invites ALL interested students to demonstrate their intellectual potential through a truly open write-on competition.

IMPORTANT DATES

Important 2009 membership dates will be posted as they become available.

June 13th - Apply-Ons - first day to submit applications (accepted on a rolling basis)
June 20th - Write-On Competition Begins
July 10th - Write-On Papers and Applications Due
July 18th - Last Day Journal Notifications Sent

HELPFUL INFORMATION FOR WRITING YOUR CASE NOTE

1. Get your Westlaw or Lexis access extended through the summer. The representatives are happy to do this, just contact them.
2. Format for a Casenote – required
3. The University of Houston Law Center’s Honor Code is in effect for this competition and every Law Center competition. Make sure you are familiar with its rules as they will be strictly enforced. Among those rules are the following:

a) You may not discuss the legal theories, cite form, grammar, word choice, or any other aspect of your paper with ANY OTHER PERSON.

b) You may not have any other person proofread your paper.

QUESTIONS?

All questions must be directed to the Notes and Comments Editor. Advice given by any other person will not ensure that your concerns will be properly addressed. We will try to be as accommodating as possible, so long as our decisions ensure the fairness of the competition to all participants.

Megan E. Smith – Chief Notes & Comments Editor

mesmith5@uh.edu

HBTLJ phone: 713-256-3536

 

MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS

Each member of HBTLJ must complete 50 MOD (“member on duty”) hours total (or 25 per semester), produce a written comment or two casenotes which are deemed publishable, and perform several cite checking rounds. Members must maintain good academic standing. Upon completion of all membership requirements during the second year of law school, the member is eligible to act as an editor during the third year of law school. Members receive academic credit for completion of all duties during the third year of school.

Click here for the this year's HBTLJ Information Sheet.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact:

Mark R. Meador, Editor in Chief

mrmeador@central.uh.edu

Jacquelyn McAnelly, Managing Editor

jdmcanel@central.uh.edu