The Columbia Human Rights Law Review is unique among Columbia’s law journals in that it combines advocacy with legal scholarship. In addition to three issues of the journal per year, HRLR publishes and sells A Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual. Staff editors are involved in every aspect of the production and publication of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review and A Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual. As such, every member of the HRLR team is given an opportunity to develop practical and professional skills while contributing substantially to the advancement of human rights.
Most staff editors work exclusively with JLM or HRLR throughout the year as part of dedicated JLM– or HRLR-clusters. A smaller cohort of staff editors will work with both HRLR and the JLM, simultaneously gaining exposure to the academic and practical aspects of human rights work.
Please note that all staff editors, regardless of their cohort, will have the option of writing a note or working on a JLM chapter.
Three Cohort Model
Dedicated HRLR-only Staff Editors
For consideration to become a staff editor exclusively for HRLR, applications must be submitted on Lawnet during the regular journal application period. The regular application period will occur shortly after spring finals. Required application materials are listed below. Your name should not appear on any of the documents you submit.
Dedicated JLM-only Staff Editors
For consideration to become one of eight to twelve JLM-only staff editors, applications may be submitted on Lawnet during the early application or regular application period. The early application process will occur during the spring semester. The regular application process will occur after spring finals. Required application materials are listed below and are the same for both the early and regular application processes. Your name should not appear on any of the documents you submit.
HRLR and JLM Staff Editors
For consideration to become a staff editor for both HRLR and the JLM (a regular staff editor), applications must be submitted on Lawnet during the regular journal application period, which will occur shortly after spring finals. Required application materials are listed below. Your name should not appear on any of the documents you submit.
Timeline
Recruitment for staff editors in the Class of 2026 will begin in the Spring of 2024. HRLR will distribute information regarding specific application deadlines at that time.
How To Apply and Application Materials
- Provide Your Preference: For the regular application only, please include a line immediately preceding your statement of interest ranking the following staff editor cohorts in your order of preference, 1 being most favored and 3 being least favored: HRLR-exclusive staffer, JLM-exclusive staffer, HRLR+JLM staffer. This is not necessary for the early JLM-exclusive applications.
- Statement of Interest: Your statement of interest should be 400–750 words. As part of this statement, please tell us why you want to serve on the Human Rights Law Review. Additional topics you may wish to highlight: any relevant writing, editing, or Blue Book experience that you will bring to HRLR and the JLM, language fluency that will allow you to understand and cite-check foreign sources, and your specific areas of interest in human rights, civil rights, or prisoners’ rights. If you are interested in working on the Spanish JLM, please include a sentence noting your language abilities and interest. For these purposes, Spanish fluency means that you can produce clear, detailed Spanish translations on complicated legal topics.
- Legal Writing Sample: Please submit the argument section of your moot court or 1L brief. Please include the question addressed by your argument section. Writing samples will be evaluated on grammar, writing style and organization, and consistency and correctness of citation.
- Language Fluency: If you have proficiency in a foreign language, please indicate this on Lawnet even if you have written about your language skills in the Statement of Interest. This is especially important if you have Spanish fluency and would like to work on the Spanish JLM.
- Resume: Your resume should be one page. You must remove your name.
Questions
For information about HRLR’s application and staff responsibilities, general information about HRLR or the JLM, or specific information regarding the JLM, contact HRLR at jrnhum@gmail.com. General information about the Journal Application Process at Columbia Law School can be found here.