Is Law Review worth it?

[Not including the pain of the write on competition, do the benefits of law review outweigh the sacrifices?]

Not including the pain of the write on competition, do the benefits of law review outweigh the sacrifices?

Almost always

 23 (60.5%)

For 75% of students that make it.

 4 (10.5%)

For 50%. . .

 4 (10.5%)

For less than 50%. . .

 0 (0%)

Almost never.

 2 (5.3%)

I just want to see the results.

 5 (13.2%)

Total Members Voted: 38

[jack24]

Now that I've successfully endured the pain of a mid-semester Law Review write on competition, I'm pondering about whether I even want to get a spot.  I know it looks good on the resume, but couldn't a student just spend all that time they use for Law Review to network and get a job?   

[thorc954]

Certain jobs are closed off to you without Law Review.  Its pretty difficult to network your way into a circuit court clerkship.

[Ninja1]

I think it's important when it comes down to top, highly sought after jobs like clerkships, big law, and academia, but I doubt it matters much after that.

[somniferum]

Its the best credential you can get in lawschool.  You'd be very foolish not to take it, especially the way legal hiring is right now.

[Talk Is Cheap]

So that I have something to look forward to at the end of semester, just how miserable is the write-on?

Has 1L even experienced anything to properly gauge it against? "How many times" harder than spring legal writing briefs would one say it is? Is that even an appropriate measure?

[thorc954]

When I did the competition, (I didnt make it), I didnt think it was difficult.  It is very high pressure, but like everything else in law school, the work itself isnt bad.  We had a weekend to read 300 pages and write a 6 page paper (3 page case summary, 3 page analysis) and blue book extremely difficult cites.  The blue booking was the only difficult portion.

If you have the option, do law review.  It may suck, but with as many unemployed lawyers as there are right now, you will be fighting for any job regardless of the prestige.  I go to a top 20 law school, and I have so many friends without jobs still and we are set to graduate in 70 days.

[jack24]

When I did the competition, (I didnt make it), I didnt think it was difficult.  It is very high pressure, but like everything else in law school, the work itself isnt bad.  We had a weekend to read 300 pages and write a 6 page paper (3 page case summary, 3 page analysis) and blue book extremely difficult cites.  The blue booking was the only difficult portion.

If you have the option, do law review.  It may suck, but with as many unemployed lawyers as there are right now, you will be fighting for any job regardless of the prestige.  I go to a top 20 law school, and I have so many friends without jobs still and we are set to graduate in 70 days.

This guy may think the competition was easy, but I doubt it's easy for everyone. 
The biggest problem I had with the competition was that it was due a couple days after a big legal writing assignment and right in the middle of the semester.  We had to read 300 pages and write a 10 page note on a very complex topic.  Also, I've never written anything quite like a Law Review note, and we weren't allowed to ask any questions or use any other sources, so it was a little bit hard to gauge the quality of my paper.  It would not have been as difficult if it were due at the beginning of the summer.