Among the ways that Columbia students contribute to national and international discourse on a variety of current legal issues is by becoming active participants in journals published by the Law School. Columbia Law School has several student-edited law journals that focus primarily on public interest law issues. Students often write articles about legal problems that arose during their human rights internships, pro bono projects, or classroom discussions. They also develop relationships with Columbia professors and other leading scholars by editing their submissions. Journals that focus on public interest topics include:
Editors of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review select articles for an upcoming edition. Photo credit: Peter Stemmler
The Columbia Human Rights Law Review also publishes A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual (JLM), a 1,000-page manual that provides inmates with the information they need to appeal their cases, assert their rights in the face of mistreatment in prison, or simply understand their lawyers' actions. The manual, now in its sixth edition, is in every prison library in New York State and is available by request to individuals throughout the country.
Symposium issues of the law journals extend the lives and broaden the distribution of papers presented by leading scholars and practitioners at Columbia Law School conferences, which are sponsored by various Centers, faculty members, and student groups. Recent issues have covered symposia entitled "Why a Feminist Law Journal?" published in the Journal of Gender and Law, "Sentencing: What Is at Stake for the States?" published in the Columbia Law Review, "Affirmative Action," published in the Columbia Human Rights Law Review, and "Trade, Sustainability, and Global Governance," published in the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law.
Lecture Series Students may attend lecture series and brown-bag lunches presented nearly every day by the various Centers, student organizations, and faculty members. In a typical week, students might have the opportunity to attend a lecture on the role of State Attorneys General on in national environmental policy, the newly emerging jurisprudence on national security and civil liberties, a discussion of asylum for international victims of gender-based violence, a walking tour and discussion of issues facing the Harlem community, a look at important Supreme Court cases, and a panel on public interest careers.
