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“People in general are very afraid to talk about race matters. I feel like this
avoidance is enhanced in law school. I've heard our law school is diverse but
when I look around, the student majority is white with a few people of color
sprinkled in the lecture halls. Law school is still very much the white boys
club. Getting deep into discussions about race really scares people and
rarely [do] our law school classes create an atmosphere where people can be
very open about race matters. How often does critical race theory come up
in class? For me, never.
As lawyers, the more we avoid talking about race, the less we really get what
our profession is about. The reality is that people of color are
disproportionately negatively affected by the laws in our society.”
-2L, Student of Color, Maryland Law*
*drawn from student survey
FoundationsFoundations
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RoadmapRoadmap
To evaluate the dynamics of race & Maryland Law’s
journal staff membership, the presentation progresses as
follows:
1) A look at Maryland Law’s history with issues of diversity and the
enrollment of historically underrepresented minority groups.
2) A review of scholarly research on the issue of affirmative action,
journal membership, and racial preference in the law school arena.
3) An explanation and analysis of a Maryland Law journal staff
member survey about the relevant issues.
4) A review of efforts at diversity (or lack thereof) by other law
schools’ Law Review organizations.
5) Recommendations for implementation by Maryland Law Review.
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Introduction – The IssueIntroduction – The Issue
During the Spring 2009 semester, I began examining the racial composition of the membership of the various law school
journals at Maryland Law. As a member of the Maryland Law Review, the stark lack of diversity bothered me. As I looked a
bit closer at the other four law journals, there seemed to exist a common trend: white law students significantly over-
represented journal staffs, and student of color membership did not reflect the law school’s minority enrollment at the
school as a whole:
Maryland Law Review – 6 (11%) of 54 members are of non-caucasian heritage.* Of the six, there is only one black law student,
one Latino/Latina student, and four students of Asian descent.
Journal of Business and Technology – 11 (24%) of 45 members are of non-caucasian heritage. Only 2 of the 11 non-white students
are black, 1 is Latino/Latina, and 8 are Asian.
Journal of Health Care Law & Policy – 7 (17%) of 42 members are of non-caucasian heritage. 3 of the 7 non-white students are
black, 1 is Latina, and 3 are of Asian descent.
Journal of International Law – 3 (21%) of the 14 members are of non-caucasian heritage. 1 is black, and 2 are Latino.
Journal of Race, Religion, Gender, and Class – 8 (20%) of 39 members are of non-caucasian heritage. 4 of the non-white students
are black, and 4 are of Asian descent.
NOTE: These findings are not through self-identification, as the Admissions Office embargoes such information after admission
into the law school. While the results may be off slightly, the reported numbers represent a good faith distribution of the racial
composition of the Maryland Law journals.
The crux of this presentation focuses on the racial composition of Maryland’s law journals. Embedded issues within this
topic are vast, including affirmative action, student support, etc., but the journal-membership argument provides a limited
scope for analysis.
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*For the purposes of the presentation, I generally make the distinction between caucasian and non-caucasian heritage. This is an
unscientific proxy used throughout the data. The purpose is to distinguish perceptions between white and non-white students to determine
whether issues of racial diversity affect these groups differently. Additionally, because most of the membership of journals are white, most
survey responses reflect the opinions of the white cohort. Further disclaimers will be included as necessary.
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Maryland Law & Diversity - HistoricallyMaryland Law & Diversity - Historically
Maryland Law’s history does not necessarily reflect a stellar past in the realm of racial integration. While
the law school has engaged in recent attempts at increasing racial diversity in enrollment in the late 20th
century, past discrimination against racial minorities must still be considered:
The University of Maryland School of Law’s racially discriminatory refusal to admit black applicants led the way for
Charles Hamilton Houston and Thurgood Marshall to challenge the “separate but equal” doctrine. In 1935, NAACP
activists Houston and Marshall represented Donald Gaines Murray in Murray v. Pearson, 169 Md. 478 (1936), in which
the Law School was forced to concede to more inclusionary practices. Formerly, the Law School had denied the entrance
of Thurgood Marshall on account of his race.
As of 2001-2002, Maryland ranked the fifth worst integrated state measured by black students’ enrollment in majority
white undergraduate and graduate programs. See Bonnie Thornton Dill, Brown v. Board of Education Presentation:
Provost’s Conversation on Diversity, University of Maryland (April 2004), available at http://bit.ly/tLi7r (citing 2001-
2002 NCES Common Core of Data).
In October 1999, the State of Maryland was required to enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education’s
Office for Civil Rights to ensure that Maryland’s public education institutions of higher learning provided sufficient
access opportunities for the State’s minority populations, particularly for African Americans and Latinos. Maryland
provides a yearly report to the OCR to update on the progress the State has made to increase opportunity’s for the State’s
underrepresented minorities. See Maryland Higher Education Commission, OCR Agreement, available at
http://bit.ly/D9Gi7.
Maryland Law today generally enrolls 30% self-identified people of color in each law school class. See
http://www.law.umaryland.edu/prospective/community/diversity.html.
Although not including an analysis of Maryland Law, comparison information for other law schools’ practices may be
found here: http://www.law.com/special/pdf/BCGbook_2003_blue.pdf.
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Review of Current Research – Orfield & WhitlaReview of Current Research – Orfield & Whitla
Gary Orfield & Dean Whitla, Diversity and Legal Education: Student Experiences
in Leading Law Schools, in DIVERSITY CHALLENGED 143-74 (Harvard
Education Publishing Group, 2001)
This article provides the foundation for the survey conducted to gather the viewpoints of Maryland Law’s journal staff members.
Before getting to the meat of the subject-matter, Orfield and Whitla briefly lay out the history of affirmative action policies in the
United States as shaped by Supreme Court decisions. See id. at 143-149. They discuss the historical decisions of Brown and
Sweat and compare the legal issues to the decisions in Hopwood and Bakke. As the Court indicated in both cases, diversity has
been a central concept upholding any need for active integration or desegregation. Ultimately, the cases, and more recent
jurisprudence, rely on the foundation that diversity enhances the learning experience by allowing multiple perspectives to
evaluate and discuss educational subject matters. For any affirmative action or diversity-promoting program to be constitutional,
diversity itself must be an underlying benefit, and evidence is needed to show that diversity does in fact promote more enhanced
educational outcomes.
Gary Orfield, a prominent researcher in the sociological impacts of diversity programming, provides a qualitative review of survey
data collected from students at Harvard Law and University of Michigan School of Law. Id. at 154-55. The researchers hired
Gallop Poll to conduct the scientific research, and the analysis provided rather interesting conclusions:
Most law students, particularly white students, have little interaction in diverse communities before they begin college. Diverse
interactions tend to increase along the educational spectrum.
A strong majority of students surveyed indicated that diverse friendships and diverse interactions enriched their learning experience and
enhanced their understanding of legal concepts.
Those who disagreed with any need to increase diverse interactions with students of different races often believed that factors other than
race should be highlighted in any diversity discussion. Additionally, even including this small minority against race-preference affirmative
action, a strong majority of students, both white and non-white, believed that law schools did not do enough to encourage diverse
programming after initial admissions decisions.
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Review of Current Research - SanderReview of Current Research - Sander
Richard H. Sander, A Systemic Analysis of Affirmative Action in American Law
Schools, 57 Stan. L. Rev. 367 (2004).
Sander’s article likely serves as the most discussed and most renowned piece of analysis that reviews the effects of affirmative
action on the law school experience. Although in the article he describes himself a self-proclaimed liberal with a son who would
benefit from affirmative action, Sander finds that the aggregate effect of affirmative action policies in law schools after Grutter
and Gratz serves to undermine minority students’ successes in the legal profession. Scholars since have refuted his conclusions
on many fronts, and he has published several responses in defense of his major findings. He conducts an in-depth statistical
analysis of law students’ entrance scores (LSAT), entrance GPA, performance in law school, success in law school organizations,
bar passage rates, and long-term professional outcomes. He argues that under the premise of increasing diversity, law school
affirmative action policies essentially cause academically less qualified minority students to face harsh barriers to success in law
school where they likely could have achieved better results had they attended a less prestigious institution.
Generally, Sander concludes:
Law schools employ a variety of affirmative action policies to comply with Gratz and Grutter that all tend to result in similar outcomes.
Racial preference policies are not limited to elite institutions, and the trickle down effect of affirmative action burdens minorities at all law
schools, no matter how elite.
Numerical predictors, such as LSAT score and law school GPA, tend to have strong and unbiased influence on long-term professional
success in the legal market.
The black-white achievement gap in law school is immense, and as a result minority students complete law school significantly less often
than their white peers. Such evidence suggests that intra-law school policies after admission do not appropriately support students who
enroll if race preference contributed to their admission.
“Affirmative action thus artificially depresses, quite substantially, the rate at which blacks pass the bar.” Id. at 373.
Black law students who complete law school and pass the bar tend to be successful in the legal marketplace, and law school “eliteness” only
enhances minority students’ market success if they attend the most elite law schools.
Race-blind admissions would serve to increase the “annual number of new black lawyers.” Id. at 374.
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Review of Current Research - MoranReview of Current Research - Moran
Rachel F. Moran, Diversity and its Discontents: The End of Affirmative Action at
Boalt Hall, 88 Cal. L. Rev. 2241 (2000).
Moran examines the effect of Boalt Hall’s (University of California law school) required reduction/elimination of its race-based
affirmative action policy as a result of California voters’ referendum against race-based affirmative action in 1996. As the author
mentions, before the abolition of the policy, Boalt Hall was one of the most ethnically and racially diverse law schools in the
country. Id. at 2246. The author conducted in-depth interviews with Boalt Hall students, some of which were 1Ls and 2Ls when
the school’s affirmative action policies were in place and others were current 1Ls who entered without an admission policy that
included affirmative action principles.
Examining significant Supreme Court precedents that framed the boundary of the affirmative action debates, Moran provides an
in-depth analysis of affirmative action’s history and its presence in the Boalt Hall admission process. Moran premises her article
on Justice Powell’s statement on diversity in Bakke, that diversity may be a compelling interest as it enhances the learning
experience by providing a multitude of perspectives in the learning process.
Moran finds:
A significant number of first-years believed that the lack of diversity in their classes “hampered” meaningful discussion of cases in which
race or ethnicity were central concepts to the legal outcomes.
A minority of students’ study groups included students of diverse ethnic or racial backgrounds, particularly in the first-year classes.
Issues of lacking diversity on journals was a common concern among students, and many believed that journals with topics focused on
minority issues tended to draw disproportionately from the cohort of minority students.
Students’ perceptions about racially-targeted student groups were mixed.
While many students said they had friends in law school of diverse races, a clear majority believed that the student body segregated itself
along racial lines.
Ultimately, regardless of the affirmative action or racial preference system employed for admissions, most students failed to integrate
meaningfully in the school setting, and racial segregation continued to be a persistent barrier to fully realize the benefits of diversity-based
initiatives.
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Review of Current Research – Lempert et al.Review of Current Research – Lempert et al.
Richard O. Lempert, William Kidder, Timothy T. Clydesdale, & David L. Chambers,
Affirmative Action in American Law Schools: A Critical Response to Richard
Sander’s “A Reply to Critics,” Paper 60, John M. Olin Center for Law &
Economics Working Papers (2006), available at http://bit.ly/ddFQl.
After Sander published his initial article, many scholars criticized his findings. Sander produced A Reply to Critics to defend
some of his initial claims, and this article responds to Sander’s secondary report.
Generally, the authors attack the “weaknesses in the logic that underlies many of Sander’s assumptions and arguments and show
that his reply does not salvage the case against affirmative action that he claimed to have made in his Stanford article.” Id. at 2.
The authors:
Generally question the statistical methods and conclusions that Sander announced in his initial and follow-up pieces on affirmative action.
Attempt to show that Sander’s belief in a 90% achievement gap between black and white law students caused by affirmative action is
mathematically and argumentatively implausible. They believe that placing so much impact on affirmative action as the causal factor fails
to meet intense scrutiny, and they claim that Sander’s mathematical calculations are not able to be reproduced.
The authors suggest that the law school atmosphere is the driving factor for long-term minority performance, and the affirmative action
policies themselves are not the driving predictors of academic troubles.
Take issue with Sander’s refusal to include analysis of other industries in which affirmative action has been abolished and the resultant
decline in diverse outcomes, not an increase in the success of minority completers.
Hold that the connection between increased bar passage standards and the relationship with affirmative action policies are factors that are
correlated rather than caused by one another.
Argue that affirmative action is the incorrect place in which to emphasize issues embedded in black-white achievement gaps in law school
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A LOOK AT THE STUDENT SURVEY
Three separate surveys were administered: (1) to the Maryland Law Review, (2) to the staff members of Maryland’s other legal journals,
and (3) to the members of minority-associated student groups. The only critical changes were those in the first two “basics” questions. The
substantive responses were generated from the same prompts. Survey was emailed to participants, and 3 days passed before any analyzing
of the results occurred. While I wish I were able to gather more responses, the general trends tell an interesting story.
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GeneralGeneral
OverviewOverview
o Overall 51 students took
the survey. 38 were
white, and 13 were non-
white.
o Maryland Law Review
members were the
majority of survey-takers,
but many of the following
slides will focus on all
journal members
collectively.
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TABLE 17 – Survey Totals
Racial Identity Total
Caucasian Heritage 38
Non-Caucasian Heritage 13
Grand Total 51
TABLE 37 – Journal and Race Totals
Racial Identity Basics 2 Total
Caucasian Heritage Journal of Health Care Law and Policy 7
Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class 4
Maryland Journal of International Law 4
Maryland Law Review 23
Caucasian Heritage Total 38
Non-Caucasian Heritage Journal of Health Care Law and Policy 3
Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class 8
Maryland Journal of International Law 1
Maryland Law Review 1
Non-Caucasian Heritage Total 13
Grand Total 51
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Diversity inDiversity in
DevelopmentDevelopment
o The patterns in diverse
development match those
found in the scholarly surveys
at Harvard and Michigan Law.
o The majority of white students
marked 1, 2, or 3 (71% & 58%)
for diversity before and during
high school, meaning they had
rather non-diverse early
developmental experiences.
However, the majority marked
4 or 5 for diversity in college
and law school (50% & 58%).
As these students entered
institutions of higher learning,
their interactions with diverse
populations increased.
o Noticeably, minority students
interacted with diverse
individuals earlier and more
often than their white peers.
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TABLE 4 – Diversity in Early Development by Race
Racial Identity 1 2 3 4 5
Grand
Total
Caucasian Heritage 9 9 9 3 8 38
Non-Caucasian Heritage 3 10 13
Grand Total 9 9 12 3 18 51
TABLE 5 – Diversity in High School by Race
Racial Identity 1 2 3 4 5
Grand
Total
Caucasian Heritage 6 9 7 8 8 38
Non-Caucasian Heritage 1 1 11 13
Grand Total 6 9 8 9 19 51
TABLE 6 – Diversity in College by Race
Racial Identity 1 2 3 4 5
Grand
Total
Caucasian Heritage 1 8 10 7 12 38
Non-Caucasian Heritage 2 11 13
Grand Total 1 8 12 7 23 51
TABLE 7 – Diversity in Law School by Race
Racial Identity 2 3 4 5 Grand Total
Caucasian Heritage 5 11 11 11 38
Non-Caucasian Heritage 3 2 8 13
Grand Total 5 14 13 19 51
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DiversityDiversity
Affecting LawAffecting Law
SchoolSchool
o Generally, of those surveyed,
white students more often
study in racially homogeneous
groups while non-white
students are more likely to
study in diverse groups or
study alone.
o A clear majority of students
believe that diversity
positively influences their law
school experiences and in
some way affects their
informal school relationships
with one another.
o Except for 7 white students, all
students believed that
diversity enhanced their
learning, with a strong
majority believing that racial
diversity was “Clearly
Positive.”
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TABLE 8 – Diversity in Law School Studying by Race
Racial Identity 1 2 3 4 5 6
Grand
Total
Caucasian Heritage 10 5 4 5 6 8 38
Non-Caucasian Heritage 1 4 4 4 13
Grand Total 10 6 8 5 10 12 51
TABLE 9 – Diversity Affecting Law School Experience
Racial Identity
1: Enhances
Experience
2: Moderately
Enhances
3: No
Impact
4: Moderately
Detracts
Grand
Total
Caucasian Heritage 11 14 11 2 38
Non-Caucasian
Heritage 3 7 3 13
Grand Total 14 21 14 2 51
TABLE 10 – Diversity Affecting Informal Relationships
Racial Identity 1: Enhances Experience 2: Moderately Enhances
3: No
Impact
Grand
Total
Caucasian Heritage 11 10 17 38
Non-Caucasian Heritage 3 4 6 13
Grand Total 14 14 23 51
TABLE 11 – Diversity Affecting Law School Learning Experience
Racial Identity
1: Clearly
Positive
2: Moderately
Positive
3: No
Impact
Grand
Total
Caucasian Heritage 24 7 7 38
Non-Caucasian Heritage 11 2 13
Grand Total 35 9 7 51
*Here, 1 = “almost never”; 5 = “all the time”; and 6 = “study alone”
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DiversityDiversity
Affecting LegalAffecting Legal
IssuesIssues
o Across racial lines, a strong
majority of students believed
that taking classes with
students of different races
enhanced their understanding
of the criminal justice system
(75% marking 1, 2, 3, or 4) and
social & economic institutions
(86%, same). White students,
though, were more likely than
non-white students to mark
that diverse interactions
enhanced their understanding
either “A Great Deal,”
“Substantially,” or
“Significantly.”
o Interestingly, a minority of
students thought that
diversity would affect their
own understanding of legal
professionalism.
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TABLE 12 – Diversity Affecting Beliefs about Criminal Justice System
Racial Identity
1: A Great
Deal
2:
Substantially
3:
Significantly
4: A
Little
5: Not at
All
Grand
Total
Caucasian Heritage 8 3 5 13 9 38
Non-Caucasian Heritage 2 2 5 4 13
Grand Total 10 5 5 18 13 51
TABLE 13 - Racial Diversity & Perception of Social and Economic Institutions
Racial Identity
1: A Great
Deal
2:
Substantially
3:
Significantly
4: A
Little
5: Not at
All
Grand
Total
Caucasian Heritage 8 7 2 15 6 38
Non-Caucasian Heritage 4 2 2 4 1 13
Grand Total 12 9 4 19 7 51
TABLE 14 - Racial Diversity & Professionalism
Racial Identity
1: A Great
Deal
2:
Substantially
3:
Significantly
4: A
Little
5: Not at
All
Grand
Total
Caucasian Heritage 4 3 6 15 10 38
Non-Caucasian Heritage 1 3 3 4 2 13
Grand Total 5 6 9 19 12 51
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School Admission &School Admission &
JournalJournal
MembershipMembership
o For the most sensitive
questions on the survey, white
students’ responses split more
often than for any other
diversity-related question.
o A strong majority (80%) of
students believe that the law
school’s admissions policy of
race-preference affirmative
action should stay the same or
be strengthened, and only
20% (20% of whites and 15%
of non-whites) thought any
race-preference policy should
be reduced or diminished.
o On the whole, a sizeable
number (43%) of journal staff
members thought that
diversity would enhance their
journal experience while the
majority thought it would
have no impact (51%).
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TABLE 15 - Racial Diversity & Law School Admissions
Racial Identity
Deemphasize or
Discontinue
Policy
Maintain
Policy
Strengthen
Policy
Grand
Total
Caucasian Heritage 8 21 9 38
Non-Caucasian Heritage 2 10 1 13
Grand Total 10 31 10 51
TABLE 16 - Racial Diversity & Journal Staff
Racial
Identity
1: Positively
Enhance
Significantly
2: Positively
Enhance
Slightly
3: No
Impact
4:
Detract
Slightly
5: Detract
Significantly
Grand
Total
Caucasian
Heritage
7 10 18 1 2 38
Non-
Caucasian
Heritage
1 4 8 13
Grand Total 8 14 26 1 2 51
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Survey Notes & ConclusionsSurvey Notes & Conclusions
The survey data implications were immense, and given more time, richer
analysis would be possible.
Overall, white Maryland Law journal staff members were most likely to
grow up with few racially diverse interactions, and their diverse
interactions increased as they attended college and law school. Non-white
students, though, generally had diverse relationships throughout their
lives. This trend reflects scholarly research cited previously.
Most students, both white and non-white, thought that racial diversity in
some way enhanced their learning experience, either in the classroom,
through their informal relationships, or as a member of a journal.
The most significantly split opinions often centered on politically charged
questions, namely questions directly asking about affirmative action
policies. The messaging and framing of any potential race-based
alteration to the journal selection process must require this sensitivity.
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A LOOK AT OTHER LAW REVIEWS’ MEMBERSHIP
SELECTION POLICIES
Rank School Policy (if available)
**
Maryland Law
Review
(no diversity
policy)
The Maryland Law Review selects approximately twenty-five to thirty new staff members each year through the
petitioning process. The first 75% of positions will be filled by the petitions with the highest numerical scores as
evaluated by the Law Review. The remaining 25% of positions are determined by a combination of writing and
grades. No one will be invited to join the Maryland Law Review without writing an acceptable petition.
1
Harvard Law
Review
Fourteen editors (two from each 1L section) are selected based on a combination of their first-year grades and their
competition scores. Twenty editors are selected based solely on their competition scores. The remaining editors are
selected on a discretionary basis. Some of these discretionary slots may be used to implement the Review's
affirmative action policy.
2 Yale Law Review Unavailable.
3
Columbia Law
Review
Of the approximately 42 students invited to join the Review as editors, 10 are selected solely on the basis of their
Writing Competition Scores. Next, 25 students are selected on the basis of a combination of their Competition Scores
and 1L grades. Finally, 7 students are selected based on a combination of their Competition Scores, 1L grades, and
a personal statement.
4 Stanford
The Stanford Law Review is committed to diversity in its membership. This year we have demonstrated our
commitment in a number of ways, including:
•Institutionalizing efforts to recruit diverse candidates by adding a focus on diversity to the responsibilities of the
Senior Development Editor in charge of membership
•Conducting a critical review of the candidate exercise with experienced professors in order to minimize the
disparate impact of the exercise upon students of color
•Holding informational sessions for purposes of recruiting students of color
•Reaching out to students (and especially women) from typically underrepresented career interests (corporate,
business, public interest, and others)
5 NYU Law Review
All applicants to the Law Review must submit a personal statement of no more than 500 words. The information
contained in these personal statements allows the Law Review to realize its commitment to staff diversity. The
Law Review evaluates personal statements in light of various factors, including (but not limited to) race,
ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, socio-economic background, ideological viewpoint,
disability, and age. With regard to these and other aspects of diversity, applicants should clearly identify and discuss
any personal characteristics, background, unique experiences, or qualifications that the applicant would like to bring
to the attention of the Selection Committee.
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A LOOK AT LOWER-RANKED LAW REVIEWS’ MEMBERSHIP
SELECTION POLICIES
Rank School Policy (if available)
25
Illinois Law Review
(no diversity policy)
Before the beginning of each fall semester, the Editor-in-Chief invites the top-ranking applicants to become
members of the Law Review. The Board will invite a minimum of 30 participants for membership. The top 5
ranking applicants (based on class rank) from each first-year section who have also made a good faith effort in the
writing competition will receive invitations. “Good faith effort” is defined as a paper that falls within the top 75%
of the papers submitted. The remaining needs of the membership will be filled by selecting applicants with the
highest scores on the writing competition who have at least two remaining semesters and are in good academic
standing.
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Indiana Law Review
(no diversity policy)
Students who are not within the top 10% of their class but are within the top 40% of their class, and who
participate in the writing competition, may also be invited to join. Participation in the writing competition is not
required for those students who are in the top 10% of their class after completion of the spring semester, but
because we cannot determine who is in the top 10% until after spring semester grades are received from the
Recorder in July, students are strongly encouraged to participate in the writing competition to protect themselves
should they fall from the top 10%. Those who do not participate in the writing competition and who are not in the
top 10% will not be considered for Law Review membership.
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Connecticut Law
Review
(no diversity policy)
No Policy. Grades and writing competition.
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University of
Cincinnati Law Review
(no diversity policy)
The University of Cincinnati Law Review is a quarterly publication produced by second and third-year law
students. The Review, along with its counterparts at all other accredited law schools, makes a significant
contribution to scholarly legal literature. In addition, the Review represents the College of Law to the outside
community. Each year, approximately 30 students are invited to join the Law Review as Associate Members. All
Associate Members are chosen on the basis of first year grade point average combined with a writing competition
score. The competition begins immediately after completion of first year studies.
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Hofstra Law Review
(no diversity policy)
Our membership consists of the finest students from each class. First-year students in the full-time program who
are in the top five percent of their section, based on their first-year cumulative grade point average, receive an
invitation to join. The five winners of our annual writing competition are automatically invited to join as well. The
remainder of our membership is selected based upon a combination of grade point average and writing
competition score. Ultimately, the selection process is governed by the Hofstra Law Review Association Amended
and Restated Bylaws.
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Summary RecommendationsSummary Recommendations
1) The Maryland Law Review should consider revising its selection criteria
to better reflect members’ own perspectives and to model best-practices
from higher ranked Law Reviews.
The almost exclusively white MLR staff dampens the opportunity for diverse interactions in
the daily operations of the journal.
Maryland Law Review staff members generally experienced more racially diverse
interactions as they progressed through their academic careers. A strong majority of Law
Review members noted that the increased diversity enhanced their learning experiences,
benefited their learning processes, and increased their awareness about relevant legal issues.
Every journal ranked in the top 15, except for the University of Chicago Law Review,
includes an outreach program, a personal statement, or a quota to achieve diverse
perspectives amongst its staff. Replicating such best practices would not be perfunctory,
such actions likely would be for the betterment of the journal itself and for its staff members.
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Summary RecommendationsSummary Recommendations
2) The Maryland Law Review and the Writing Center should collaborate,
endorse, and sponsor recruitment and skills-support sessions targeted at
non-white populations at the law school before petitioning.
Without having to alter the selection process, the MLR could join with the Writing Center to
advertise targeted support sessions to students of color to increase the likelihood that these
students succeed in the “double-blind” selection process, which currently maintains a staff
almost exclusively composed of white law students.
As indicated in the student survey, most study groups at Maryland Law are racially
homogeneous. The informal skills that students pass to one another may be reaching white
and non-white students differently. A MLR skills-session open to all but targeted at students
of color, which because of the nature of the racial composition of the MLR staff, would help to
more efficiently and effectively distribute the informal knowledge that allows students to earn
a spot on Law Review.
The Writing Center has a history of engaging in such practices. In 2007, the student-director
of the Writing Center, as relayed to this author by Professor Hankin, set up and held such a
session. The initiative was exclusively on the efforts of the individual law student who sought
to address a present problem. Additionally, Dean LaMaster, when then-Editor in Chief of the
MLR, also held a similar skills session, sponsored by the MLR and targeted at students of
color to increase the diversity of the MLR staff.
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3) The Office of Student Affairs should engage in a meaningful and more
expansive survey of students regarding race & the law school experience.
Afterwards, the Office of Student Affairs should widely advertise and
host diverse dialogue sessions amongst 1L and upper-class students to
foster discussion about the survey results and the “unspoken-of” race
issues that linger in the minds of law students.
The conducted survey only touched the surface of the many issues of race and the law school
experience at Maryland Law. Given more time and resources, a survey could help to flush out
the opinions of diverse students and serve as a starting-point for discussion.
Scholarly research indicates that though admissions may break the initial, historical racial
segregation trends of law school enrollment, segregation of ideas among different racial
groups persists and post-enrollment interaction between racial groups of law students is
lacking.
Using the survey results as the foundation for dialogue prevents minority students from
having the traditional burden and informal obligation of “representing minority views” or
“speaking for their race” with white colleagues. Eliminating this roadblock would assist in
messaging the discussions as purposeful, non-hostile, and educational.
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“People in general are very afraid to talk about race matters. I feel like this
avoidance is enhanced in law school. I've heard our law school is diverse but
when I look around, the student majority is white with a few people of color
sprinkled in the lecture halls. Law school is still very much the white boys
club. Getting deep into discussions about race really scares people and
rarely [do] our law school classes create an atmosphere where people can be
very open about race matters. How often does critical race theory come up
in class? For me, never.
As lawyers, the more we avoid talking about race, the less we really get what
our profession is about. The reality is that people of color are
disproportionately negatively affected by the laws in our society.”
-2L, Student of Color, Maryland Law*
*drawn from student survey
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