The Loyola University College of Law Honor Board is an elected body of thirteen students who serve in an advisory capacity to the Dean of the College of Law. The Board is charged with investigating alleged Honor Code violations, holding hearings on alleged violations when appropriate, and recommending sanctions to the Dean of the College of Law when it finds that a violation has been committed. The operations and proceedings of the Honor Board are governed by the provisions of the Loyola University College of Law Honor Code.
The Honor Code is a body of rules and standards which governs students' conduct with respect to all academic matters. It defines prohibited conduct, Honor Board proceedings, and sanctions available in the event of an Honor Code violation.
The Loyola Law Review is a scholarly periodical published three times per year by the editors and members of the Law Review. The Editorial Board extends candidacy for the review based on scholastic achievement at the end of the first year (the top 10 percent of the full-time students and the top 10 percent of the part-time students are invited to candidacy), and based on an annual write-on competition (the top 20 percent of the full-time students and the top 20 percent of the part-time students are invited to participate). Students are not eligible for candidacy unless they have completely fulfilled the course requirements of the first year of the full- or part-time curriculum in which they originally enrolled. The candidates participate in a program of legal research, writing, and editing leading to the publication of the Law Review.
The Loyola Maritime Law Journal is a publication which is published semiannually in a two volume set; once in the Winter and once in the Summer. The journal provides an avenue for research and writing by students, faculty, and practitioners in the dynamic and exciting field of maritime law. The journal also operates a maritime law blog, The Loyola Current. Editorial board members are selected annually from the members of the journal by its current editorial board.
Students who have completed all requirements of the first year of the full or part-time curriculum and who are in the top third of their respective programs are invited to apply for candidacy for journal membership. Membership can also be extended through a write on competition put on by the current editorial board.
Loyola Journal of Public Interest Law
The Loyola Journal of Public Interest Law (JPIL) is a scholarly journal that is published twice a year by its candidates, members, and editors. JPIL publishes articles and student comments that provide the legal and academic community with a forum for the development of public interest scholarship on topics addressing the environment, public international law, criminal justice, health care, freedom of speech, civil rights, economic injustice, and educational rights and opportunities.
Invitations for candidacy are extended by the Editor-in-Chief to students who comprise the top 25% of the freshman class following the second semester of their first year.
Students may also become candidates by participating in a casenote “write-on” competition. Students who are in the top 45% of their class following their second semester of study are invited to participate.
To become a full member of JPIL, candidates must assist the Journal with editing articles to be published and must write a student comment.
Moot Court, a comprehensive program in which students are given an opportunity to participate in intramural and intercollegiate appellate moot court competitions, offers training in the art of persuasive oral advocacy and the skills of effective brief writing. A moot court board, composed of four senior law students, is responsible for the organization, administration, and selection of members of the moot court staff and moot court teams, who compete with other law schools nationwide.
Selection for staff positions is made on a competitive basis, with each student graded individually before a bench of judges, including local practitioners and the student's professor in the Lawyering II course. Selections are based on the student's performance before the bench of judges and his or her written appellate brief. Through an interview process, staff members are selected for participation on teams or the Moot Court Board.
Loyola moot court teams have a national reputation for excellence and regularly win or place in regional and national competitions.
The Danny and Mary Becnel Trial Advocacy Program offers training in litigation skills that serve any area of practice through intramural and intercollegiate trial advocacy competitions. Students develop skills and strategies used in a trial practice and learn how to conduct themselves in a courtroom setting. A trial advocacy board, composed of four senior law students, is responsible for the organization, administration, and selection of members of the trial advocacy staff and teams, who compete with other law schools nationwide.
Selection for staff positions is made on a competitive basis, with each student graded as a member of a trial advocacy team before the student’s professor in the Trial Advocacy course. Selections are based on the student’s performance during the trial conducted at the end of the course. Based on those scores and an interview process, staff members are selected for participation on teams or the Trial Advocacy Board.
Students who participate in the trial advocacy program learn to analyze facts and think on their feet while displaying a dynamic courtroom presentation.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program offers training in arbitration, mediation, and negotiation through participation in intercollegiate negotiation and mediation competitions as well as involvement in policymaking surrounding issues of ADR. An ADR board, composed of four senior law students, is responsible for the organization, administration, and selection of members of teams, who compete with other law schools nationwide.
Students can join the program through voluntary membership in the ADR Society or through participation in negotiation teams sponsored by the Sports and Entertainment Law Society. Students are eligible to participate on teams after taking the Mediation and Arbitration course.
ADR Society members develop skills to facilitate settlement negotiations and advise clients in non-judicial settings.