Law reviews—student-run journals that operate out of law schools—are odd institutions that have come in for a good deal of criticism. (I added to that with this 2015 post.)
But one potentially worthwhile feature of law reviews is that they provide students with the opportunity to write a “note” and have it selected to be published. But it can be challenging to come up with a topic that’s interesting yet hasn’t already been thoroughly picked over.
So if you’re trying out for law review and you expect to do transactional work after law school, take heed! I have a topic for you: to what extent can contracts constrain judicial discretion?
One context where that arises is when a contract says that a judicial principle of interpretation doesn’t apply. For more on that, see this post from earlier this year.
Another context is when a contract has a party, or all parties, acknowledge that a given standard has been met or a given situation does or doesn’t apply. One example of that is provisions stating that certain text is conspicuous for purposes of the Uniform Commercial Code; for more on that, see this 2012 post. Another example is provisions stating that no implied license is being granted under a contract; for more on that, see this post from earlier this year.
I’m interested in this topic. Heck, I’d write an article myself, if I had the time. So I’d be willing to act as a mentor for a student who chooses to write a note about this.
If this is of interest, get in touch.
