NYU Law Students Demand Monetary Compensation For Journal Work
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Although it may seem evident that doing work equates to getting paid, especially when the work is valuable to the institution, those familiar with law schools know this is different. Law students often compete with each other for the opportunity to do what is essentially grunt work for law journals without receiving any compensation other than a valuable resume entry. While some law schools, like the University of Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt University, offer credit hours for this work, that is typically the most a student can expect in return.
However, at NYU Law, students are hoping to change this situation. According to Washington Square News, a petition signed by 250 students has been submitted to the administration, requesting monetary compensation for their work.
“We love our work, but prestige is not adequate compensation for the value we provide,” the letter reads. “Our journals have been cited in courts throughout the country, up to the Supreme Court. NYU reaps the benefits of robust journal publication in admissions and institutional prestige.”
Currently, at NYU, 3Ls (and only 3Ls) are eligible to receive credit hours for their work, but hourly wages are unheard of for journal work — at NYU or any other law school. But as 2L and journal editor Sean Connolly said, that’s not good enough anymore.
“There’s this expectation, not just at NYU, that you’re coming to this law school and doing a bunch of work just essentially for prestige and for grounding your future career,” Connolly said. “That’s kind of the logic we’re trying to change, this idea that all the work you’re doing in law school is stressful, uncompensated, and you should just like go to law school, get a bunch of debt, do a bunch of work, and then ‘it’s fine because you’ll get a job later.’”
Another law student, Devin McCowan, noted that this move would be beneficial for low-income students:
“By having the ability to choose compensation, that could allow me to feel much less stressed about going out to eat with friends on the weekends or being able to afford basic living expenses and things,” McCowan said. “It can mean a lot for me and make me feel more comfortable being at university like this, especially when I know a lot of my richer colleagues and students don’t have to necessarily worry in the same way about their living expenses.”
When many law schools are discussing the importance of diversity in legal academia, the petition submitted by NYU Law students for compensation is a tangible step that could significantly impact those from underprivileged backgrounds. While the university spokesperson indicated that NYU plans to discuss the petition with the students, no further details were provided.
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