The student-run Virginia Law Weekly at the University of Virginia School of Law has won the American Bar Association Student Division’s 2018 Law School Newspaper Award for the second straight year. The award was presented Aug. 4 at the ABA annual meeting in Chicago.
In bestowing the award, the ABA noted the Law Weekly’s coverage of news events, including the “Unite the Right” rallies of August 2017; profiles on Law School speakers Justice Stephen Breyer and Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky; and a conversation with 1977 UVA Law alumnus Will Shortz, puzzle master at The New York Times.
Each year, the ABA Law Student Division recognizes the achievements of individual law students, law school organizations and law schools on a national level through the division’s annual awards program.
Jansen VanderMeulen ’19
The Law Weekly’s incoming editorial board, headed by Editor-in-Chief Jansen VanderMeulen ’19, said in a joint statement that they are honored by the award. The statement noted that the newspaper has a tradition of winning the recognition that dates back to the 1950s. The newspaper was founded in 1948.
“This year was especially important to us as we strove to combine our usual coverage of life at the Law School with reporting on the neo-Nazi and white supremacist rallies that rocked Charlottesville right as our school year began,” the board said. “While our approach was not without controversy, we are proud of the way in which our paper covered the conversations and disputes between denizens of the Law School. As we mark our 70th anniversary this year, the Law Weekly hopes to continue to provide Law School students, faculty, staff and alumni with memorable commentary on life at UVA Law.”
The weekly recruits new staff at the start of each year. More than 50 different writers contribute annually.
Founded in 1819, the University of Virginia School of Law is the second-oldest continuously operating law school in the nation. Consistently ranked among the top law schools, Virginia is a world-renowned training ground for distinguished lawyers and public servants, instilling in them a commitment to leadership, integrity and community service.
