What Is the American University Law Review Editorial Board and What Recognition Has It Received?

The American University Law Review (AULR) is a student-run law journal at American University Washington College of Law, and its editorial board is made up of law students who manage the publication's content, events, and operations. The board's work has drawn national recognition, including a Law360 Distinguished Legal Writing Award presented to a Volume 74 Editorial Board member. If you want to know who runs the journal, what they publish, or how the board has been recognized, the details below come from the journal's own site.

What the editorial board is

AULR is organized by volume. Each volume has its own editorial board, and board members are law students rather than faculty or outside professionals. The board is responsible for:

• Selecting and editing the articles, comments, and forum pieces that appear in each issue
• Organizing the journal's symposia and panels
• Overseeing the production of each volume and issue

The site identifies individual board members by name and role in specific contexts. For example, Mallory Hogan is listed as Senior Federal Circuit Editor and organized the Annual Federal Circuit Symposium. Elliaina Sanders is identified as a member of the Volume 74 Editorial Board. These references show that the board is structured around defined editorial roles tied to specific volumes and functions.

Recognition the board has received

The most concrete recognition documented on the site is the Law360 Distinguished Legal Writing Award, given to Elliaina Sanders, a Volume 74 Editorial Board member. The award comes from the Burton Awards, described as a national nonprofit program co-sponsored by the American Bar Association.

The journal also notes that it has been "[r]ecognized among the Nation's Top Law Journals," under a heading titled "Rising in the Ranks." That framing positions the publication's standing as a point of institutional pride, though the site does not list specific ranking criteria or numbers.

What the board publishes

The board oversees several content types, each with a distinct label:

Articles and comments appear in numbered volumes and issues, while Forum pieces are published under a separate volume designation. Topics range across civil litigation, competition law, legal ethics and AI, environmental regulation, and family law, among others.

Events the board organizes

The editorial board hosts several recurring events that bring together judges, scholars, practitioners, and students:

• Annual Federal Circuit Symposium — focused on legal issues within the Federal Circuit's jurisdiction, organized by the Senior Federal Circuit Editor
• Annual Symposium — a broader event featuring scholars, practitioners, students, and legal community members
• DEI in the Law Panel — a discussion on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession, open to the AUWCL community

These events are organized by board members and are part of the journal's public-facing activity beyond print publication.

How to find current board members and roles

The site references board members by name in news items and event descriptions, but the excerpt available here does not include a complete masthead or full roster. To identify the current editorial board for a given volume, check the journal's site directly for the masthead or editorial board page associated with the most recent volume. Because board membership changes with each volume, the names and roles you find will correspond to the volume year rather than being permanent.