WRITING COMPETITION ACCOMMODATIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES
The Law Review is firmly committed to providing accommodations for students with disabilities and
handles requests on a case-by-case basis. The Law Review is an independent entity and thus has its
own accommodations system separate from Harvard Law School’s Dean of Students Office. Details
on our accommodations process for the Writing Competition can be found below.
If you have any questions, please reach out to us directly for further information, at
accommodations@harvardlawreview.org.
I. Overview
How can I request accommodations for disabilities? Please fill out the Law Review’s
Accommodation Request Form. When submitting your request, you will use our Level-4 secure
Qualtrics form for all confidential materials. If you have questions or need help submitting, please
reach out to Jennifer Heath at
accommodations@harvardlawreview.org or 617-495-7889.
Does HLR provide accommodations for students who serve as editors of the Law Review? Yes.
HLR provides accommodations to enable students accepted as editors to complete their day- to-day
HLR work and contribute fully as members of the Law Review’s community.
What is HLR’s process for determining accommodations? Students who would like an
accommodation should submit the accommodation request form as described above between Monday,
March 11 and Friday, April 12. HLR relies on testing accommodations expert Dr. Loring
Brinckerhoff to review each student’s submission and provide recommendations for accommodations
that are tailored to HLR’s Competition. Jennifer Heath, a permanent staff member who is not an HLS
student, manages all requests, inquiries, and logistics related to accommodations for the Competition.
When will I hear back if the accommodations I requested are approved? You will hear from us
within three weeks of submitting all the required materials. In some cases, we may invite you to meet
with our consultant to discuss your accommodations options, although such a meeting would never be
mandatory and is intended only to help us better understand a student’s needs. We know that the
process of applying for accommodations and the uncertainty while waiting to hear back can be
stressful. As a result, we’ll endeavor to get you a decision as soon as we can. We also encourage
students to submit the completed accommodations request form as soon as possible to ensure a timely
response.
II. Accommodations and the Competition
Does applying for an accommodation commit me to completing the Competition? No. You can
apply for an accommodation and subsequently choose not to take the Competition or choose not to
use any approved accommodations.
If I live on campus and receive extra time, will I be able to stay in my campus housing? If you
requested an HLS Housing extension in the HLR Writing Competition form, you will have until 5pm
on Sunday, May 19th to check-out. However, if your academic accommodation provides a modified
exam schedule that impacts the end date of the Competition, you should contact Accessibility Services
Resources. They will provide HLS Housing with a new check-out date based on your academic
accommodation.
Will my accommodations-related information be kept confidential? Will my accommodation
impact how my Competition entry is evaluated? HLR strives to keep information regarding
disabilities and accommodations as confidential as possible. Nothing about your accommodations
application or your receipt of accommodations will be part of the Competition entry that is considered
in the selection process. All Competition grading is doubly anonymized. Accommodations
recommendations to HLR are made by our consultant, Dr. Loring Brinckerhoff.
As part of the holistic review statement, you will have an opportunity to identify any aspects of your
identity you would like the Law Review to consider as part of its selection process. These disclosures
are at your discretion and separate from any information you provide as part of the process of
applying for accommodations. The Holistic Review statement is also considered separately from the
grading process, so any information you provide regarding your identity will not impact Competition
grading.
What happens if something goes wrong? If something goes wrong before or during the
at 617-495-7889. Jennifer Heath, a non-student HLR staff member who manages the logistics related
to our accommodations process, will work with you to resolve issues quickly and provide extended
time or resources as appropriate.
Extended time or resources for major emergencies during the Competition will be assessed on a case-
by-case basis, at the discretion of HLR and in consultation with our accommodations consultant. Our
internal guidelines for decisions about extensions and other responses if emergencies arise is as
follows:
1. In the event that a medically documented emergency prevents a student from completing
some of the Competition, we will endeavor to provide a reasonable amount of extended time.
Please get in touch with Jennifer Heath, a non-student HLR staff member, at
emergency or disability-related event
prevents you from dedicating time to the Competition
during the period provided.
2. In the event that a serious administrative problem ––
due solely to errors from HLR and
through no fault of your own –– prevents you from taking the Competition, we will endeavor
to provide a reasonable time extension. To be considered for extra time in response to
maladministration — including issues accessing electronic files as part of an accommodation
— you must get in touch with Jennifer Heath, a non-student HLR staff member, at
the error and work with HLR to rectify the problem.
III. Accommo
dation Request Details
What accommodatio
ns doe
s HLR provide fo
r Competition-takers? HLR endeavors to provide
reasonable accommodations designed to reflect the unique needs of individual Competition takers.
We work with a nationally renowned testing accommodations expert to make decisions about specific
accommodations on a case-by-case basis using the information submitted by each applicant. Some
students applying for accommodations may receive different accommodations for the HLR Writing
Competition than they might receive with respect to their law school exams due to differences between
HLR’s six-day Competition and the time limits of in-class and take-home tests. In the past,
accommodations have included extended time to complete the Competition and electronic documents
compatible with screen reading software. We have provided accommodations to students with a wide
range of disabilities, including physical, psychiatric, sensory, mental, and learning disabilities.
What documentation does HLR require? Our Accommodation Request Registration Form asks
students to describe their disabilities, their accommodations history, and how they anticipate their
disabilities will affect their experience of the Competition. In addition, we ask for the following
documentation:
Learning Disabilities: Psychoeducational or neuropsychological evaluation
Attention Deficit Disorders: Psychoeducational or neuropsychological evaluation
Hearing Impairments: Audiogram and Statement from Medical Provider form
Visual Impairments: Acuity Report and Statement from Medical Provider form
Physical Impairments: Letter from a treating practitioner or Statement from Medical Provider form
Psychiatric Disorders: Letter from a treating practitioner or Statement from Medical Provider form
How current must the documentation be? To ensure that we can provide you with the optimal
accommodations to meet your needs, we request up-to-date documentation in line with our peer
institutions.
If a diagnostic report for mobility, hearing, and visual disabilities is more than three years old, we ask
that you submit a letter from a qualified professional that provides an update of the diagnosis. This
letter should describe the ongoing impact of the disability in a testing setting, its effect on major life
activities, and rationale for each of the requested testing accommodations. In some cases, an updated
letter from a qualified professional may simply address why older documents or reports continue to be
relevant.
Similarly, if a diagnostic report for Learning Disabilities (LD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorders (ADHD), or Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is more than five years old, we require a
letter from a qualified professional addressing why older documents or reports still apply.
Students seeking accommodations for mental health conditions and psychiatric disorders should
provide recent documentation (within the last six months) from a qualified professional. An updated
letter may address why older documentation and reports may continue to be relevant.
For each of these categories of documentation, a history of prior accommodations alone is not
sufficient to support a request for accommodations. A qualified professional’s recommendation is
needed. If you have any questions about the longevity of documentation, please contact
accommodations@harvardlawreview.org.
How can I learn more about the Writing Competition and Harvard Law Review? You can attend
our tips sessions, review our website and scholarship, and reach out for a coffee chat. If you’d like to
talk to someone about the accommodations process in particular, please reach out to Jennifer Heath, a
non-student HLR staff member who manages the logistics related to our accommodations process, at
[email protected] or 617-495-7889. For more information about life on the
Review, please reach out to our Vice President of Coordination, Diversity, and Outreach, Alexis
Michelle Adjei, at [email protected].
