Law Revue Video Contest 2016: The Finalists!

Who will win this year's Law Revue Video Contest? It’s up to you. Start voting now!

4. Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law — Cite You Again

LAT: I didn’t like this entry quite as much as my colleagues did (the singing could have been stronger), but I appreciate its timeliness and tastefulness — as well as the giant jabot for Justice Ginsburg.
ELIE: I wish that this had been the video coming out of Georgetown, just so we could have gotten eight more posts on the “proper” way to note the passing of Antonin Scalia.
STACI: Justice Scalia passed away in February, so the turnaround time on the production of this video was surprisingly quick. RBG gets the award for the best lyric: “It’s been a long term without you my friend, and I’ll tell you all about it when I write a dissent.” I never thought I’d be able to describe a law revue video as poignant, but this one fits the bill.
JOE: This was actually the first video I watched and it was clear off the bat that we had a strong finalist contender. I echo the praise of the timeliness and the comically giant jabot.
KATHRYN: Absolutely pitch perfect, and I don’t mean their singing, though that was on point as well. Tackling the recent death of Justice Scalia could be tricky but Northwestern handled it with aplomb. Funny but respectful, it neither lionized nor demonized the late justice. Well done.

5. University of Texas School of Law — Give Me My Grades Today

LAT: Great premise, funny lyrics, excellent singing. I’d give this an A-minus.
ELIE: This is everything you want in a law revue video. A popular song, well sung, set to lyrics of a common law school problem. The cast is not only diverse, but everybody in the video is totally bangable, AND there’s the allegation of professors sleeping with students. UT-Austin man, invite me out there again. I think it’s a two-school race between this and Hamilton.
STACI: Nevermind, NYU’s Hamilton parody isn’t my favorite anymore — this one is. I was a young teenager in the late 90s, and you got me good with this video. I had to love The Backstreet Boys by default. Your UT fan posters even show up in your video during the same section of the song where the BSB’s fan posters appear in their video. Remember when you iced me in the mail a few years ago because I said you couldn’t sing, Texas? You don’t have to do that again. This year, you should send me liquor in the mail because I’m going to tell everyone to vote for you. This was FANTASTIC. Texas should be the winner of this year’s contest… ’cause I want it that way.
JOE: There’s an explosion. ‘Nuff said. And the explicit Above the Law shout-out is always appreciated.
KATHRYN: I guess we are far enough along that The Backstreet Boys are retro, not just old news, so that’s nice to see. The production value of the video is very good, and they used just the right amount of autotune. But right around the two-minute mark the lyrics get a bit too sexual harassment-y for my taste.

6. University of Virginia School of Law — 3L Side

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LAT: UVA Law has a tremendous track record in the Law Revue contest, and I’m not sure this offering lives up to the standards of years past (see, e.g., Con Luv and On A-T-L). But still, kudos for tackling a challenging song — and succeeding. Also, who doesn’t love a full-length fur coat (besides PETA)?
ELIE: I think this would have been funnier if they had the dude singing it through the whole way. The problem with parodying a challenging song is that while hitting the notes, as this lady does fairly impressively, you lose some of the humor. You listen kind of worried that she’s going to wreck it and when she doesn’t, you’re more like “phew” as opposed “haha.” With the guy though, there’s no pressure or expectation and he could just ham it up (as he does at the end). Next on Deconstruction With Elie: Larry Wilmore is funnier than Trevor Noah.
STACI: I knew someone was going to try to tackle Adele, and this worked out pretty well. The stars of this video both have great voices, and the lyrics were funny too. This made me miss being in law school. Nicely done.
JOE: I’ll echo the love for “On A-T-L,” which is one of my favorite entries ever. I didn’t love the individual jokes as much as just wallowing in the overwrought nature of the real video.
KATHRYN: This made me nostalgic for my 3L year. Oh, the lack of responsibility and the certainty of gainful employment made for a heady combination. And I love Adele, and these performers did her proud, while subtly poking at the utter ridiculousness of the “Hello” video.

It’s time to vote, everyone. Polls close on WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, at 11:59 PM (Eastern time). Feel free to get out the vote among your friends and family (but please, no bots or other forms of cheating). Good luck to all the finalists!

UPDATE (4/21/2016, 3:30 p.m.): We’ve received scattered reports of difficulty in voting. We are looking into the problem, but in the meantime, try clearing your cookies before trying to vote.

Which is the best Law Revue video?

  • University of Texas School of Law -- Give Me My Grades Today (23%, 10,540 Votes)
  • George Washington University Law School -- Outlines (19%, 8,708 Votes)
  • Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law -- Cite You Again (18%, 8,204 Votes)
  • Georgetown University Law Center -- The Robe Off (14%, 6,264 Votes)
  • University of Virginia School of Law -- 3L Side (13%, 5,881 Votes)
  • New York University School of Law -- Trevor Effin' Morrison (13%, 5,745 Votes)

Total Voters: 45,342

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