U.Va.’s Virginia Law Review names new editor-in-chief

Tiffany Mickel is first Black person to hold position in publication's 108-year history

Published February 3, 2021 by Sydney Lake

The University of Virginia School of Law announced Tuesday that second-year student Tiffany Mickel has been named as editor-in-chief of the Virginia Law Review. She is the first Black person to hold the position in the publication’s 108-year history.

As editor-in-chief, she hopes to diversify authorship of law review content and expand the publication’s online presence.

“As always, we are committed to fostering constructive legal discourse among students, professors, jurists and other academics,” she said in a statement. “We aim to publish original scholarship that explores changing economic, political and technological conditions in society. And, in realizing this mission, we strive to value and promote the contribution of diverse viewpoints.

Mickel earned her bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and worked as a management consultant at Accenture before attending to law school. She also founded playing card company The Heiritage, focused on Black female leaders.

She serves as membership chair of the U.Va. Black Law Students Association and as events co-chair for Virginia Law Women. 

“As a publication led almost entirely by white cisgender men during the first 65 years of its existence, the Law Review has come a remarkably long way in honoring its commitment to inclusion,” Mickel said in a statement. “Mirroring our nation’s complicated history with injustice, the journal’s past demonstrates a series of both triumphs and missed opportunities in strengthening democratic institutions and helping expand access to justice for all. 

“Through acknowledging and learning from this past, the Law Review will continue opening its pages, membership and leadership to all voices, not just a few.”

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