The Historical Origins, Founding, and Early Development of Student-Edited Law Reviews

Abstract

Most accredited law schools in the United States publish a student-edited law review containing scholarly writing about recent court decisions, unresolved issues of law, and other topics of interest to the legal community. Begun a century ago by law students as an academic experiment, law reviews have achieved a prominent and influential position in the legal profession. Much has been written both praising and criticizing these periodicals, particularly with respect to the unique phenomenon of law students managing and editing journals to which academic and practicing professionals submit articles for evaluation, revision, and publication. This process stands in stark contrast to that employed in most other disciplines, in which scholarly journals are edited by recognized authorities in the field and works are selected for publication by a panel of expert referees.