Student-Edited Law Reviews and Their Role in U.S. Legal Education

Abstract

For well over a century student-edited law reviews have been a major vehicle for publication of scholarship on law in the United States. At those law reviews, students bear responsibility for nearly all aspects of the publication process, including the vitally important task of selecting what works will be published. Criticisms have been raised over various aspects of this system, but they have not stemmed the rise of student-edited law reviews. Today, such law reviews are firmly entrenched as a central feature of the U.S. legal system; and, facilitated by advances in technology, the number of student-edited law reviews continue to climb. Works published in those law reviews — including notes and comments written by students as well as articles written by scholars — have had great impact on the development of U.S. law. At the same time, law reviews serve as a valuable component of the U.S. legal education system.

This Article was written at the request of the editors of the University of Tokyo Law Review, which, to my knowledge, is the first student-edited law review at a law school in Japan. After introducing a few facts and figures regarding the position occupied by student-edited law reviews, the Article examines their historical background. The Article then considers the value of law review membership, by reference to a discussion of the tasks performed by members. The Article closes with a discussion of various criticisms and concerns that have been

Keywords: law reviews, legal periodicals, law journals, specialized journals, law students, legal education, law schools