The Law Reviews: Do Their 'Paths of Glory Lead But to the Grave'?

Abstract

Academics, who write most of the law review articles, gain prestige from being read and cited by their peers. Even when their works are minimally cited, prestige is gained by publication in prestigious journals. Student editors seek the prestige of law review membership to attain prestigious jobs and clerkships. Law schools seek the prestige of publishing prestigious law reviews. If no law reviews existed, commercial publishers would be happy to expand their journal offerings and publish faculty work, competitive schools would compete on some other basis, and students would find some other means to signal how hardworking and smart they are. How will removing the bricks of prestige from the current law review structure begin? At the moment the wall is solidly reinforced, each constituent with their interlocking benefit, and any rumbling no more than a murmur. This essay discusses a number of problematic issues for law reviews and the possibility of replacing the existing edifice.

Keywords: law reviews

JEL Classification: K10