Harvard Law Review

Harvard Law Review. It is a student-run journal of legal scholarship published at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Considered one of the most cited and prestigious law reviews in the world, it is known for publishing influential articles by leading legal scholars, judges, and practitioners. Its editorial board is composed of students selected based on academic performance and a writing competition.

History

The journal was founded in 1887 by future United States Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, along with other students. Its early years established a model of student editorial control that would be widely emulated by other Ivy League institutions. A significant early milestone was the publication of the first Harvard Law Review Association volume, which formalized its operations. Over the decades, it has been a forum for seminal debates in American jurisprudence, including discussions surrounding the Legal Realism movement and critiques of Originalism. The review's offices have been located in Gannett House on the Harvard University campus since the 1920s.

Organization and operations

The organization is run by the Harvard Law Review Association, a non-profit corporation. Editorial and business operations are managed by a board of student editors, typically selected from the second-year class at Harvard Law School based on grades and performance in a writing competition. The journal publishes monthly from November through June, featuring articles, essays, and book reviews. It also compiles and publishes the annual Supreme Court issue, which analyzes the previous term of the United States Supreme Court. This issue often includes contributions from prominent figures like Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Elena Kagan.

Notable articles and influence

The review has published numerous articles that have fundamentally shaped American legal thought. One of the most famous is "The Path of the Law" by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., which laid groundwork for Legal Realism. Another landmark publication was "The Problem of Social Cost" by Ronald Coase, a cornerstone of Law and economics. Critical legal studies were advanced through works like "Contract as Promise" by Charles Fried. More recently, it has featured influential scholarship on topics ranging from Constitutional law and Administrative law to Critical race theory, with notable authors including Cass Sunstein, Laurence Tribe, and Derek Bell. Its annual Supreme Court foreword is a highly anticipated analysis of the Judiciary of the United States.

Associated publications and programs

The organization oversees several affiliated publications and initiatives. The Harvard Law Review Forum is an online companion featuring responses to main articles. It also publishes the Harvard Law Review Bulletin, providing shorter commentary. The Harvard Law Review Association additionally sponsors the annual Pilgrim Award for the best student note. Furthermore, the journal collaborates with Harvard University Press on the publication of its bound volumes. These programs extend the review's influence beyond its primary monthly issues and into digital and academic book publishing.

Editors and alumni

Serving as an editor is considered a high academic honor and has launched the careers of many influential legal and political figures. Notable former presidents include United States Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr., United States Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, and former U.S. President Barack Obama. Other distinguished alumni encompass figures like United States Solicitor General Elena Kagan, United States Senator Ted Cruz, and legal scholar Kathleen Sullivan. Many editors have gone on to clerkships with the Supreme Court of the United States, professorships at institutions like Yale Law School and Stanford Law School, and leadership roles in firms such as Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

Category:Harvard University publications Category:American law journals Category:Publications established in 1887