Boston University Law Review

Boston University Law Review
Title	Boston University Law Review
Discipline	Law
Abbreviation	Boston Univ. Law Rev.
Publisher	Boston University School of Law
Country	United States
Frequency	Quarterly
History	1920s–present

Boston University Law Review is a student-edited law journal published at Boston University School of Law that covers American and comparative legal issues. Founded in the early 20th century, the Review has published articles by judges, scholars, and practitioners from institutions across the United States and internationally. Its issues typically include articles, essays, notes, and book reviews addressing constitutional, corporate, criminal, administrative, and international topics.

History

The Review traces its origins to publications at Boston University School of Law during the 1920s and underwent formal establishment and renaming amid changes in legal scholarship alongside journals such as Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, University of Chicago Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Stanford Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, California Law Review, Texas Law Review, and Virginia Law Review. During the postwar era the Review engaged contributors from federal and state benches including the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and scholars tied to Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Columbia Law School, NYU School of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, University of Michigan Law School, and Stanford Law School. The Review has published symposium issues featuring participants from events at venues such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brandeis University, Tufts University, Northeastern University School of Law, Suffolk University Law School, Boston College Law School, and international gatherings involving Oxford University and Cambridge University. Over time its editorial board has navigated shifts influenced by landmark decisions such as Brown v. Board of Education, Roe v. Wade, United States v. Nixon, and regulatory reforms in the wake of statutes like the Administrative Procedure Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Organization and Publication

The Review operates under the auspices of Boston University and its administrative home at Boston University School of Law, publishing on a quarterly schedule similar to peer journals including Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, and The Yale Journal on Regulation. Its editorial structure features an editor-in-chief, executive editors, article selection board, citations editors, and production staff drawn from JD candidates at programs like Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Columbia Law School, NYU School of Law, and Georgetown University Law Center. The Review manages online supplements and archives comparable to platforms maintained by Stanford Law Review Online, Michigan Law Review Online, Cornell Law Review Online, and collaborates with academic centers such as the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics, the Institute for Health Law Studies, and policy programs at Harvard Kennedy School and MIT Department of Political Science.

Notable Articles and Contributions

The Review has published influential pieces addressing constitutional law, corporate governance, criminal procedure, intellectual property, and international law, drawing submissions from authors affiliated with United States Supreme Court clerks, professors at Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Columbia Law School, NYU School of Law, University of Chicago Law School, and researchers from Brookings Institution, American Enterprise Institute, Cato Institute, Brennan Center for Justice, and the RAND Corporation. Notable symposia have included contributors associated with the Federal Reserve Board, the United States Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of the Solicitor General of the United States, and international organizations like the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. Articles have been cited in decisions by tribunals such as the United States Supreme Court, the First Circuit Court of Appeals, and state supreme courts, and have influenced debates paralleling scholarship in The Yale Law Journal, Harvard Law Review, Columbia Law Review, and policy reports from The Brookings Institution.

Membership and Selection Process

Membership typically consists of second- and third-year students at Boston University School of Law selected through a combination of writing competition performance, grades, and prior experience—procedures comparable to selection processes at Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Columbia Law School, NYU School of Law, University of Chicago Law School, and Stanford Law School. The annual write-on contest and editorial board appointments mirror mechanisms used by Michigan Law Review, Virginia Law Review, Texas Law Review, and other leading journals; opportunities include cite checking, article editing, and symposium organization with faculty from Boston University School of Law, visiting professors from Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Columbia Law School, and practitioners from firms such as Ropes & Gray, WilmerHale, Goodwin Procter, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Notable Alumni and Faculty Editors

Alumni and faculty who have contributed to or edited the Review include judges, academics, and practitioners whose careers intersect institutions like the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Columbia Law School, New York University School of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, U.S. Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, and major law firms including Ropes & Gray and WilmerHale. Some former editors went on to clerk for the United States Supreme Court, serve in administrations of presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, or teach at institutions like Harvard Law School and Yale Law School.

Impact and Rankings

The Review is ranked among American law journals by metrics used in compilations alongside Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, Stanford Law Review, University of Chicago Law Review, Michigan Law Review, and Virginia Law Review. Its citation impact is tracked in databases and analyses that also list publications from The Yale Law Journal, Harvard Law Review, Columbia Law Review, Texas Law Review, and specialty journals tied to the American Bar Association and the Association of American Law Schools. The Review’s scholarship has been relied upon in litigation, law reform debates, and academic courses at Boston University School of Law, Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Columbia Law School, and other curricular programs in the United States and abroad.

Category:American law journals Category:Boston University