New England Law Review

New England Law Review The New England Law Review is a student-edited legal periodical affiliated with New England Law | Boston that publishes scholarship on American Constitution of the United States, Commercial law, Criminal law, Administrative law, and public policy. Founded amid the legal reforms and institutional expansions of the 1960s alongside journals such as the Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, and Stanford Law Review, the Review has contributed to debates involving the Supreme Court of the United States, First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and federal agencies like the Department of Justice (United States). Its articles, essays, and notes have been cited by state supreme courts including the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, federal courts including the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and practitioners at firms such as Ropes & Gray, Jenner & Block, WilmerHale.

History

The Review emerged in a period marked by landmark decisions like Brown v. Board of Education and statutory developments such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, reflecting contemporaneous scholarship in journals including the Michigan Law Review and the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. Early volumes attracted contributions from scholars associated with institutions like Harvard Law School, Boston College Law School, Suffolk University Law School, and the University of Connecticut School of Law, and engaged with topics related to the Warren Court and the Burger Court. Over decades the Review published work responding to events including the Watergate scandal, the Patriot Act, and litigation concerning the Affordable Care Act, aligning with symposia organized by organizations such as the American Bar Association and the Association of American Law Schools.

Organization and Publication

Published quarterly, the Review structures each issue around lead articles, student notes, and symposium contributions, resembling formats used by the Georgetown Law Journal and the University of Chicago Law Review. The publisher, New England Law | Boston, coordinates editorial logistics while authors include faculty from Harvard University, Boston University, Northeastern University, Yale University, and independent scholars connected to think tanks like the Brookings Institution and the Brennan Center for Justice. The journal handles submissions through platforms used by publications such as the Oxford University Press and collaborates with libraries including the Library of Congress and the Boston Public Library for archiving. Special issues have focused on topics tied to statutes like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, cases like Roe v. Wade, and treaties such as the North Atlantic Treaty when intersecting with legal scholarship.

Editorial Board and Student Involvement

The editorial board is composed of law students drawn from New England Law | Boston programs parallel to selection methods at Yale Law School and Harvard Law School, with leadership roles analogous to those at the Cornell Law Review and the Penn Law Review. Students responsible for citations and substantive editing employ standards deriving from the Bluebook and reference practices seen in publications like the ABA Journal; they coordinate with faculty advisors formerly affiliated with institutions such as Georgetown University Law Center and Fordham University School of Law. The Review sponsors symposia and workshops that feature panels including judges from the Massachusetts Appeals Court, litigators from Goodwin Procter, and scholars from centers like the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy.

Notable Articles and Symposia

Over its history the Review has published influential pieces addressing sovereign immunity debates like those surrounding the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, administrative procedure linked to the Administrative Procedure Act, and criminal procedure matters informed by decisions such as Miranda v. Arizona. Symposia have assembled contributors including scholars from Harvard Kennedy School, practitioners from Mintz Levin, and judges who have served on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, often producing articles later cited in opinions by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts and briefs filed in the Supreme Court of the United States.

Impact and Rankings

Citations to the Review appear in legal scholarship alongside journals such as the California Law Review and the Duke Law Journal and are tracked by databases maintained by services like HeinOnline and Westlaw. The Review's influence is reflected in citations by courts including the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and in academic assessments by organizations such as the Washington and Lee University School of Law ranking project. Alumni who served on the Review have taken positions at entities including the United States Department of Justice, state judiciaries, law firms like Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and institutions such as the American Civil Liberties Union.

Category:American law journals Category:Quarterly journals Category:Publications established in 1965