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Writing for & Publishing in Law Reviews

This guide provides information and resources to help students and professionals who want to write scholarly papers and get them published in law reviews.

Introduction

photo of a stack of journalsThis guide is aimed at law students and professionals who want to write scholarly papers for publication in law reviews. Most of it will also be helpful for students who are writing seminar papers that they don't plan to publish.

It addresses many aspects of the process, from finding and developing topics to writing to submitting to journals.

Some of the sources linked to are to sources that are restricted, either to members of the UW community (Icon) or to UW Law faculty, staff, and students (Icon).

photo credit: Mary Whisner

What are Law Reviews?

Law reviews are scholarly journals about law, generally published by law schools and edited by students. More broadly, they can include journals published by professional associations (e.g., The Business Lawyer, published by the American Bar Association) and peer-edited journals (e.g., the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, published by Wiley in conjunction with the Society for Empirical Legal Studies).

Law schools typically have a general-interest (or "flagship") law review (e.g., Washington Law Review, Seattle University Law Review, Gonzaga Law Review) that publishes articles on a wide range of topics. Most law schools also have one or more specialized journals, focusing on one or more topics (e.g., Washington International Law JournalWashington Journal of Social and Environmental JusticeWashington Journal of Law, Technology & ArtsGonzaga Journal of International LawSeattle Journal of Technology, Environmental & Innovation Law; Seattle Journal for Social Justice).

Print and Online

Most journals are available electronically as well as in print. For example, the Washington Law Review is available on Lexis, Westlaw, and HeinOnline, and on Digital Commons.

Online Companions

Some law reviews supplement their print offerings with short articles that are only posted on their websites. For example, the Washington Law Review publishes the Washington Law Review Online.

Online-Only Journals

Some journals are published online only. They are sometimes called e-journals (or ejournals).

Finding Journals

You can find lists of law journals available online at the sites below.

Because the universe of journals available online is growing, it's likely that each list is incomplete.

Other Guides for Writers & Editors