Academic

Are Law Reviews Guilty of Letterhead Bias?

By Kevin Maillard

Unlike the rest of the academic world, legal scholarship is largely published by students. Those 2Ls and 3Ls we teach in our classes are the editors of our articles, the basis of our promotions, and the gatekeepers of placement. Students, as are laypersons, can be very impressed by name recognition, and so are faculty. Prolific writers at the top of their field publish in well-regarded journals and consistently place their articles in top law reviews. A similar pattern happens for faculty, of whatever rank, at highly regarded law schools. Professors at Top 20 law schools publish in Top 20 journals.

An argument can be made that good scholarship, from whatever source/law school will get a good placement. But is this always true, that the cream rises to the top? Could a any good scholar place an article in a Top 20 journal? Or, the better question is, how often has that happened? Are student editors guilty of letterhead bias, or is some scholarship from certain schools just better than others?

Comments, testimonies, and discussion are encouraged.

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on March 06, 2008 (boomark / email).