Critic: Law Reviews Would Publish My Grocery List

Some critics are assailing the increasing number of reviews, saying many are of poor quality and little academic value.

Robert Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern law school, is one of the critics, the National Jurist reports.

“The writing in law reviews is atrocious,” he told the publication. “Nowadays, you could get anything published. I could publish my grocery list, some law reviews are so desperate."

Jarvis has ranked law reviews (PDF) based on the prestige of the writers, concluding that only about 100 have much value. Another list, devised by a law librarian at Washington & Lee law school and published in the National Jurist article, considers the number of times articles are cited in other publications or cases.

Both lists put three well-known law reviews in the top three spots: The Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal and Columbia Law Review.

A hat tip to the TaxProf Blog, which posted the story and Washington and Lee's top 100 law review list.