New Online Legal Magazine Is Launched By Big-Name Law Reviews

A new legal publication is being launched today by a group of influential law reviews. But, unlike traditional law reviews, the Legal Workshop isn't intended to speak only to a small circle of academics.

"We think this project will significantly help bridge the gap between the legal world and the rest of the world," says Michael Montano a law student at Stanford University and senior production editor of Stanford Law Review.

It is coordinating with the New York University Law Review, Cornell Law Review, Duke Law Journal, Georgetown Law Journal, Northwestern Law Review, and University of Chicago Law Review to launch the new legal publication, as a press release (PDF) details.

The Legal Workshop "isn't bogged down by jargon," Montano tells the ABA Journal, and doesn't require the reader to have a background in the law to understand what's being written. Plus, it's available for free on the Internet.

Nonetheless, it's not written for Joe and Jane Average, either: While they may well be models of clarity and succinctness compared to standard law review fare, headline Legal Workshop articles discussing textualism, the fiduciary duties of activist shareholders, systemic risk in relationship to the subprime mortgage crisis, and the takings clause clearly aren't for every reader or even every lawyer.

“The Web has been waiting for something like this,” says Dahlia Lithwick, who covers the U.S. Supreme Court for Slate, in the press release. "We can rightly rejoice that it is finally here.”