About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

47 Stan. L. Rev. 1117 (1994-1995)
Law Reviews

handle is hein.journals/stflr47 and id is 1143 raw text is: Law Reviews* John T. Noonan, Jr.** As cathedrals to every good-sized medieval French town, and as universi- ties to every twentieth century state of the United States, so law reviews are a necessary element of every respectable law school. They are symbols of seri- ousness and centers of creativity. Just a century or so old, they are an Ameri- can invention as student-edited enterprises. I know of nothing like them in other times or climes. Once they were invented they spread with relative rapid- ity in this country, but not abroad. They are the finest example of the energy of our youth culture and the best testimony to the sense of purpose that animates law students and legal education here. What do they accomplish? Let me list, in ascending order of accomplish- ment, three things. First, they offer to graduate students in other disciplines a model of student contribution to a profession, of student and faculty collabora- tion, and of student and student collaboration. The example has been fur- nished; it is almost never followed. Is it because other disciplines lack a professional audience willing to subscribe? This cannot be true of architecture, medicine, and engineering. Is it that other disciplines require more experience, while law review work can be done by analysis alone so that No experience required might be the slogan of the reviews? But physics and mathematics depend on analytic skills rather than experience as well. Is it that other kinds of schools do not depend so fundamentally on commitment to mutual cooperation to create their disciplines? Perhaps. In any event, for all to see, the law re- views show what can be done and how to do it. As more possessors of Ph.D.'s join the ranks of law students and the variety of law journals multiplies, the reviews even have the possibility of themselves contributing to disciplines be- yond law. Second, the law reviews offer an outlet to the faculty for publication: an outlet to the old faculty member who does not want to write another treatise but has a point of importance to make; an outlet to the middle-aged faculty member who wants to embody or to condemn a trend; and an outlet above all for the young faculty member seeking tenure. In what other field is publication of a tenure piece so easily possible? Without the multiple accessible reviews, the tenure track would be clogged with the carcasses of frustrated unpublished writers. As it is, you are besieged by authors. Imagine how it would be for academics if you did not exist. * Keynote Address, Law Review Conference, Stanford Law School, February 25, 1995. ** Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 1117

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most