Meta-Ranking of Flagship US Law Reviews
Meta-Ranking of Flagship US Law Reviews (2020 Edition), by Bryce NewellJournal | MetaRank | prRank | usnRank | wluRank | gRank | wlu(IF)Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yale Law Journal | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Harvard Law Review | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 20 |
Stanford Law Review | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
Columbia Law Review | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 19 |
University of Pennsylvania Law Review | 6 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 4 |
New York University Law Review | 8 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 14 |
Virginia Law Review | 10 | 9 | 8 | 16 | 12 | 17 |
California Law Review | 7 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 6 |
Georgetown Law Journal | 9 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 10 |
Michigan Law Review | 11 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 16 | 8 |
University of Chicago Law Review | 5 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 15 |
Texas Law Review | 12 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 8 | 20 |
UCLA Law Review | 13 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 3 |
Duke Law Journal | 13 | 11 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 5 |
Cornell Law Review | 17 | 12 | 13 | 23 | 22 | 12 |
Minnesota Law Review | 18 | 20 | 20 | 13 | 18 | 15 |
Vanderbilt Law Review | 15 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 15 | 13 |
Iowa Law Review | 19 | 28 | 25 | 11 | 10 | 23 |
Northwestern University Law Review | 20 | 13 | 12 | 24 | 26 | 27 |
Boston University Law Review | 22 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 22 |
Notre Dame Law Review | 16 | 24 | 21 | 8 | 16 | 6 |
George Washington Law Review | 24 | 23 | 22 | 29 | 22 | 42 |
Southern California Law Review | 23 | 19 | 19 | 27 | 30 | 11 |
Emory Law Journal | 24 | 21 | 23 | 30 | 22 | 29 |
Washington University Law Review | 21 | 18 | 18 | 26 | 28 | 18 |
Boston College Law Review | 26 | 29 | 30 | 21 | 19 | 27 |
Fordham Law Review | 29 | 34 | 38 | 20 | 27 | 46 |
Indiana Law Journal | 30 | 32 | 29 | 35 | 34 | 33 |
William & Mary Law Review | 27 | 33 | 35 | 18 | 21 | 8 |
UC Davis Law Review | 28 | 26 | 36 | 28 | 22 | 26 |
North Carolina Law Review | 35 | 22 | 39 | 36 | 45 | 37 |
Wisconsin Law Review | 32 | 26 | 34 | 39 | 37 | 38 |
University of Illinois Law Review | 34 | 36 | 41 | 32 | 29 | 39 |
Washington Law Review | 30 | 35 | 31 | 34 | 30 | 32 |
Washington & Lee Law Review | 37 | 39 | 33 | 43 | 40 | 43 |
Florida Law Review | 36 | 38 | 44 | 31 | 30 | 34 |
Ohio State Law Journal | 33 | 31 | 37 | 33 | 36 | 25 |
Wake Forest Law Review | 44 | 45 | 40 | 47 | 47 | 49 |
Hastings Law Journal | 40 | 41 | 53 | 37 | 37 | 40 |
Arizona Law Review | 39 | 43 | 43 | 42 | 34 | 36 |
Alabama Law Review | 38 | 40 | 27 | 40 | 52 | 35 |
UC Irvine Law Review | 42 | 30 | 26 | 66 | 51 | 58 |
Cardozo Law Review | 43 | 53 | 59 | 25 | 37 | 24 |
Connecticut Law Review | 52 | 52 | 57 | 41 | 66 | 29 |
Maryland Law Review | 45 | 47 | 48 | 44 | 42 | 43 |
Colorado Law Review | 47 | 42 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 52 |
American University Law Review | 46 | 49 | 71 | 38 | 30 | 40 |
Arizona State Law Journal | 41 | 44 | 28 | 55 | 42 | 61 |
BYU Law Review | 49 | 50 | 42 | 60 | 49 | 66 |
Georgia Law Review | 48 | 37 | 32 | 58 | 66 | 52 |
George Mason Law Review | 53 | 56 | 46 | 49 | 66 | 51 |
Utah Law Review | 50 | 51 | 47 | 53 | 52 | 54 |
Houston Law Review | 51 | 64 | 56 | 46 | 48 | 43 |
Case Western Reserve Law Review | 54 | 63 | 64 | 52 | 42 | 66 |
Tulane Law Review | 56 | 46 | 51 | 69 | 85 | 83 |
Florida State University Law Review | 63 | 48 | 50 | 89 | 75 | 74 |
University of Miami Law Review | 57 | 54 | 67 | 68 | 63 | 62 |
Pepperdine Law Review | 61 | 67 | 58 | 71 | 63 | 66 |
Lewis & Clark Law Review | 61 | 81 | 87 | 51 | 40 | 56 |
Seton Hall Law Review | 64 | 85 | 62 | 62 | 55 | 58 |
San Diego Law Review | 68 | 58 | 77 | 80 | 61 | 72 |
University of Richmond Law Review | 55 | 73 | 55 | 54 | 52 | 49 |
Brooklyn Law Review | 59 | 70 | 82 | 48 | 58 | 66 |
Temple Law Review | 57 | 58 | 54 | 61 | 79 | 47 |
SMU Law Review | 59 | 66 | 49 | 64 | 79 | 77 |
Denver University Law Review | 74 | 57 | 72 | 88 | 85 | 88 |
University of Cincinnati Law Review | 80 | 83 | 75 | 82 | 96 | 81 |
Michigan State Law Review | 69 | 95 | 90 | 59 | 45 | 63 |
Nevada Law Journal | 66 | 84 | 68 | 45 | 75 | 48 |
Missouri Law Review | 64 | 68 | 73 | 65 | 58 | 65 |
Chicago-Kent Law Review | 67 | 72 | 80 | 63 | 58 | 74 |
University of Kansas Law Review | 70 | 62 | 74 | 85 | 70 | 88 |
Oregon Law Review | 101 | 55 | 88 | 136 | 1000 | 142 |
Loyola University Chicago Law Journal | 72 | 75 | 76 | 72 | 72 | 66 |
Tennessee Law Review | 76 | 61 | 61 | 96 | 94 | 110 |
Nebraska Law Review | 71 | 80 | 70 | 83 | 61 | 80 |
Seattle University Law Review | 77 | 91 | 108 | 56 | 63 | 71 |
Penn State Law Review | 75 | 93 | 66 | 57 | 90 | 31 |
DePaul Law Review | 83 | 98 | 112 | 67 | 66 | 56 |
Oklahoma Law Review | 73 | 78 | 69 | 76 | 75 | 87 |
Indiana Law Review | 78 | 76 | 98 | 77 | 79 | 83 |
Rutgers University Law Review | 90 | 74 | 83 | 123 | 85 | 142 |
Kentucky Law Journal | 84 | 71 | 63 | 108 | 107 | 125 |
Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review | 100 | 64 | 65 | 150 | 133 | 150 |
Santa Clara Law Review | 94 | 77 | 106 | 99 | 96 | 77 |
Buffalo Law Review | 87 | 100 | 96 | 84 | 79 | 74 |
Villanova Law Review | 80 | 86 | 85 | 86 | 79 | 88 |
Marquette Law Review | 89 | 92 | 100 | 78 | 94 | 79 |
Georgia State University Law Review | 78 | 69 | 60 | 109 | 92 | 147 |
University of Pittsburgh Law Review | 106 | 60 | 81 | 141 | 112 | 136 |
South Carolina Law Review | 82 | 89 | 95 | 87 | 70 | 83 |
Louisiana Law Review | 96 | 102 | 89 | 98 | 96 | 125 |
Mitchell Hamline Law Review | 147 | 145 | 144 | 150 | 115 | 150 |
Albany Law Review | 92 | 127 | 119 | 73 | 49 | 83 |
Catholic University Law Review | 99 | 101 | 100 | 107 | 102 | 114 |
Saint Louis University Law Journal | 88 | 97 | 92 | 102 | 72 | 114 |
West Virginia Law Review | 86 | 109 | 99 | 70 | 79 | 58 |
Arkansas Law Review | 93 | 96 | 84 | 105 | 85 | 129 |
Hofstra Law Review | 85 | 99 | 109 | 74 | 72 | 81 |
Syracuse Law Review | 103 | 94 | 96 | 101 | 126 | 99 |
Mississippi Law Journal | 110 | 103 | 107 | 110 | 119 | 114 |
Howard Law Journal | 98 | 90 | 116 | 100 | 99 | 103 |
UMKC Law Review | 95 | 106 | 118 | 81 | 75 | 108 |
Baylor Law Review | 90 | 87 | 52 | 113 | 1000 | 103 |
Idaho Law Review | 105 | 117 | 129 | 119 | 55 | 106 |
Akron Law Review | 119 | 144 | 135 | 92 | 102 | 91 |
St. John’s Law Review | 97 | 104 | 86 | 112 | 99 | 136 |
Vermont Law Review | 112 | 112 | 133 | 95 | 102 | 103 |
Gonzaga Law Review | 138 | 111 | 114 | 147 | 1000 | 148 |
Texas Tech Law Review | 109 | 135 | 113 | 91 | 92 | 99 |
New York Law School Law Review | 139 | 129 | 132 | 142 | 119 | 130 |
Maine Law Review | 117 | 105 | 124 | 130 | 102 | 110 |
Duquesne Law Review | 132 | 148 | 134 | 115 | 1000 | 99 |
University of Louisville Law Review | 113 | 108 | 93 | 122 | 1000 | 97 |
University of Hawai'i Law Review | 119 | 79 | 94 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Cleveland State Law Review | 111 | 140 | 117 | 94 | 90 | 91 |
Drake Law Review | 103 | 132 | 110 | 90 | 85 | 91 |
New Mexico Law Review | 107 | 88 | 79 | 131 | 1000 | 119 |
Pace Law Review | 130 | 132 | 136 | 128 | 109 | 136 |
University of San Francisco Law Review | 114 | 119 | 142 | 93 | 1000 | 73 |
Wyoming Law Review | 131 | 118 | 126 | 132 | 1000 | 122 |
Texas A&M Law Review | 101 | 123 | 115 | 75 | 102 | 63 |
Quinnipiac Law Review | 126 | 131 | 130 | 114 | 1000 | 99 |
Mercer Law Review | 118 | 121 | 121 | 111 | 115 | 136 |
University of Baltimore Law Review | 134 | 122 | 123 | 134 | 1000 | 112 |
Tulsa Law Review | 122 | 125 | 91 | 150 | 112 | 150 |
Wayne Law Review | 127 | 116 | 100 | 150 | 131 | 150 |
Creighton Law Review | 124 | 134 | 122 | 106 | 119 | 119 |
Washburn Law Journal | 115 | 136 | 128 | 97 | 1000 | 96 |
Chapman Law Review | 108 | 141 | 131 | 79 | 1000 | 54 |
University of the Pacific Law Review | 143 | 128 | 139 | 150 | 112 | 150 |
City University of New York (CUNY) Law Review | 121 | 114 | 120 | 121 | 1000 | 112 |
Drexel Law Review | 132 | 115 | 111 | 143 | 1000 | 130 |
Stetson Law Review | 125 | 110 | 104 | 134 | 1000 | 149 |
Southwestern Law Review | 140 | 138 | 150 | 129 | 109 | 114 |
University of Memphis Law Review | 128 | 143 | 147 | 103 | 107 | 133 |
Northeastern University Law Journal | 116 | 82 | 77 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Loyola Law Review | 135 | 113 | 140 | 137 | 126 | 128 |
Suffolk University Law Review | 135 | 130 | 151 | 120 | 115 | 136 |
University of St. Thomas Law Journal | 129 | 139 | 125 | 139 | 99 | 125 |
South Dakota Law Review | 147 | 146 | 147 | 133 | 128 | 133 |
University of Arkansas Little Rock Law Review | 142 | 107 | 137 | 150 | 134 | 150 |
Capital University Law Review | 149 | 170 | 161 | 117 | 109 | 107 |
Montana Law Review | 122 | 120 | 126 | 116 | 1000 | 95 |
Willamette Law Review | 150 | 124 | 138 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
New England Law Review | 165 | 168 | 161 | 145 | 1000 | 133 |
University of Toledo Law Review | 141 | 142 | 141 | 125 | 119 | 142 |
Touro Law Review | 151 | 167 | 161 | 127 | 115 | 130 |
FIU Law Review | 137 | 147 | 105 | 146 | 119 | 136 |
John Marshall Law Review | 154 | 149 | 152 | 149 | 131 | 145 |
Ohio Northern University Law Review | 145 | 169 | 153 | 104 | 1000 | 122 |
Campbell Law Review | 153 | 170 | 146 | 140 | 119 | 122 |
Northern Illinois University Law Review | 163 | 156 | 155 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Charleston Law Review | 183 | 182 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
St. Mary's Law Journal | 146 | 157 | 158 | 117 | 119 | 119 |
Regent University Law Review | 167 | 184 | 161 | 138 | 1000 | 108 |
University of New Hampshire Law Review | 143 | 126 | 103 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Northern Kentucky Law Review | 152 | 162 | 161 | 124 | 1000 | 91 |
Widener Law Review | 161 | 150 | 161 | 144 | 1000 | 114 |
Southern Illinois University Law Journal | 159 | 154 | 156 | 150 | 135 | 150 |
Roger Williams University Law Review | 158 | 155 | 161 | 150 | 128 | 150 |
North Dakota Law Review | 155 | 137 | 149 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
University of Dayton Law Review | 162 | 151 | 154 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
South Texas Law Review | 157 | 157 | 156 | 148 | 128 | 145 |
St. Thomas Law Review | 179 | 177 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Mississippi College Law Review | 173 | 164 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Cumberland Law Review | 160 | 153 | 145 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
California Western Law Review | 170 | 163 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Florida Coastal Law Review | 185 | 184 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Widener Commonwealth Law Review | 163 | 152 | 159 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Nova Law Review | 166 | 159 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Golden Gate University Law Review | 169 | 161 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Western New England Law Review | 178 | 176 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
University of Detroit Mercy Law Review | 155 | 173 | 161 | 126 | 1000 | 97 |
Belmont Law Review | 170 | 181 | 143 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Barry Law Review | 188 | 188 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Oklahoma City University Law Review | 170 | 165 | 159 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
John Marshall Law Journal | 181 | 179 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Elon Law Review | 167 | 160 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Southern University Law Review | 182 | 180 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Thurgood Marshall Law Review | 179 | 177 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Western State University Law Review | 189 | 189 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
University of the District of Columbia Law Review | 176 | 174 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Appalachian Journal of Law | 186 | 186 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
University of Massachusetts Law Review | 174 | 166 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
North Carolina Central Law Review | 175 | 172 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Ave Maria Law Review | 191 | 191 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Liberty University Law Review | 187 | 187 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Florida A&M University Law Review | 177 | 175 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Faulkner Law Review | 184 | 183 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Thomas M. Cooley Law Review | 189 | 189 | 161 | 150 | 1000 | 150 |
Why make the Meta Ranking? (see more information, and the first edition of the ranking here)
In short, as an interdisciplinary scholar who publishes work in both peer-reviewed social science journals and law reviews, it strikes me as odd that legal scholars would discount measures of journal impact completely when choosing where to submit and which offers to prioritize. To be sure, all of the plausible contenders for ranking law reviews have their flaws (in methodology and/or coverage). Regardless, though, it appears important that some measures of citation or impact are taken into account, as direct correlations between US News rankings of law schools and law journal importance seem a bit weak as the primary (or only) measure to evaluate.
So, to get to the point, I decided to create a meta-ranking of the possible contenders for gauging the relative importance of journals and offers: US News Overall Ranking (rolling average over the most recent ten years), US News Peer Reputation Ranking (also averaged over the previous 10 years), W&L Combined Ranking (at default weighting; June 2020), and Google Scholar Metrics law journal rankings (July 2020 update, data captured July 15, 2020; averaging the h-index and h-median of each journal, as proposed here by Robert Anderson). I’ve ranked each journal within each ranking system, averaged these four ranks using a 25% weighting for each, and computed and ranked the final scores. I think this approach benefits from incorporating a couple different forms of impact evaluation (W&L + Google) while not disregarding the general sentiment that law school “prestige” (something involving one or both of US News’ combined rank or Peer Reputation rank, each averaged over the most recent 10-year period, is an important factor in law review placement decisions. (Note that I have also included a ranking by the Impact Factor reported in the W&L data, but I have not included it in the meta rank.)
Additional notes about method:
Google Scholar Metrics are currently based on the most recent Google index (updated in July 2020, with data collected July 15, 2020; if a school has not been listed in Google Scholar Metrics within the past 2 years (2019-2020), I have used its most recent W&L score twice rather than rely on old Google Metrics). Otherwise, I have used the most recent Google Scholar metrics.
W&L: The W&L rankings changed this year. Their rankings now only include calculated scores and ranks for “the top 400 U.S.-published law journals” (link). W&L’s ranking methodology is described here. If a journal is not ranked, I have given a score of “150.”
Because the US News Ranking has changed how it reports 3rd and 4th Tier schools over the relevant period, I have done the following: for 2012-2017 editions, I assigned all unranked schools (those not ranked 1-149) to 150.
* As some schools were not included in the US News Rankings for all 10 years (e.g., UC Irvine was only in the 2016-2021 rankings), I have averaged the ranks over just the years they appear, rather than by 10.
** Rutgers and Mitchell-Hamline both recently consolidated two law journals into one and Penn State now also has two ranked law schools but only one flagship law review. For each of these schools, I have used the rank in each category (W&L/US News, etc.) that is the highest. Similarly, Widener split and was ranked separately in 2017 by US News (each school taking a separate flagship journal). As such, I have used the separate 2017-2021 ranks from US News but shared the single Widener school ranking reported in US News in its 2012-2016 editions of the rankings.
*** In the 2019 US News rankings, Pepperdine received a peer score of 2.6, but was listed as unranked after originally submitting incorrect data about incoming JD students (see Paul Caron’s note about this for more about this). As such, I used the 2019 peer score and the 2018 overall rank for Pepperdine for that year.
Last note: I cannot locate the 2015 US News Peer-Reputation score (or rank) for Loyola-New Orleans (it is missing from Paul Caron’s annual posting at TaxProf, and I don’t have access otherwise). If someone has that information and could pass it along, I would appreciate it.