Law Journal Ranking, Summer 2018 – Bryce Clayton Newell, PhD, JD

Meta-Ranking of Flagship US Law Reviews

NOTE: an updated version of this ranking appears HERE.

This is an updated ranking of flagship law reviews at US law schools (updated as of August 7, 2018). The earlier versions of this ranking are available at PrawfsBlawg (2016), along with the rationale for why I created the “meta ranking” in the first place. The ranking table below includes 195 law reviews from ABA accredited law schools. Even if you ignore the “MetaRank,” the table provides access to the updated rankings from US News (peer reputation and overall rankings, averaged over the 10-year period from 2010 through the 2019 edition) and the current W&L and Google Scholar rankings. Each column (ranking) is sortable, and you can use the search box to search for individual law reviews.

If a journal doesn’t appear in a particular index, I have scored it as “1000” to allow the table to sort correctly. For a short summary and more detailed notes about method, see below the table.

prRank = US News Peer Reputation score ranking; usnRank = Overall US News school ranking; wluRank = Washington & Lee Law Journal Ranking; gRank = Google Scholar Metrics ranking; wlu(IF)Rank = Washington & Lee Law Journal Impact Factor Ranking.

Journal	MetaRank	prRank	usnRank	wluRank	gRank	wlu(IF)Rank
Harvard Law Review	1	1	2	1	1	26
Yale Law Journal	2	1	1	2	2	2
Columbia Law Review	3	4	4	3	3	6
Stanford Law Review	4	3	3	6	5	1
University of Pennsylvania Law Review	5	9	7	5	4	3
New York University Law Review	6	6	6	8	11	11
California Law Review	7	7	8	14	6	17
Georgetown Law Journal	8	13	14	4	6	7
Michigan Law Review	9	8	10	7	19	5
Virginia Law Review	10	9	9	18	11	15
Cornell Law Review	11	12	13	15	8	8
University of Chicago Law Review	12	5	5	25	14	28
Texas Law Review	12	15	15	10	9	19
Duke Law Journal	14	11	11	15	18	8
UCLA Law Review	15	16	16	13	13	4
Minnesota Law Review	16	20	20	9	14	13
Vanderbilt Law Review	17	17	17	19	17	10
Iowa Law Review	18	28	25	12	16	14
Northwestern University Law Review	19	14	12	23	33	22
Boston University Law Review	20	25	24	20	20	36
Fordham Law Review	21	34	38	11	10	39
Notre Dame Law Review	22	27	22	17	29	20
Emory Law Journal	23	21	21	33	22	26
George Washington Law Review	23	23	23	30	21	34
Southern California Law Review	25	19	18	39	24	28
Washington University Law Review	26	18	19	34	30	23
Boston College Law Review	27	29	30	21	24	24
Indiana Law Journal	28	31	27	25	24	21
William & Mary Law Review	29	32	31	27	22	18
Wisconsin Law Review	30	24	32	36	33	28
University of Illinois Law Review	31	33	40	31	28	33
North Carolina Law Review	32	21	39	29	47	25
UC Davis Law Review	33	26	36	35	41	32
Ohio State Law Journal	34	30	37	37	35	31
Washington & Lee Law Review	34	36	35	38	30	40
Washington Law Review	36	37	29	53	27	49
Florida Law Review	36	40	48	22	36	15
Hastings Law Journal	38	37	51	32	39	43
UC Irvine Law Review	39	35	26	62	39	61
Alabama Law Review	40	41	28	45	50	44
Arizona Law Review	41	42	43	42	42	44
Wake Forest Law Review	42	44	41	43	43	46
Maryland Law Review	42	47	46	46	32	47
Connecticut Law Review	42	52	55	28	36	12
Cardozo Law Review	45	53	58	23	45	38
Utah Law Review	46	51	46	48	46	50
George Mason Law Review	47	55	45	44	50	35
American University Law Review	48	48	64	40	43	41
BYU Law Review	48	50	42	47	56	57
Arizona State Law Journal	50	45	34	63	54	82
Colorado Law Review	51	43	44	64	48	70
Georgia Law Review	52	39	33	49	91	37
Case Western Reserve Law Review	53	61	62	56	38	70
Houston Law Review	54	66	54	50	50	56
Tulane Law Review	55	46	50	66	76	83
Florida State University Law Review	56	49	52	64	76	55
Lewis & Clark Law Review	57	81	82	41	48	42
University of Miami Law Review	58	54	68	77	56	62
Pepperdine Law Review	58	69	56	54	76	59
Brooklyn Law Review	60	67	81	55	60	72
University of Cincinnati Law Review	61	79	67	66	55	75
Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review	62	67	66	78	60	90
San Diego Law Review	63	57	71	80	65	69
Loyola University Chicago Law Journal	64	75	78	60	62	62
Temple Law Review	65	59	57	88	76	59
Seton Hall Law Review	66	83	65	59	76	54
SMU Law Review	67	64	49	103	68	114
Penn State Law Review	68	92	70	51	73	47
Chicago-Kent Law Review	69	70	79	83	65	96
Oregon Law Review	70	56	88	60	97	67
Denver University Law Review	71	63	71	68	101	88
Michigan State Law Review	72	101	94	57	56	80
Missouri Law Review	73	65	76	82	86	93
Nevada Law Journal	73	90	73	70	76	58
University of Kansas Law Review	75	60	75	89	86	96
Tennessee Law Review	76	62	63	97	91	77
University of Richmond Law Review	77	80	60	75	101	65
Seattle University Law Review	78	88	101	52	76	62
DePaul Law Review	79	99	107	57	56	53
Indiana Law Review	80	74	90	80	76	103
Kentucky Law Journal	81	71	61	92	101	77
Marquette Law Review	82	89	102	72	71	77
Louisiana Law Review	82	102	87	72	73	66
Nebraska Law Review	84	77	77	95	86	75
Buffalo Law Review	85	98	93	69	86	51
Oklahoma Law Review	86	78	69	118	91	124
Santa Clara Law Review	87	76	103	70	113	52
Catholic University Law Review	88	94	97	87	86	80
Georgia State University Law Review	89	73	59	93	141	114
Hofstra Law Review	89	97	106	95	68	117
Villanova Law Review	91	85	84	105	97	96
University of Pittsburgh Law Review	92	58	80	118	1000	96
South Carolina Law Review	93	91	98	89	97	84
Rutgers University Law Review	94	72	83	94	128	84
West Virginia Law Review	95	110	99	107	62	104
Albany Law Review	96	124	119	75	65	114
Saint Louis University Law Journal	97	99	96	98	101	104
Arkansas Law Review	98	95	85	128	91	163
Texas Tech Law Review	99	134	112	91	73	84
Mississippi Law Journal	100	104	109	85	113	84
Baylor Law Review	101	87	53	134	141	126
Maine Law Review	101	105	118	116	76	129
Akron Law Review	103	145	131	72	71	67
Howard Law Journal	104	96	122	98	106	92
Mitchell Hamline Law Review	104	148	138	86	50	124
Syracuse Law Review	106	93	95	131	106	141
Vermont Law Review	107	108	129	84	106	73
UMKC Law Review	108	106	114	103	106	121
Gonzaga Law Review	109	111	111	108	1000	93
Idaho Law Review	109	117	123	130	68	132
St. John’s Law Review	111	103	89	139	113	141
New York Law School Law Review	112	122	130	78	121	93
Drake Law Review	113	129	110	101	113	96
University of Louisville Law Review	114	107	92	134	128	112
Duquesne Law Review	115	151	141	111	62	121
New Mexico Law Review	116	84	74	154	1000	153
Cleveland State Law Review	117	138	117	102	112	74
University of the Pacific Law Review	118	127	134	120	91	156
University of Hawai'i Law Review	119	82	91	176	128	169
Wayne Law Review	120	115	104	146	113	134
Wyoming Law Review	121	116	119	145	101	137
Pace Law Review	122	132	140	98	113	109
University of San Francisco Law Review	123	118	136	115	1000	104
Mercer Law Review	124	114	113	113	145	149
Texas A&M Law Review	125	139	139	1000	106	1000
Quinnipiac Law Review	126	131	127	141	97	132
University of St. Thomas Law Journal	127	140	124	143	91	117
Chapman Law Review	128	143	126	113	121	102
Washburn Law Journal	129	136	132	106	134	104
Loyola Law Review	130	113	143	125	128	129
Creighton Law Review	130	128	121	109	151	126
University of Arkansas Little Rock Law Review	132	109	133	157	113	163
New England Law Review	132	165	160	111	76	129
University of Baltimore Law Review	134	124	128	131	1000	90
City University of New York (CUNY) Law Review	135	120	135	133	1000	104
Suffolk University Law Review	135	129	151	120	121	146
Tulsa Law Review	137	124	100	154	145	173
University of Memphis Law Review	138	141	146	116	121	89
Stetson Law Review	139	112	105	157	153	184
Drexel Law Review	139	119	116	146	1000	138
University of Toledo Law Review	141	142	144	126	121	146
South Dakota Law Review	142	143	146	123	128	109
Capital University Law Review	143	166	160	109	106	96
Northeastern University Law Journal	144	86	86	185	1000	182
Southwestern Law Review	144	135	145	128	134	117
Montana Law Review	146	121	124	161	141	153
Willamette Law Review	147	123	137	151	1000	149
Valparaiso University Law Review	148	152	160	120	134	134
John Marshall Law Review	149	152	152	123	145	146
FIU Law Review	150	156	115	157	151	173
Campbell Law Review	151	173	150	140	121	109
Ohio Northern University Law Review	152	170	149	138	128	162
Northern Kentucky Law Review	153	164	160	143	121	141
Mississippi College Law Review	154	166	160	156	113	153
Charleston Law Review	155	184	160	126	1000	112
Touro Law Review	156	169	160	134	134	156
Northern Illinois University Law Review	157	160	154	148	1000	126
Southern Illinois University Law Journal	158	149	156	151	156	163
North Dakota Law Review	159	137	148	174	154	186
Widener Commonwealth Law Review	160	155	153	174	134	178
Regent University Law Review	160	188	160	134	1000	117
Roger Williams University Law Review	162	154	160	166	139	178
St. Mary's Law Journal	162	159	158	151	1000	141
Nova Law Review	164	158	160	166	139	178
University of New Hampshire Law Review	165	133	108	194	1000	192
University of Dayton Law Review	166	147	155	164	1000	149
South Texas Law Review	167	157	156	173	145	178
Barry Law Review	168	191	160	142	1000	121
St. Thomas Law Review	169	178	160	149	1000	138
Golden Gate University Law Review	170	161	160	162	1000	167
Florida Coastal Law Review	170	187	160	149	1000	134
California Western Law Review	172	163	160	162	1000	138
Cumberland Law Review	173	150	142	178	1000	182
University of Detroit Mercy Law Review	174	176	160	166	149	169
Oklahoma City University Law Review	175	168	159	172	154	177
Widener Law Review	176	146	195	160	1000	149
Western New England Law Review	177	174	160	164	1000	159
Arizona Summit [Phoenix] Law Review	178	194	160	169	141	186
Southern University Law Review	179	178	160	170	1000	159
John Marshall Law Journal	180	182	160	170	1000	141
Elon Law Review	181	162	160	184	1000	185
Whittier Law Review	182	183	160	176	1000	163
Thomas Jefferson Law Review	183	178	160	182	1000	159
Thurgood Marshall Law Review	184	175	160	186	1000	169
Appalachian Journal of Law	185	186	160	181	1000	156
University of Massachusetts Law Review	186	171	160	190	1000	192
University of the District of Columbia Law Review	186	177	160	187	1000	175
Western State University Law Review	186	193	160	179	1000	167
North Carolina Central Law Review	189	172	160	190	1000	190
Ave Maria Law Review	190	195	160	179	1000	169
Liberty University Law Review	191	190	160	182	1000	175
Faulkner Law Review	192	185	160	187	1000	186
Florida A & M University Law Review	193	181	160	190	1000	191
Thomas M. Cooley Law Review	194	189	160	189	1000	189
Charlotte Law Review	195	192	160	190	1000	192

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 (averaged over ten years from 2010-2019), US News Peer Reputation Ranking (also averaged over 2010-2019), W&L Combined Ranking (at default weighting; 2010-2017), and Google Scholar Metrics law journal rankings (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 10-year period from 2010-2019) 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 ranking, 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 to August 2, 2018). Some journals that began after 2010 are effected by W&L’s ranking formula described here. Because the US News Ranking has changed how it reports 3^rd and 4^th Tier schools over the relevant period, I have done the following: for the 2010 and 2011 editions of the ranking, I gave all “Tier 3” schools a value of 115, and all “Tier 4” schools a 150; for 2012-2017, 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 2016-2019 rankings), I have averaged the ranks over just the years they appear, rather than by 10.

** The following journals (that appear in the top 100 across any of the rankings) do not appear in the current Google Scholar index:

Baylor Law Review (I used Google Metrics scores from the June 2015 index)
Drexel Law Review (used W&L twice)
Gonzaga Law Review (used W&L twice)
Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review (I have used the prior year’s data for ranking)
Mitchell Hamline Law Review (I have used the current Google Scholar metrics for the William Mitchell Law Review)
New England Law Review (used 2017 index)
New Mexico Law Review (used W&L twice)
Northeastern University Law Journal (used W&L twice)
Quinnipiac Law Review (used W&L twice)
Stetson Law Review (used 2017 index)
University of Arkansas Little Rock Law Review (used 2017 index)
University of Baltimore Law Review (used W&L twice)
University of Louisville Law Review (used 2015 index)
University of Pittsburgh Law Review (I have used W&L’s rank twice to keep the impact portion of the ranking at 50%)
University of San Francisco Law Review (used W&L twice)
University of St. Thomas Law Journal (used 2015 Google data)
Willamette Law Review (used W&L twice)

The following do not have full ranking data available in the Washington & Lee rankings:

Texas A&M Law Review (used Google Metrics data twice)
UC Irvine Law Review (does not have a full rank reported in the new 2018 W&L rankings. Thus, I have used the prior year’s ranking)

*** 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 (although not appearing in the top 100 reported here), 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 and 2018 ranks from US News but shared the single Widener school ranking reported in US News in its 2010-2016 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 to for Pepperdine.

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.