Law Journal Meta-Ranking, 2020 Edition – Bryce Clayton Newell, PhD, JD

Meta-Ranking of Flagship US Law Reviews

This is an updated ranking of the top flagship law reviews at US law schools (updated as of July 15, 2020). The first version of this ranking is available at PrawfBlawg (2016), along with the rationale for why I created the “meta ranking” in the first place (see also: 2019 Edition; 2018 Summer Edition; 2018 Spring Edition). The ranking table below includes 191 flagship 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 2012 through the 2021 edition) and the current W&L (2015-2019; released on June 1, 2020) and Google Scholar (July 2020) rankings. Each column (ranking) is sortable, and you can use the search box to search for individual law reviews.

Meta-Ranking of Flagship US Law Reviews (2020 Edition), by Bryce Newell

Journal	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 3^rd and 4^th 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.