Note from the Editor: The Federalist Society takes no positions on particular legal and public policy matters. Any expressions of opinion are those of the author. We welcome responses to the views presented here. To join the debate, please email us at [email protected].
Legal academia is unique among academic fields in that publishing is largely controlled by graduate students through the law review system. While this saves faculty time, it also means student editors evaluate scholarship on topics they barely know. The result is a system that struggles to recognize good scholarship and penalizes pieces that differ from the current academic ideological mainstream.
To help foster high-quality publishing and free and robust debate in legal academia, many law professors from top schools (including many Federalist Society members) are working together to start a new publication—the Independent Law Journal. All articles published in the Journal will be peer-approved by a faculty board, but student staff will still handle most of the Journal’s operations and will collaborate with faculty in initial article selection. The Journal’s mission statement is as follows:
The Independent Law Journal (ILJ) is a forum for independent-minded law professors, students, and professionals to publish scholarly articles, including pieces that conflict with current academic mainstream thought. The Journal is committed to free speech, freedom from ideological discrimination, and fostering robust scholarly debate across a wide range of viewpoints. In keeping with this mission, the Journal is overseen by a board of distinguished and ideologically varied legal scholars. It is staffed by independent-minded law students drawn from America’s top law schools and selected for their academic excellence. As a nationwide scholar-led, peer-approved, and student-staffed journal, the Independent Law Journal brings together current and future legal experts to publish groundbreaking ideas. The Journal aims to provide a space for conversation across the ideological spectrum. It believes that progress is often made through disagreement and that truth often emerges from debate.
The ILJ is a non-partisan journal committed to publishing equally from left, right, and center. Nobody benefits from groupthink, and the Journal will work hard to prevent itself from becoming an echo chamber.
We are currently enlisting public supporters for the ILJ to give it maximum credibility and reach in legal academia. We are encouraged by the support we have received so far from many prominent legal scholars who span the ideological spectrum. If you are a law professor, legal scholar, or judge who supports the ILJ’s mission, we would love to list you as a public supporter (the time commitment is zero). And even if you don’t fall into one of those categories, we still value your support and hope you will spread the word about the ILJ and keep it in mind if you are ever publishing a piece of legal scholarship. I am the primary faculty contact for supporters, and I can be reached at [email protected].
You can find more details about how the ILJ will operate on our (developing) website here. Support, suggestions, and constructive criticism are all welcome. If you value high-quality scholarship, appreciate free and robust debate, or think the law review system needs improvement in other ways, we hope you will join us in making this new journal a success.
