Legal Journals

Wish I Could Read Wikipedia and Legal Education Article...

Bill Gratsch — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 14:45:57 GMT

Hat tip to Anupam Chander at Law School Innovation for pointing out that Law Professor Beth Simone Noveck penned an article for the Journal of Legal Education entitled Wikipedia and the Future of Legal Education.

I'd like to know more, but cannot find the article online anywhere. Professor Noveck writes at Cairns Blog, but I did not see the article there and it appears the Journal of Law Education is simply a print journal.

Which makes wonder aloud, at what point do print-only legal journals go the way of the dinosaur? I have no problem with print in itself, but by staying with a print-only model, it certainly limits the potential audience for the articles within a journal.

Especially for a timely topic like WIKIs, it seems a bit odd that a thoughtful article on the potential role of a community-driven online technology in legal education can only be consumed in print. And, if the purpose of such articles is to start a conversation and/or debate within the legal community, relying solely on print certainly makes this purpose much more difficult to achieve.

No doubt there is an economic reason behind maintaining legal journals in print. Funding to even print the journals likely is dependent on maintaining a significant print subscriber base. But, I also have to wonder how sustainable the old business models will be in future years. Perhaps big institutions can afford to keep getting print volumes en masse, but it appears the trend at law firms, corporate legal departments and even some legal libraries is downsizing physical volumes, not increasing or even maintaining the current level.

Just an observation from one guy who wishes he could simply Google the article, find it online, read it, and perhaps post a comment or two in response...sigh, maybe one day...

Law Journals Embracing Weblogs

Bill Gratsch — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 10:32:05 GMT

A number of law journals are now leveraging weblog technology to present information and commentary online. Some are offering online weblog 'digests' which supplement the traditional printed journal, while others are solely online.

The common thread I have seen in these online efforts is a desire for a more timely forum to comment on new developments in the journal's area of coverage. Especially for those that print quarterly (or even less frequently), there is a lot of news and information of interest coming out in between publications; a weblog offers them the chance to talk about it as it happens versus months or years later. The weblogs also offer them the chance to draw in a new audience for the print publications and otherwise engage in the larger conversation occurring throughout the blawgosphere.

Here are the leaders in this move online. Check them out:

The Journal of the Business Law Society - University of Illinois College of Law

Recent post: Evolution of Maternalism in Corporate Law

Harvard International Law Journal Digest - Harvard Law School

Recent Post: South American Leaders Reach Agreement in Energy Summit

Tech Law Forum - Santa Clara University School of Law

Recent post: RIAA to Internet Radio: Dodge This Bullet

iBlawg - Duke Law School

Recent Post: The Federal Circuit and Administrative Law Principles

The Yale Journal Pocket Part - Yale Law School

Recent Post: Unpacking the Household: Informal Property Rights Around the Hearth

Colloquy : Northwestern University Law Review - Northwestern

Recent Post: Mandatory Pro Bono and Private Attorneys General

Legal Journals Test Blawgosphere

Bill Gratsch — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 18:20:04 GMT

As I was updating Blawg's directory in recent weeks, I was pleasantly surprised to see that four legal journals are testing the waters in the blawgosphere.

Each journal appears to have its own reason for starting a blawg, but the common thread appears to be the view that the sites can serve as companions to their print publication. Colloquy: Northwestern University Law Review and The Yale Journal Pocket Part, in particular, seem to be advancing this idea.

Makes sense to me.

Check out all four journals here