Countering the Law Review Stigma

Law review articles are often assumed to be overlooked and underutilized by practicing attorneys and judges. They have been likened to “instant mashed potatoes” —  to be avoided by gourmet chefs in all but the most dire of circumstances. Ohio attorney Jared Klaus has taken a look at this assumption to see if it holds true for the Supreme Court of Ohio. In his article Law Reviews: An Undervalued Resource published in the May / June 2012 issues of Ohio Lawyer [full text, article starts page 28], he finds that the negative stigma associated with law reviews is not necessarily accurate. Klaus reports that law reviews are cited by the Supreme Court of Ohio with some regularity, especially in cases involving issues of first impression, or when there is a lower court split. Ohio Supreme Court judges also appear to turn to law reviews in cases involving issues of societal importance. The author gives the example of law review articles used in a major eminent domain case. A final note of interest – Klaus reports that Ivy League reviews don’t necessarily get top billing – the Akron Law Review has been cited by the Justices in the past decade more than any other journal.