A Few More Words About Law Reviews

by Bo Links

Did Professor Uelmen think there could be a law review critique (see Gerald F. Uelmen, The Wit, Wisdom, and Worthlessness of Law Reviews) without someone adding a footnote? Impossible. In fact, speaking of footnotes, see Arthur D. Austin, Footnote Skullduggery and Other Bad Habits, 44 U. Miami. L. Rev. 1009 (1990). And if the good professor thinks he's the first with the burst about law review irrelevance, forget it. (See, e.g., Fred Rodell, Goodbye to Law Reviews, 23 Va. L. Rev. 38 (1936).) While we're at it, maybe we should just toss the beloved Bluebook out the window too. (See Richard A. Posner, Goodbye to the Bluebook, 53 U. Chi. L. Rev. 1343 (1986).)

But that's not to say that law reviews haven't had their moments. There is, of course, that seminal article, with a catchy title, that spawned the right of privacy. (Brandeis & Warren, The Right of Privacy, 4 Harv. L. Rev. 193 (1893).) In more modern times, perhaps the most facile entry would be that unbelievably creative essay about affirmative action. Indeed, it was written before there even was affirmative action as we know it. (See Boris Bittker, The Case of the Checker-Board Ordinance: An Experiment in Race Relations, Yale L.J. 1387 (1962).)

Ah, but I digress. The fact is, practicing lawyers do not pay much attention to law review articles. They would much rather read the MCLE section of California Lawyer and get credit for it. That said, there are a few modern day classics in the field of "law review writing" (assuming those three words even belong in the same sentence). We all have our favorites, and seeing as I'm the Legal Editor of California Lawyer, I get to put forth mine:

For Trivia: Paul D. Healey, De Minimis Curat Lex: A Compendium of Legal Trivia, 89 Law. Libr. J. 55 (1997).

For Rock & Roll: [Insert Lyrics Here]: The Uses and Misuses of Popular Music Lyrics in Legal Writing, 64 Wash. & Lee. L. Rev. 531 (2007).

For Ingenuity:

? Gold Medal: Robert M. Jarvis, Legal Tales from Gilligan's Island, 39 Santa Clara L. Rev. 185 (1998);

? Silver: Lon Fuller, The Case of the Speluncean Explorers, 62 Harv. L. Rev. 616 (1949);

? Bronze: Paul Horowitz, et al., The Law of Prime Numbers, 68 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 185 (1993);

? Copper: Charles Yablon, Suing the Devil: A Guide for Practitioners, 86 Va. L. Rev. 103 (2000).

For Brevity: Erik M. Jensen, The Shortest Article in Law Review History, 50 J. Legal Educ. 156 (2000).

For Parody: Andrew J. McClurg, The World's Greatest Law Review Article for Anyone Taking Life too Seriously, 81-Oct A.B.A. J. 84 (1995).

Special Recognition: Jack Achiezer Guggenheim, The Evolution of Chutzpah as a Legal Term: The Chutzpah Championship, Chutzpah Award, Chutzpah Doctrine, and Now the Supreme Court, 87 Ky. L. J. 417 (1999).

And know this: there are some excellent compendiums out there that, well, summarize the compendiums. Case in point: Thomas E. Baker, A Compendium of Clever and Amusing Law Review Writings, 51 Drake L. Rev. 105 (2002).

Got some more? Then come on down. What do you think the "letters" section is for? Go to letters_callaw@dailyjournal.com (current technology) or write to California Lawyer, 44 Montgomery Street, Suite 250, San Francisco, CA 94104 (old technology). And you can always send a fax (which really is, let's face it, old technology too). Our fax number is 415-296-2439.

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