A law review is a scholarly journal focusing on legal issues, normally published by an organization of students at a law school. The term is also used to describe the extracurricular activity of publishing the journal. Law review and moot court are the two most significant activities of this nature in which law students can engage.

Law review as an academic journal

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The primary function of a law review is to provide a vehicle for academic publishing in the field of law. The vast majority of law review articles are written by law professors, although it is not uncommon to find articles written by judges and legal practitioners as well. Many law reviews also publish shorter articles written by law students, normally called "notes" and "comments."The traditional distinction between "notes" and "comments" is that a note (sometimes called a "case note") is an analysis of the holding in a specific court case, while a comment is focused on either legislation or on a more general legal theory or principle. Law review articles serve an important purpose in that they express the ideas of legal experts with regard to the direction the law should take in certain areas. Such writings have proven influential in the development of the law, and have frequently been cited as persuasive authority by the United States Supreme Court and other courts throughout the United States.

Almost every American law school publishes at least one law review, but most law schools have several. Generally, one law review at each school, sometimes referred to as the law school's "main" or "flagship journal", publishes articles dealing with all areas of law. This journal is normally named after the law school (e.g., the Stanford Law Review, or the Wisconsin Law Review). Other journals publish only articles that focus on a specific area of law, such as international law, environmental law, or human rights (e.g., the Cornell International Law Journal or the North Carolina Journal of Law and Technology). These are often referred to as "specialty law journals".

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