The Dickinson Law Review was originally founded as The Forum in 1897. Today, it stands as the nation’s fifth-oldest legal journal and is the flagship publication of Penn State Dickinson Law.

The Dickinson Law Review  is a student-run journal that serves the legal community by publishing articles and commentary on timely legal topics. Each year, our three print issues contain articles by professors, judges, and practitioners, reviews of important recent books from recognized experts, and student-authored comments.

The Dickinson Law Review was published under several names throughout its storied history:

The Forum (1897–1908): Vols. 1–12
Dickinson Law Review (1908–2003): Vols. 13–107
Penn State Law Review (2003–2017): Vols. 108–121
Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present): Vols. 122 onward

The Dickinson Law Review is steeped in tradition; one of its traditions is innovation. The journal is credited with being the first law review in the nation to have a woman editor, Julia Radle, an 1899 graduate of the Dickinson School of Law.

Editors select, edit, and publish articles and comments at the forefront of legal scholarship. Each editor is trained to evaluate submissions critically and comprehensively. Through a team-editing process, editors address each piece’s analysis, writing style, research, organization, and accuracy and work closely with authors to improve their work. 

Each year, the  Dickinson Law Review  Syposium brings stakeholders in the legal community, including practitioners, academics, jurists, and law students, together for scholarly dialogue about forthcoming and recently published articles.

The Dickinson Law Review  also affords its editors two valuable educational experiences. First, it assists each member in preparing an original work of scholarship suitable for professional publication. Second, it provides training in the performance of all the editorial and administrative tasks associated with publishing a professional legal journal.

Since the Dickinson Law Review’s founding, more than 126 editorial boards have continued the journal’s original mission of disseminating legal scholarship to the world.

For more information, visit our website or contact DickinsonLRev@psu.edu.