Albany Law Review


The Albany Law Review is a quarterly law review edited by students at Albany Law School. The Albany Law Review is one of three student-edited law journals published by the school. The other journals are the Albany Law Journal of Science and Technology and the Albany Government Law Review.

History

The Albany Law Review was founded in 1936. Its founding followed the publication of the Albany Law School Journal, the first student-edited legal periodical in the United States. The Albany Law Review considers itself to be the Albany Law School Journal's successor publication. The only verified surviving copy of the Albany Law School Journal hangs in the office of the Editor-in-Chief of the Albany Law Review.
The Albany Law Review has historically published four issues annually. For most of its history, the issues were of no particular topical focus or were topically linked to a symposium held at the law school. In 1996, the Albany Law Review absorbed the Rutgers publication State Constitutional Commentary and Notes, dedicating one of its four annual issues---titled State Constitutional Commentary---to scholarship related to state constitutional law. In 2010, the journal dedicated a second issue---titled New York Appeals---to the study of appellate courts in New York State. The following year, a third issue---titled Miscarriages of Justice---was dedicated to exploring failures in the criminal justice system. That issue is created in partnership with the State University of New York at Albany's School of Criminal Justice.
In addition, the journal has also sponsored a series of symposia, bringing noted speakers on contemporary legal topics to the law school. These speakers range from politicians, to legal academics, to sitting members of the judiciary. In recent years, the Albany Law Review has held two symposia, one in each semester of the academic year.

Membership

The members of the Albany Law Review are all students at Albany Law School. As with many law reviews, attaining membership on the Albany Law Review is a competitive process. Students become eligible for journal membership upon completion of their first year of law school. Offers of membership are extended based on student class standing or on the results of a writing competition jointly administered by the school's three student-edited journals. Members are given editorial and research related assignments in their second year of law school and are required to produce an article of publishable quality. In their third year, members may be elected to the Editorial Board, which handles the overall production and publication of the journal.
The faculty advisor of the Albany Law Review is Vincent Martin Bonventre.

Notable symposia