Published quarterly, the Arkansas Law Review has as its primary objective the dissemination of scholarly and authoritative articles on significant legal issues. Its Editorial Board serves the Arkansas legal community and beyond by publishing scholarship of state, national, and international importance.

The Arkansas Law Review’s official mission statement, which appears on the first page of every issue, states:

The Editorial Board proudly presents the Arkansas Law Review for the benefit of all who would learn and advance the law, whether judge, advocate, professor, or student. We have carefully developed these materials with the renewed goal of publishing and provoking original thought of domestic and international significance, so that legal research may be more informed and the provision of justice more exact.

History of the Arkansas Law Review

The School of Law at the University of Arkansas was established in 1924. Five years later, in 1929, the first Dean of the Law School, Julian S. Waterman, edited Volume 1, Issue 1 of the University of Arkansas Law School Bulletin. The Bulletin appeared intermittently through May 1942 and was then suspended for four years. The final issue of the Bulletin was published in May 1946. The Arkansas Law Review was established with the publication of the first issue in the fall semester of the 1946-1947 academic year.

Prior to the establishment of the Arkansas Law Review, the Arkansas Bar Association expressed interest in the creation of a law review and appointed committees to explore the possibility. The first two issues, which were published through the work of Dean Robert A. Leflar and his staff, were met with enthusiastic responses. Thereafter, a permanent plan was formulated under which the law review was made a joint undertaking of the law school and the Arkansas Bar Association.

Today, the law review is an established part of the legal community in Arkansas. It is cited and relied upon by lawyers and courts throughout the nation. Its articles and student writings have been quoted in books and learned journals throughout the world. For an in-depth discussion of the origins and traditions of the Arkansas Law Review, see Allen W. Bird II, The History of the Arkansas Law Review, 50 ARK. L. REV. 5 (1997).

Membership Selection

The Arkansas Law Review selects approximately 23 members from the rising 2L class. The top 14% of the class receives an invitation for candidacy, and the rest of the candidates are chosen through the annual write-on competition. The top 14% is calculated based on grades received during the first year of law school. All rising 2Ls with a 2.75 or higher gpa are eligible to compete. The competition includes a legal research and writing problem as well as a Bluebook component. The competition is typically conducted during July after the first year grades are finalized.