Guide to Law Journal Online Companions

As I have posted in the past (e.g. More Law Journals Adding Blog Companions, April 20, 2007; Gatekeeping in Legal Scholarship in an Online Age, July 24, 2007), an increasing number of law reviews are supplementing their traditional print edition with online blogs, additions, discussion forums, etc.

LLRX.com has just published an article entitled Guide to Short Form Open Access Legal Publications by Ken Strutin, Director of Legal Information Services at the New York State Defenders Association. It provides an overview of this emerging phenomenon in legal scholarship:

"The companion publications fit into a growing niche of multi-format interactive online journals. They usually seek responses to articles appearing in their main law reviews and solicit original scholarship or viewpoints on current topics. Many of the publishers invite responses or discussion, via site blogs, on subjects raised in their short form articles. Overall, they offer a new conduit for debate and discussion of legal issues, and a new research and current awareness tool".

"While blogs and Wikis are beginning to find their place, law review companions are building on an established path for disseminating and preserving legal scholarship. And they embrace the best of print and online traditions by adhering to the publishing standards of law reviews while taking advantage of the public square of the Internet (...) This article is a collection of these emerging short form journals".