UC Davis Law Review ranks 27th in the W&L Law Review rankings, breaking into top 30

The UC Davis School of Law’s flagship journal has broken into the top 30 slots on the Washington & Lee’s Law Journal Rankings for impact factor, coming in at No. 27, up seven points from last year.  The rankings are determined by the number of documents with citations of its articles in other law review articles and court cases.

Recently, for example, United States Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor cited to the UC Davis Law Review’s article “Denying Trademark for Scandalous Speech,” by University of South Carolina Law Professor Ned Snow, in her dissent in Iancu v. Brunetti, a 2019 case that held the Lanham Act’s prohibition on registration of “immoral or scandalous” trademarks violated the First Amendment. Justice Sotomayor’s citation to the Law Review bolstered her argument that the term “scandalous” has covered language that “cause[s] a visceral reaction” or is not commonly used around children.

Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law Afra Afsharipour says that the increased rankings will raise the profile of the journal.

“The UC Davis Law Review is committed to publishing high impact scholarship. Its recognition as a journal that selects leading legal scholarship is an important one as scholars often consider the Washington & Lee rankings in deciding where to publish their work.”

Jessica Gillotte, Editor in Chief of the UC Davis Law Review, explains the criteria by which articles are chosen for the journal.

“Our editors don’t wish to capture trends, we search for scholarship on a broad range of issues that we believe will be relevant and ripe for analysis for years to come,” Gillotte explains.

The Law Review conducts a rigorous article selection process, reviewing hundreds of manuscripts each year.