Michigan State Law Review Climbs to New Heights in National Rankings

By Anne Marie Gattari

The Michigan State Law Review continues its ascent in national prominence, moving from 56th to 53rd among more than 200 American flagship law journals in the Washington and Lee University rankings.

Its ranking in two additional significant measures also soared: 31st in Impact Score from 51; and 27th in Currency Factor from 55. The rankings were released in July and measure work from 2021 through 2025.

This continued rise builds on a multi-year trajectory that has established MSLR as one of Michigan State University College of Law’s “crown jewels,” said Professor and Associate Dean David Blankfein-Tabachnick, the journal’s faculty advisor.

“A few years back, I began publicly calling MSLR one of the College of Law’s crown jewels, and the world took notice,” said Professor and Associate Dean David Blankfein-Tabachnick, the journal’s faculty advisor. "MSLR has become known for publishing some of the most important legal academics in the world, and this, in turn, drives further interest in authors submitting their work to the journal.

“By actively seeking out world-renowned scholars, hosting high-profile symposia, and curating its Visionary Scholar Article Series, the journal has consistently published the caliber of scholarship often reserved for journals at top law schools,” he said.

I’d like to congratulate Professor Blankfein-Tabachnick and MSLR’s alumni on these outstanding rankings, which reflect generations of dedication to advancing legal scholarship. I am also deeply grateful to my 2026 Articles team—Sam Baker, Jimmy Joyce, Nicholas Kozizta, and Borna Mafie—for their exceptional work. Together with distinguished legal scholars from around the world, the team and I introduced meaningful innovations that strengthened MSLR. The exceptional feedback received by our Articles Department is a testament to the dedication, collaboration, and high standards that defined our work. –Katherine Held, ’26, Michigan State Law Review, Senior Articles Editor

Impact Factor measures how often MSLR articles are cited by legal scholars and practitioners. Currency Factor measures how quickly those articles are cited.

In recent years, the journal has featured work from an extraordinary roster of legal minds, including former Yale Law School Dean Robert C. Post, former NYU School of Law Dean Richard Revesz, and Cornell Law School Dean Jens David Ohlin.

The journal has also published pieces by Akhil Amar, Mark Lemley, Matthew Stephenson, Edward McCaffery, Kenneth Abraham, Eric Posner, Julia Mahoney, and Lisa Larrimore Ouellette.

It has forthcoming work from Ekow Yankah and Kyle Logue, a former Dean of the University of Michigan Law School. Logue’s piece is an extended study of artificial intelligence and insurance law and resulted from Dean Logue’s recent MSU Law Faculty Workshop.

For more than a decade, Blankfein-Tabachnick has guided the student editors to raise its rankings and attract this level of scholarship.

“The benefits of this national reputation extend well beyond the pages of the journal itself,” said Blankfein-Tabachnick.

My position on the Michigan State Law Review was the catalyst for my career. It was one of the main reasons I secured my federal district court clerkship, which led to my Sixth Circuit clerkship.  That clerkship experience ultimately shaped my practice today.  And without the skills I gained from Law Review, I would not have the experience I have or be in the position I am now.  Serving as one of the many Editors-in-Chief throughout the history of this journal was the highlight of my law school journey, and I'm honored to have played a small part in the journal's history. I look forward to watching the Michigan State Law Review continue to rise in prestige. –Kylee Nemetz, Litigation Attorney, Varnum LLP, Class of 2021

The journal’s reputation helps student editors receive federal clerkships as allows the College of Law to recruit both prospective students and faculty. MSLR was also critical to the College of Law’s induction into the Order of the Coif last year.

Each academic year, some 65 student editors work with world-renowned scholars to publish five print issues and a monthly online edition. Once the students choose submitted articles for a print edition, verifying every citation line by line. Articles go through up to five rounds of edits.

“I am very proud of the MSU Law Review's continued rise in the national standing. It is a tribute to the great program and the terrific students in the program. Continue with your success. Your success impacts your alumni like me by polishing the apple of the institution's Law Review program, which reflects well on all the alumni,” said Paul H. Huth, Class of 1980.

Behind the rising rankings is painstaking, student-led work. With every issue, MSLR’s editors strengthen the journal’s national reputation while gaining the rigorous research, writing, and editorial experience that will serve them throughout their legal careers.