The American Journal of Legal History is a peer-reviewed, peer-reviewed legal journal. It has been published quarterly since 1957. It is the first English-language journal devoted exclusively to the history of law. Since 2016, it has been published by Oxford University Press.[1] According to Professor Surrency, the journal was founded to provide a forum for legal historians to do their work and advance “law by studying its history.” [5] As a peer-reviewed publication, the journal offers authors “a more experienced editorial hand [and its] articles are often shorter, filled with less published or ephemeral articles than an exchange of ideas between researchers.” [6] In their groundbreaking work on developing the growth of American legal history as a field of research, Professors William E. Nelson and John Phillip Reid noted that the journal is “a publication in which academic historians talk to each other. [and] virtually every one of the journal`s many articles [is] essential reading for those who want to stay current in the field. [16] The journal, published by Temple University Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from its founding in 1957 until 2015, had four editors during this period, all at Temple University School of Law: Professor Surrency (1957-81); Prof. Dr. Diane C.

Maleson (1982-2002); Lawrence J. Reilly (2008 to 2014) and Professor Harwell Wells (2015). [10] The editors since 2016 are Stefan Vogenauer and Alfred Brophy. The editors of the book reviews are Lee Wilson and Matthew Dyson. The international editorial staff of the journal includes more than twenty eminent legal historians. [11] From 1957 to 1974, Earl Warren, former Chief Justice of the United States, served as Honorary Chair of the Advisory Council. [12] The Journal was the first English-language journal devoted exclusively to legal history. [7] The journal publishes articles, essays, and book reviews on all aspects of legal history. [8] Although a common misconception is that the magazine`s cover is limited to “American legal history,” publishers make a point of regularly publishing books on non-American legal history. [9] The “American” part of the title refers to the journal`s original location – in the United States – not to the topic it publishes. Printed copies of the newspaper may be purchased from W.S. Hein & Co., Inc.

Electronic copies of the journal are available on the journal`s website,[17] as well as on EBSCO, HeinOnline, JSTOR, LexisNexis, and Westlaw. From 1974 to 2015, the newspaper was printed by the George H. Buchanan Company in Logan Township, New Jersey. [13] The American Journal of Legal History was founded by Temple University Law Library Director Erwin C. Surrency. [2] The first issue appeared in February 1957. [3] From its inception until 1982, the journal was the official publication of the American Society for Legal History. [4] Federal and state judges cited the review in 125 published opinions. [14] The researchers cited the journal in more than 3,000 articles and more than 15,000 books. [15].