Jotwell, the Journal of Things We Like (Lots), celebrates its second anniversary today. It is the brainchild of Michael Froomkin (Miami). Here's an excerpt from Jotwell's mission statement:
Most of us are able to keep abreast of our fields, but it is increasingly hard to know what we should be reading in related areas. It is nearly impossible to situate oneself in other fields that may be of interest but cannot be the major focus of our attention.
A small number of major law journals once served as the gatekeepers of legitimacy and, in so doing, signaled what was important * * * * Great articles [now] appear in relatively obscure places. (And odd things sometimes find their way into major journals.) Plus, legal publishing has been both fragmented and democratized: specialty journals, faculty peer reviewed journals, interdisciplinary journals, all now play important roles in the intellectual ecology. * * * *
Jotwell will help fill that gap. We will not be afraid to be laudatory, nor will we give points for scoring them. Rather, we will challenge ourselves and our colleagues to share their wisdom and be generous with their praise. We will be positive without apology.
In other words, Jotwell is a curated guide to new law review articles. It is organized by subject-matter "Sections." Each Section has one or more faculty editors (disclosure: Bill LaPiana (NYLS) and I are editors of Jotwell's Trusts & Estates section). The Section Editors recruit or solicit faculty volunteers to serve as Contributing Editors. All Contributing Editors write "at least one Jotwell essay of 500-1000 words per year in which they identify and explain the significance of one or more significant recent works."
Jotwell is a helpful tool for keeping abreast of legal scholarship in one's field and across the legal academy, so feel free browse the site (here), if it is of interest.
Editor-in-Chief Michael Froomkin is the one who grows, feeds and cares for this great resource. Thanks, Michael!
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