About

The Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy is one of the five most widely circulated law reviews and the nation’s leading forum for conservative and libertarian legal scholarship. The Journal prides itself on developing the writing, researching, and editing skills of each staff member. In collaboration with our sister organization, the Harvard Federalist Society, we provide guidance and advice that focuses on the holistic development of our editors.

For shorter-form scholarship that tackles more current development in law and public policy, please visit JLPP: Per Curiam, an online counterpart to our print edition.

The Journal was founded over forty years ago by the late Steven Eberhard and former Senator and Secretary of Energy E. Spencer Abraham in the Spring of 1978. Since its founding, many of the Journal’s alumni have risen to prominent legal positions in the government and at the nation’s top law firms. Some of our distinguished alumni include:

Hon. Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Hon. Jennifer Elrod, Chief Judge of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
Hon. John Bush, Circuit Judge of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
Hon. Kevin Newsom, Circuit Judge of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
Hon. Gregory Katsas, Circuit Judge of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals

… and many others in state and federal judiciaries;

Tom Cotton, United States Senator
Ted Cruz, United States Senator
Michael Pompeo, 70th United States Secretary of State
Ron DeSantis, 46th Governor of Florida
Rachel Brand, Associate Attorney General
Beth Williams, Assistant Attorney General

… and many others in public service;

Adrian Vermeule, Professor at Harvard Law School
Orin Kerr, Professor at Stanford Law School
Joel Alicea, Professor at Catholic University of America
Brian T. Fitzpatrick, Professor at Vanderbilt Law School

… and many others in the legal academy.

Our Board of Advisors includes two U.S. Senators, four U.S. Court of Appeals Judges, and leading conservative and libertarian scholars. Past authors have included Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Neil Gorsuch, and then-Vice President George H.W. Bush.