By Gwyneth K. Shaw
Ecology Law Quarterly was the first student organization Grayson Peters ’24 joined as a 1L. Now co-editor-in-chief alongside Becky Hunter ’24, he says it’s defined his law school experience.
“It’s unique and special, in my view, because it’s one part academic journal, one part social club,” Peters says. “There’s space for people who really want to get into the weeds of editorial work on super niche, super cutting edge, environmental law and energy law issues, and there’s also a space for people who just want friends to go hiking with.
“Because we have sort of two levels of intensity, it ends up being a really fun and robust community, where people who wouldn’t describe themselves as environmental law diehards get to learn more about environmental law, and people who are environmental law diehards get to make more friends.”
The journal, often referred to on campus as ELQ, is one of 13 student-run journals at Berkeley Law, offering the same appeal to those with interests across a huge swath of the law. And these popular publications continue to draw laurels for their culture of excellence: A dozen were ranked among the best in the nation in a new set of quadrennial national rankings from the Washington & Lee Law Journal, with eight in the top 10.
The rankings cover 2018 to 2022 and are based on the number of citations for articles in each journal. The list, which includes a variety of scholarship categories, reflect the influence journals wield in legal academia and the judicial system.
The Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law (BJELL) held its No. 1 ranking in its category from four years ago, and two others made major leaps: the flagship California Law Review (CLR) rose four spots to No. 5 in the overall category and ELQ jumped from No. 8 to No. 2 among journals specializing in environmental law.
Among the other categories, the Berkeley Technology Law Journal (BTLJ) earned a second-place ranking, the online Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law 5th, the Berkeley Business Law Journal and Berkeley Latine Journal Of Law & Policy (formerly Berkeley La Raza Law Journal) 7th, and the Asian American Law Journal (AALJ) 10th.
Like Peters, other student journal leaders say they have a multifaceted experience: A chance to dive deep into scholarly takes on a field they’re interested in, but also an opportunity to meet and bond with others who share their interests.
Building bonds
Sam Goity ’24, co-editor-in-chief alongside Athena Arana ’24, found the resources BJELL offered were a big part of what drew him to Berkeley Law, and his work on the journal has been one of the highlights of his law school career. The publication is a hub for social connections and its huge alumni network is a great bonus, he says.
Arana highlights BJELL’s collaborative relationships with other workers’ rights-oriented organizations at the law school, including the Center for Law and Work and several Student-Initiated Legal Services Projects, as well as across campus. Together, they offer lots of experiences for students, from scholarly and policy research to hands-on advocacy.
“I think we have a strong attraction to students who see the law as a forum to make systemic change, especially for the betterment of marginalized communities, such as low-wage workers,” she says.
Many students plan to work in the nonprofit or public interest sector after graduation, Arana adds, and find like-minded peers in the BJELL office.
“I love that sense of community,” she says. “That’s one of the reasons I came to Berkeley. I think a lot of folks are interested in integrating social justice into their legal education. At BJELL, we have that history — we’ve spoken to alums from 10, 20 years ago, and that social justice spirit was there then, and it’s here now. Sam and I are doing what we can to make sure that continues, this year and moving forward.”
Driving forces
Many of Berkeley Law’s journals host or co-host events that draw speakers and attendees from outside the school to tackle a variety of topics. Last spring, CLR worked with the Civil Justice Research Initiative for its annual symposium, which focused on federal civil rights laws and police use-of-force cases.
AALJ convened a major gathering to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the coram nobis case overturning Korematsu v. United States. And each fall, BTLJ pairs with the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology to host a fall symposium highlighting an issue at the intersection of technology and racial justice. This November’s edition will focus on the 50th anniversary of establishing the right to privacy in California through the lens of civil rights and social justice.
Innovation is another key component of the journals’ ethos, through publishing pathbreaking scholarship and many other ways. CLR’s current leaders, including Editor-in-Chief Chloe Pan ’24 and Managing Editor Zabdi Salazar ’24, have pushed through some changes to the school’s flagship journal, including how students join and the way articles are selected and edited.
Founded in 1971 as the environmental movement was just taking shape, ELQ helped define the scholarly field of environmental law and continues to expand and influence it. For example, Peters notes, the journal’s staff is working on publishing an article by NYU Law Professor Richard Revesz, who’s now leading the White House Office for Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a critical regulatory arm for energy and environmental policy.
“He’s publishing with ELQ on his theories for how to best determine what regulations should be enacted,” Peters says. “I think that kind of example speaks to ELQ’s stature, and I think it’s really exciting that even though we’re operating on somewhat new terrain, we’ve been able to establish ourselves so well.”
The journal also offers extensive opportunities for students to publish their work, and is deeply connected with the school’s Environmental Law Writing Seminar. The journal reflects not just the reasoning of experienced scholars in the field, but also the next generation of thinkers, Peters says.
“Yes, ELQ likes the Top Gun scholars — obviously, like every other institution of a law school, we have one eye towards prestige. But ELQ is also a space for up-and-comers,” he says.
“We devote a lot of pages to what students think, and that’s part of what makes it really special.”
Hunter also points to innovation in another realm: As advocates place more emphasis on environmental and energy justice, the journal’s staff has made efforts to publish scholarship on the topic. The most recent issue, she says, has two articles that address that aspect of the field, including a piece about disparate access to outdoor recreation for people of color.
Hunter says she and Peters are also trying to collaborate with other journals on issues that cut across topics and research fields.
“I think it’s going to be fruitful, especially because more and more people in the field are realizing that you can’t tease apart environmental issues from social justice issues,” she says. “I like the way things are headed.”
Richly rewarding
Like their BJELL counterparts, Hunter and Peters point to ELQ as a nerve center for students interested in environmental and energy law. The journal has close ties to the Center for Law, Energy, & the Environment, student-led experiential groups, the Environmental Law Clinic — and a long roster of alumni who are deeply engaged and influential in the field.
That list boasts several faculty members who were ELQ members in their student days, including Professor Holly Doremus ’91, who’s now a faculty advisor, and Professor Claudia Polsky ’96, who directs the clinic and is an ELQ board member.
“ELQ has been a home to me on campus,” says Hunter, who worked in wildlife conservation before coming to law school. “And the lineage of the journal makes me really proud to lead it.”