"After 30 years spent in courtrooms in Texas, ... I am comfortable that SMU's emphasis on how to think as opposed to what to think has been instrumental in procuring justice for a number of deserving clients."
- Frank Branson '69, '74
Partner, Law Offices of Frank L. Branson, PC
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Law Journals

Students have the opportunity to receive academic credit for and participate in the publication of five law reviews — the SMU Law Review, the Journal of Air Law and Commerce, The International Lawyer, the Law and Business Review of the Americas and the SMU Science and Technology Law Review. The SMU Law Review and the Journal of Air Law and Commerce are published by the SMU Law Review Association. The International Lawyer and Law & Business Review of the Americas are published by the International Law Review Association of SMU. The law reviews select their editorial staffs on the basis of academic performance and a writing competition. The writing competition is open to students who have completed all first-year required courses and generally is held during the summer.

The operation and management of each publication is vested in an elected board of editors. The board is selected from those students who have served at least one year on the staff of the law review and who have exhibited a strong ability in legal research and writing. The work of students on the school’s publications has produced periodicals of permanent value to the legal profession.

The SMU Law Review, formerly the Southwestern Law Journal, is published four times each year and reaches law schools, attorneys, and judges throughout the United States and abroad. Each issue includes articles by prominent legal scholars and practitioners dealing with significant questions of local, national, and international law. In addition, articles by students analyze recent cases, statutes, and developments in the law. Each year one issue of the SMU Law Review is devoted to an Annual Survey of Texas Law and contains articles by attorneys, law professors, and judges concerning current developments in the law of Texas. All editing is done by student members of the board of editors and the staff. Members of the SMU Law Review receive academic credit for their work. The SMU Law Review also sponsors the annual SMU Corporate Counsel Symposium on current developments in corporate law. Selected papers from the symposium may be published in one of its issues. The symposium attracts corporate practitioners from throughout the United States.

The Journal of Air Law and Commerce, a quarterly publication of the School of Law, was founded at Northwestern University in 1930 and moved to SMU in 1961. The oldest scholarly periodical in the English language devoted primarily to the legal and economic problems affecting aviation and space, it has a worldwide circulation of more than 2,300 subscribers in some 54 countries. Articles by distinguished lawyers, economists, government officials, and scholars deal with domestic and international problems of the airline industry, private aviation, and outer space, as well as general legal topics that have a significant impact on the area of aviation. Also included are student commentaries on a variety of topical issues, case notes on recent decisions, book reviews, and editorial comments. The Journal of Air Law and Commerce sponsors an annual symposium on selected problems in aviation law and publishes selected papers from that symposium in one of its issues. More than 500 aviation lawyers and industry representatives annually attend.

The International Lawyer is the quarterly publication of the Section of International Law and Practice of the American Bar Association. The ABA published the inaugural issue in 1966 and SMU has been the proud home of this prestigious journal since 1986. With a worldwide circulation in excess of 13,000 in 75 countries, The International Lawyer is the most widely distributed U.S. international law review in the world. The International Lawyer focuses primarily on practical issues facing lawyers engaged in international practice. Addressing issues such as international trade, licensing, finance, taxation, litigation, and dispute resolution, it has become an authoritative reference for practitioners, judges, and scholars concerned with current legal developments throughout the world. The International Lawyer also sponsors various conferences and symposia.

The Law and Business Review of the Americas (formerly, NAFTA: The Law and Business Review of the Americas) is an interdisciplinary publication addressing the legal, business, economic, political, and social dimensions of the North American Free Trade Agreement, its implementation, its evolution and expansion, and its overall impact on doing business in the Americas. This journal is a quarterly publication produced by the SMU Dedman School of Law (and its Law Institute of the Americas) in association with the Section of International Law and Practice of the American Bar Association, the SMU Cox School of Business, the SMU Department of Economics and Political Science, and the Centre for Commercial Law Studies (Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London).

The SMU Science and Technology Law Review, formerly the Computer Law Review and Technology Journal is SMU’s newest scholarly publication. This journal is published three times a year. The journal is also published on the Internet, allowing worldwide access to its articles. Students from the SMU Dedman School of Law serve as the editorial board and staff members. The journal focuses on national and international technology-based legal issues, including the legal use and limits of hardware and software, and patent, copyright, and intellectual property law.