As the only journal ranking tool exclusively in the legal field, the Washington and Lee Law Journal Rankings ("Rankings"; https://go.wlu.edu/lawjournals) provide important metrics for assessing scholarly publications' impact in both legal academia and American courts. The project was launched in 2004 by librarians at the W&L School of Law and has since undergone several significant improvements. Most recently, in 2019, we conducted a comprehensive review of the project in terms of its goals, workflow, and ranking methodology, and have implemented some significant changes to the project and its interface on the open web. This Briefing intends to discuss the Rankings’ value, methodology, workflow to minimize bias and maintain quality control, as well as challenges and opportunities with the project. We hope that presenting the Rankings to information professionals and scholars outside the legal community will provide opportunities for feedback, ideas, and connections that will benefit the project in terms of its reach and future improvements.
