The New York Law Journal was founded in March 1888, introduced to a city with 40 lively newspapers competing for attention as its inhabitants recovered from a crippling blizzard. The Law Journal had a mission: it would stand out as a paper devoted to “reporting on legal decisions, the production of topics of interest to the Bench and Bar, and the publication of court calendars and legal notices.” It also promised to become “one of the recognized legal publications of the country.” Today, the Law Journal is New York State’s most trusted daily source of legal news and information about state and federal courts, law firms large and small, judges and lawyers, government agencies and public interest groups, law schools and in-house departments and more. Mission accomplished, and then some.
The story of the Law Journal over the last 125 years is the story of New York’s vibrant legal community. After all, without our loyal readers, we wouldn’t be here. I wonder if the first editor and publisher, George Pearce, could have imagined in 1888 that the number of white-shoe firms would multiply and expand into the sophisticated and complex businesses they have become; that lawyers would change firms every few years, thus changing the definition of partnership; that the five-judge appellate division benches would stretch to 20 as caseloads ballooned; that the five law schools would become 15; that in-house departments would emerge as a destination for bright attorneys; that women and people of color would fill the ranks of the state’s bar; that the single price of the Law Journal, a nickel, would rise (significantly); or that technology would create means of delivering information without paper.
