Melissa Murray. (Photo: Jason Doiy/ALM.)

It's a major moment for women at top law journals.

For the first time ever, female law students sit atop of the mastheads of the flagship law reviews at each of the top 16 law schools in the country, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report.

That's a significant shift from 2012, when a study by the nonprofit group Ms. JD found that women comprised just 29% of top editors at the flagship journals housed at the top 50 law schools. Women made up 43% of all law review editors in 2012 and 45% of all law review members.

Editor-in-chief posts are the most competitive to get and one of the most prestigious credentials law students can put on their resume. Executive board positions, including editor-in-chief, are typically determined through elections among the law review membership, meaning editors are selected by their peers. The sweep of editor-in-chief spots by women among the T-14 law schools has people talking.

"It speaks well to the progress that many law schools have made toward cultivating a more hospitable environment for women, people of color, and first-generation law students," said Melissa Murray, a professor at New York University School of Law. "But credit should not go to law schools alone. The law reviews deserve credit as well."

Murray noted that many law journals have taken a hard look at whether they are fostering environments that include traditionally underrepresented students and encourage them to take on leadership roles.

The flagship law reviews with women now at the helm include those at Yale, Stanford, and Harvard, and extend down the law school rankings to the University of Texas, at No. 16.  The wave includes Nicole Collins at the Stanford Law Review, Noor-ul-ain Hasan at the California Law Review at the University of California, Berkeley Law School, and Alveena Fatima Shah at the UCLA Law Review.

The advancement of women in law review leadership positions has been a growing focus since the 2012 study spotlighted the dearth of women in editor-in-chief roles. The Cornell Law Review made headlines last year when it elected an all-female executive board, believed to be the first in history for a flagship journal at a top law school. That's just one example of how women are moving toward parity with men in the legal profession, Cornell Law Review Editor-in-Chief Lauren Kloss said in a 2019 interview, after she was elected.

"I think we are seeing women professors advance in legal academia," Kloss said. "We see which firms are announcing all-female partner classes. I think we feel that we are a part of that movement. That women are a strong force in the legal field and will continue to prove themselves."

The proliferation of women leading law reviews will be the subject of a panel discussion at a daylong conference honoring the advancement of women in the legal profession hosted by Duke Law School on Feb. 3 in Washington. The conference will also include panels featuring women practitioners; law deans; and judges. The session of jurists features U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; Judge Pam Harris of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; Judge Nan Pillar of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia; and Judge Sri Srinivasan, also of the D.C. Circuit.

The sweep of women editor-in-chief at top law schools won't extend into the 2020-21 academic year, however. Many law reviews have yet to hold executive board elections, but the Yale Law Journal has already selected a male student—Alexander Nabavi-Noori—as its next editor-in-chief.