For a Law Review Writing Checklist, see one of my favorites that includes a great checklist is Lisa Smith Butler The Law Review Article how to tell your story.
As you think about potential topics, it may be helpful to think about the many forms law review publications can take and view examples of them. The Scholarly Writing for Law Students, in its introduction, has created a categorical list of those forms and provides citations to examples.
Scholarly Writing for Law Students by Elizabeth Fajans; Mary R. Falk
ISBN: 9780314207203
Watch this video if you are interested in learning more about finding topics using Bloomberg Law.
As a practical matter, choosing an initial topic that is inherently ripe for a law review article is an option and a good place to start because they focus on an unresolved legal issue.
1. Circuit Splits - A circuit split is "[t]he existence of conflicting decisions between two or more of the United States courts of appeals, usu[ally] on a question of law. Circuit Split, Black's Law Dictionary (12th ed. 2024). A circuit spilt is a ripe topic for law review because it allows for the author to make a number of normative statements about the law at issue. U.S. Law Week, which can be accessed by Bloomberg, is a great resource for circuit splits. Watch the below video on how to use LexisNexis to find circuit splits.
2. Cases of First Impression - A case of first impression is "a case for the determination of which no precedent can be found." Case primae impressionis, Ballentine's Law Dictionary (3d ed. 1969). Like a circuit spilt, a case of first impression is a ripe topic for law review because it allows for the author to make a number of normative statements about the law at issue as it is an unresolved legal issue.
Search "first impression", "case of first impression" or "matter of first impression" when researching in case law, legal news, blogs, or you can use Lexis+AI (please note that you should always check the results of AI).
3. Comparative State Surveys - Comparative state surveys will allow you to compare law across states as you search for unresolved legal issues.
1. News
2. Legal News
3. Legal Blogs
Typically, legal blogs are online platforms where individuals post their opinions about current legal trends. You can use blogs as a way to browse current topics being discussed.
Other general places you can search for topics are:
a. For a historical archive of primary and secondary sources in PDF, see HeinOnline.
b. For interdisciplinary publications, see JSTOR.
c. For new and unpublished working papers, see SSRN.
d. For a broader and more general search, see Goggle Scholar.
e. For new law journal publications, see Current Index to Legal Periodicals.