Jurist (website)

University of Pittsburgh law professor Bernard Hibbitts created the website that would become Jurist in 1996 as a part-time personal project extending his academic interest in the evolving relationship between law and technology.{{Cite journal|last=Hibbitts|first=Bernard J.|date=1996|title=Last Writes? Re-Assessing the Law Review in the Age of Cyberspace|url=https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=1546765|journal=New York University Law Review|language=en|location=Rochester, NY|ssrn=1546765}}{{Cite web|last=Deshmukh|first=Vishwajeet|title=Legal education should prepare students for the 21st century, not the 19th: Prof. Bernard Hibbitts|url=https://www.barandbench.com/interviews/legal-education-should-prepare-students-for-the-21st-century-not-the-19th-prof-bernard-hibbitts|access-date=2020-10-17|website=Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news|language=en}} The service was originally called Law Professors on the Web,{{Cite web|title=JURIST is Fast, Informed Take on News|url=http://pittwire.pitt.edu/news/legal-news-and-research|access-date=2020-10-17|website=Pittwire|language=en}} with the name Jurist being officially adopted in 1997.{{Cite web|title=The Scout Report - April 11, 1997 {{!}} Internet Scout|url=https://scout.wisc.edu/report/1997/0411#5|access-date=2020-10-17|website=scout.wisc.edu}} Initially designed as a non-commercial clearinghouse of academic papers and teaching resources that had lately been posted online by Hibbitts and other innovating law professors,{{Cite web|title=Taking 'Writes' Seriously: The Future (?) of the Law Review - Professor Bernard Hibbitts|url=https://www.law.pitt.edu/archive/hibbitts/taking.htm|access-date=2020-10-17|website=www.law.pitt.edu}} it was the first open hub for legal scholarship and law teaching materials on the internet.{{Cite web|last=Slomanson|first=William|date=June 1998|title=Electronic Lawyering and the Academy|url=https://www.tjsl.edu/slomansonb/jle.html}}{{Cite web|title=Electronic Law Journals - JILT 1997 (2) - Brien|url=https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/elj/jilt/1997_2/brien/|access-date=2020-10-17|website=warwick.ac.uk}} In 2001 the New York Times referred to Jurist "the wonderful legal education mega-site".{{Cite news|last=Kaplan|first=Carl|date=2001-05-25|title=Cyber Law Journal: Cool Sites for 2001 (Published 2001)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/25/technology/cyber-law-journal-cool-sites-for-2001.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=2020-10-17|issn=0362-4331}} To extend its global reach in the days of slow dialup speeds, Jurist operated a UK mirror site at the University of Cambridge and an Australian mirror at Australian National University.{{Cite web|title=Electronic Law Journals – JILT 1997 (2) – Brien|url=https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/elj/jilt/1997_2/brien/|access-date=2020-10-17|website=warwick.ac.uk}}

In 1998, Jurist – still just Hibbitts and a couple of law student assistants who happened to have technical skills - began pivoting to respond to pressing public demand for authoritative and timely information on the legal aspects of rapidly-developing current issues. Jurist provided extended research and organized academic commentary on the Clinton impeachment crisis, the Kosovo War, the 2000 US presidential election recount and terrorism law and policy in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. By 2003, Jurist had been reconceptualized as a new kind of news service fusing academic research and legal journalism{{Cite web|date=2003-10-01|title=Changes (Good Ones) at Jurist|url=https://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/2003/09/changes-good-ones-at-jurist/|access-date=2020-10-17|website=DennisKennedy.Blog|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Online project at University of Pittsburgh targets legal issues|url=https://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2007/04/02/Online-project-at-University-of-Pittsburgh-targets-legal-issues/stories/200704020199|access-date=2020-10-17|website=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|language=en}} and ceased functioning as a scholarly archive, leaving that mission to SSRN, Bepress and other up-and-coming commercial repositories. Hibbitts and his assistants recruited a staff of some 25 law students from the University of Pittsburgh to begin reporting and documenting national and international news in real-time, supplemented by the invited contributions of expert academic commentators. In 2008, Jurist incorporated as a Pennsylvania non-profit and subsequently obtained an IRS determination to be a charitable organization as defined in Section 501(c)(3) of the US Internal Revenue Code. Hibbitts became Chairman of Jurist's board of directors and formally assumed the role of Jurist's Publisher & Editor-in-Chief.

Jurist's commentary service, which dates back to Jurist 's coverage{{Cite web|title=Law Professors in Belgrade Make Internet Appeal|url=https://movies2.nytimes.com/1999/04/02/technology/02law.html|access-date=2020-10-17|website=movies2.nytimes.com}} of the Kosovo War in 1999, provides informed analysis of publicly-significant legal events by law professors, lawyers, policymakers, activists and law students from around the world. Law student editors identify and invite contributors qualified to comment on pressing legal developments, and review and prepare their commentaries for publication.

Jurist also sponsors a Jurist Journalist in Residence Program,{{Cite web|title=JURIST Journalist in Residence Program - JURIST - Legal News & Commentary|url=https://www.jurist.org/journalist-in-residence/|access-date=2020-10-17|website=www.jurist.org|language=en-US}} designed to engage Jurist's law student staff on issues related to the future of journalism and journalistic ethics and practice. Each academic term on a rotating basis, an established journalist visits JURIST to provide professional counsel and guidance. In the fall of 2020 the inaugural Jurist Journalist in Residence was Jane Singer, Professor of Journalism Innovation in the Department of Journalism at the City University of London.

Jurist won the Webby People's Voice Award in 2006{{Cite web|title=TaxProf Blog: JURIST Wins Webby People's Voice Award as Best Law Website of 2006|url=https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2006/05/jurist_wins_web.html|access-date=2020-10-17|website=taxprof.typepad.com|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2008-01-14|title=Feature {{!}} Pitt Magazine {{!}} University of Pittsburgh|url=http://www.pittmag.pitt.edu/summer2006/feature2.html|access-date=2020-10-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080114012052/http://www.pittmag.pitt.edu/summer2006/feature2.html|archive-date=2008-01-14}} and has been repeatedly recognized by the American Bar Association Journal{{Cite news|last=Journal|first=A. B. A.|title=Paper Chase is 'Doing Public Service,' Sharing Info Real Time and For Free|url=https://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/paper_chase_is_doing_public_service_sharing_info_real_time_and_for_free|access-date=2020-10-17|website=ABA Journal|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Jurist—Paper Chase - ABA Journal|url=https://www.abajournal.com/blawg/jurist_paper_chase/|access-date=2020-10-17|website=www.abajournal.com}}{{Cite web|title=Top Five Free Legal News Websites for the Legal News Junkie|url=https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/committees/trial-practice/practice/2019/top-five-free-legal-news-websites/|access-date=2020-10-17|website=www.americanbar.org|language=en}} as one of "the best Web sites by lawyers, for lawyers". Jurist has been archived by the Library of Congress since 2004.{{Cite web|title=JURIST – Legal news and research|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0002816/|access-date=2020-10-17|website=Library of Congress}}

• {{Official website|jurist.org}}

{{University of Pittsburgh}}

Category:American legal websites

Category:University of Pittsburgh student publications