Hello, and welcome to The Bolt, BTLJ’s new student-run technology law blog!
As the 25th anniversary of our Journal’s first issue draws near, we decided that it was time to turn a new page in our history. From the beginning, we’ve worked to be a leading source of technology law scholarship. More journal articles have cited BTLJ than any other technology law journal since Washington and Lee University School of Law has been compiling its journal statistics—more than twice as many citations as our closest competitor. What’s more, we’ve been cited in over twice as many legal opinions as any other technology law journal, including the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Bilski v. Kappos. We organize annual symposia with the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology (BCLT) on topics such as spyware, stem cell research, and the third party doctrine. Most recently, we brought together scholars from around the world on the 300th anniversary of the Statute of Anne to discuss the past and future of copyright law.
But BTLJ is dedicated to the promotion of technology law scholarship from within the walls of Boalt Hall as well. Our editors work with BCLT to run a Law and Technology Writing Workshop that guides Berkeley Law students through the process of researching, writing, and editing case notes on recent developments in technology law. The Journal publishes the resulting notes in our Annual Review issue. In addition, we hold a student writing competition each spring, open to J.D. candidates from any school. We feature the winning submission in the following fall issue.
Even with more than a hundred students working hard all year long, the BTLJ editing cycle takes several months. Meanwhile, technology law continues advancing at a rapid pace. That’s why, starting this semester, we’ll be using our online presence to discuss new developments in technology law as they take place. The Journal’s paper editions will still offer superior long-form scholarship, but our goal with this blog is to bring you news and analysis in a flash—like a bolt of lightning from our office in Boalt Hall.
We’ve assembled our inaugural team and we’ll begin our work shortly. So bookmark us, add us to your RSS reader, and stay tuned!