Boston University Public Interest Law Journal

The Boston University Public Interest Law Journal (PILJ) has transitioned its website as of July 2026. Please visit our new homepage for PILJ content after that date!

For details about PILJ, please visit About this Journal.

For contact information, visit Contact.

Published twice per year, PILJ is a non-partisan publication dedicated to promoting scholarly discussion on topics concerning the public interest, broadly construed. PILJ is one of the top journals for civil rights and social justice, according to the Washington and Lee Law Journal Rankings. In 2014, Justice Clarence Thomas cited a 2010 PILJ-published article in his opinion in Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community.

The journal publishes thought-provoking articles on current developments in numerous disciplines of law, including constitutional law, criminal law, family law, education, business regulation, and the environment. Each volume features articles relating to the public interest written by practicing lawyers, professors, judges, scholars and public officials. In addition, PILJ is committed to publishing student-written notes on current public interest issues in every publication.

PILJ maintains a staff of approximately forty-five second and third-year law students. Each year, members perform extensive editing tasks in small teams to coordinate sources and cite check each article in preparation for publication. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at pilj@bu.edu.

The Public Interest Law Journal
Boston University School of Law
765 Commonwealth Avenue, 17th Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02215