Journal profile · Multiple
Law & Society Review
ISSN 0023-9216 · eISSN 1540-5893 · Wiley-Blackwell
Law & Society Review: CAS Zone 2 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.63; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,550; 66 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Law & Society Review is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 2 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Judicial and Constitutional Studies, Law in Society and Culture and Diverse Scientific and Economic Studies, together about 27.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Law. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Founded in 1966 as the official journal of the Law and Society Association, Law & Society Review is regarded by sociolegal scholars worldwide as a leading journal in the field. LSR is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes sociolegal scholarship on the relationship between society and the law, laws, legal institutions, and legal processes. Such scholarship includes theoretically motivated empirical articles (whether using qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods), purely theoretical essays (drawing on secondary literature) that contribute to important debates within the field of law and society, and reviews of books published by law and society scholars. Reflecting LSA's community of interdisciplinary and international law and society scholars, LSR welcomes law and society-style studies of any jurisdiction informed by any of the multiple disciplines that constitute LSA membership.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 47, Canada 3, United Kingdom 2, Australia 2, France 1 (59 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Judicial and Constitutional StudiesSocial Sciences12%
- Law in Society and CultureSocial Sciences7.8%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance7.7%
- Law, Economics, and Judicial SystemsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance7.4%
- Legal Education and Practice InnovationsSocial Sciences7.4%
- Criminal Justice and Corrections AnalysisSocial Sciences6.7%
- Crime Patterns and InterventionsSocial Sciences5.8%
- Legal case studies and regulationsSocial Sciences5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.63LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 27Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.16LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.32LetPub ·
- h-index
- 152OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,301OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.28OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 11.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 72.62%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 30LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,310 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 53 | 36 | 4 |
| 2025 | 66 | 38 | 83 |
| 2024 | 61 | 49 | 143 |
| 2023 | 62 | 27 | 267 |
| 2022 | 56 | 10 | 360 |
| 2021 | 63 | 13 | 569 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,550 / GBP 2,460 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePeer review
- Peer review
Peer review Model summary
peer-reviewed scholarly and scientific research
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 0023-9216
- Electronic ISSN
- 1540-5893
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Law & Society Review
What CAS zone is Law & Society Review in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Law & Society Review is in Zone 2 of Sociology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Law / Sociology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Law & Society Review?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.63; CiteScore 4, h-index 152.
Where are the editorial board members of Law & Society Review based?
Of the 59 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (47), Canada (3) and United Kingdom (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Law & Society Review?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Law & Society Review is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Law & Society Review open access, and what is the APC?
Law & Society Review is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,550.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-30). Last updated: .