Journal profile · LAW
Legal Theory
ISSN 1352-3252 · eISSN 1469-8048 · Cambridge University Press
Legal Theory: CAS Zone 1 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,550; 24 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Legal Theory is published by Cambridge University Press and is in Zone 1 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Diverse Scientific and Economic Studies, Legal Cases and Commentary and Free Will and Agency, together about 33.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Law. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Legal Theory draws contributions not only from academic law, but from a wide range of related disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, including philosophy, political science, economics, history and sociology. Legal Theory publishes work on a broad range of topics, including but not limited to analytical jurisprudence, normative jurisprudence, policy analyses of legal institutions and doctrines, theories of law as a social or cultural phenomenon, and critical perspectives on law and legal institutions.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): LAW
Editor-in-chief Mitchell N. BermanPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 37, United Kingdom 8, Canada 4, Germany 1, Australia 1 (53 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance12.7%
- Legal Cases and CommentaryMedicine11.3%
- Free Will and AgencyNeuroscience9.6%
- Legal principles and applicationsSocial Sciences8.4%
- Political Philosophy and EthicsSocial Sciences8.3%
- Judicial and Constitutional StudiesSocial Sciences6%
- Law in Society and CultureSocial Sciences5.6%
- Philosophical Ethics and TheoryArts and Humanities5.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Law | Zone 1 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
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
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.8LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.27LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.11LetPub ·
- h-index
- 52OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 204OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.59OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 82.05%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 19LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 656 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| 2025 | 24 | 21 | 4 |
| 2024 | 20 | 17 | 28 |
| 2023 | 22 | 22 | 33 |
| 2022 | 21 | 18 | 50 |
| 2021 | 33 | 28 | 89 |
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 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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)
Article types accepted1
- research articlesLegal Theory publishes: Research ArticlesLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access
Gold Open Access from 2026 volume; articles accepted from Dec 17, 2025 published open access with Creative Commons licence Model summary
We’re delighted to announce that Legal Theory will be Gold Open Access from the 2026 volume and that all articles accepted for publication from December 17, 2025 will be ‘open access’; published with a Creative Commons licence and freely available to read online
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
- Cambridge University Press
- ISSN
- 1352-3252
- Electronic ISSN
- 1469-8048
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Legal Theory
What CAS zone is Legal Theory in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Legal Theory is in Zone 1 of Sociology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Law; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
Where are the editorial board members of Legal Theory based?
Of the 53 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (37), United Kingdom (8) and Canada (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Legal Theory?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Legal Theory is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is Legal Theory open access, and what is the APC?
Legal Theory 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .