In 1996, when Professor Bernard Hibbitts first established JURIST, few could have foreseen the impact the project would have. Whether measured in terms of the individual lives it has touched, its global reach, or the impressions it has left on the landscape of online legal news coverage, JURIST’s role cannot be overstated.
What began as a modest online repository for legal scholarship evolved under Professor Hibbitts’ visionary leadership into a groundbreaking service that revolutionized how legal news reaches the public. Through his innovative approach of empowering law students as reporters and editors, he created a unique educational model that has trained generations of legal professionals while delivering accessible, authoritative coverage of rule-of-law issues to millions of readers worldwide. Upon his retirement in December 2024, after nearly three decades of service, his legacy endures in JURIST’s continued commitment to bridging the gap between legal academia and public understanding, fostering transparency and justice across borders.
A festschrift is a collection of writings published in honor of a scholar, traditionally during their lifetime. This digital festschrift for Professor Hibbitts will grow organically through regular contributions published several times weekly. All entries will be permanently archived and indexed on a dedicated section of JURIST’s website, creating a living testament to his transformative vision and lasting impact on legal journalism and education. This is the eleventh entry in this ongoing series, the (as-yet) entirety of which can be foundhere.
Back in 1996, Professor Bernard Hibbitts had a visionary idea: that this new “internet” phenomenon could serve as a valuable platform for law professors to share their work. He created the website that would eventually become JURIST as a part-time personal project, extending his academic interest in the evolving relationship between law and technology. Originally named “Law Professors on the Web,” the initiative was conceived as a non-commercial clearinghouse for academic papers and teaching resources. It was the first open hub for legal scholarship and law teaching materials on the internet.
As it turned out, the general public took notice. People began reaching out to the website that would become JURIST, seeking legal information. Always ahead of his time—despite being a legal historian by training—Professor Hibbitts saw an opportunity to create something truly unique: a way for the legal academy to reach the public, providing primary sources and accurate, sourced, and unbiased information.
By 1998, JURIST—still just Professor Hibbitts and a couple of law student assistants with technical skills—began pivoting to meet the growing public demand for authoritative and timely information on legal aspects of rapidly developing current events. JURIST provided extended research and organized academic commentary on major legal issues such as the Clinton impeachment crisis, the Kosovo War, the 2000 U.S. presidential election recount, and post-9/11 terrorism law and policy.
By 2003, JURIST had transformed into a pioneering news service that blended academic research with legal journalism. No longer functioning as a scholarly archive—leaving that role to SSRN, Bepress, and other emerging commercial repositories—JURIST instead focused on real-time reporting and documentation of national and international legal news. Professor Hibbitts recruited a team of approximately 25 law students from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law to contribute to this evolving enterprise, supplemented by expert academic commentators.
I joined JURIST in 2008 as the Research Director for the news service, which, in many ways, still resembles its current form. As a newly minted lawyer, I had much to learn about the law, the world, and the role of law in shaping society. Professor Hibbitts was my boss, but he quickly became my mentor—and then my dear friend. I never imagined when I graduated from law school that I would embark on a career in legal journalism, but thanks to Professor Hibbitts, it has truly become my passion.
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