The idea behind JURIST is simple. As an organization, it documents current legal news of substantive importance in order to make it readily available to others, with no barriers, no subscriptions, no fees and no advertisements. A dedicated team comprised largely of volunteers makes this possible. They work hard to research and document legal developments because they believe access to legal knowledge is empowering.

And while much of what JURIST does centers around legal news, it also provides a unique forum in which academics, professionals and students alike can engage in meaningful dialogue on socially, politically and historically significant legal issues. This exchange of viewpoints and sharing of knowledge is particularly remarkable because the information generated is available in its entirety to anyone who wishes to access it, and thus it stands to enrich public thought and debate the world over.

Founded in 1996, the website that would become JURIST was certainly novel, but the idea at its core is timeless: people are better, society is better, when access to knowledge is unrestricted. JURIST’s mission is to make legal knowledge accessible free of charge, but there are costs involved in running the organization.

If you have benefited from JURIST or see the value in the service it provides, please consider making a donation. Each contribution, no matter the size, helps JURIST to more effectively empower others.

Megan McKee
Student Commentary Section Head 2011-2012
Pitt Law 2012