History of the Energy Law Journal

The Energy Law Journal (ELJ) has a rich history directly linked to the Energy Bar Association (EBA).  Originally, the EBA Publications Committee functioned as a means to assemble, duplicate, and distribute various reports submitted to them by EBA committees. 

On June 8, 1978, a Special Committee was appointed to determine the benefits of a publication to better serve the organization, in addition to judges, attorneys, consultants, and government officials.  The committee decided to publish a scholarly journal / law review whose function was to publish quality articles and EBA committee reports.

The first issue of the Journal, Volume 1, was published in May of 1980.  It contained 232 pages and featured five lead articles on diverse subjects, ten committee reports, and three pages of advertisements. 

In 1986, a partnership was proposed between the ELJ and the National Energy-Environment Law Policy Institute (NELPI) of the University of Tulsa College of Law.  The partnership was to benefit the journal using students to edit the articles.  The partnership benefits TU law students by providing them with an opportunity to gain the experience of working on a law review as well as having an opportunity to have their student note or comment published.

Since moving to TU, the ELJ has continued its growth in subscriptions passing 2400, including over 150 foreign subscriptions.  The ELJ has been cited repeatedly by the U.S. Supreme Court.