Contributors to the Syracuse Law Review have included notable people such as President of the United States Joe Biden,[2] U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas[3] and Stephen Breyer,[4] former New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge Judith Kaye, Erwin Chemerinsky, Owen Fiss, Akhil Reed Amar, Roscoe Pound, Richard Epstein, former director of the FBI J. Edgar Hoover, and Ronald Rotunda.

The 59th Volume was recently cited by the Supreme Court of the United States in the Second Amendment case McDonald v. City of Chicago.

"[1] Over the years, the New York Court of Appeals judges regarded the Survey as a record and reflection of the nation's common law tradition.

The Survey chronicled developments with statewide, national and international implications, marked the law's progression, and served as an annual "report card" for New York's courts and judges.

[citation needed] As part of Volume 60, the Syracuse Law Review published a Winter 2010 Symposium book that included nine authors who discussed the recent United States Supreme Court decision Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co.[citation needed] Students are selected for Law Review membership based on academic ranking or success in an open writing competition held at the conclusion of the first year.