With this issue, the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics enters its 45th year of publication. We are proud to be stewards of a publication that has been at the center of debates for more than four decades, and one that has published some of the most thoughtful and important articles in our multidisciplinary professions. Outside of this consistent focus on quality, however, the Journal has changed dramatically over the years. Our publication was first titled Medicolegal News, and the inaugural issue was printed in October of 1973. Boston University's George J. Annas served as the first Editor-in-Chief (EIC); Frances Miller and John Norris served as Associate Editors; and George Christodal was appointed as the journal's first Managing Editor. According to Annas, each issue of Medicolegal News would contain one or more essays on recent developments in health law, medicine, insurance, or health care delivery. The first issue contained an article on informed consent by Annas and another on “New Developments in Health Care Delivery” by Norris. The issue also contained a “Medico-Legal Reference Shelf” (essentially a list of recent publications) and a calendar of upcoming events. Some of these features are still found in current issues of JLME.
Beginning in 1981 with volume 9, issue 4, Medicolegal News became Law, Medicine & Healthcare, with Miles Zaremski as EIC and Ed Doudera as Editor (a position then called Managing Editor). In 1983 a Visiting Associate Professor of Law at the University of Detroit, Barry Furrow, took over as EIC. By 1986, the Journal had witnessed more visible changes. First, it had become “perfect bound” (the square binding that JLME still utilizes today) to accommodate its greater page size, and Larry Gostin became EIC and, like me, the Executive Director of our parent organization, the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics. Gostin further left his mark in 1993 when he changed both the look of the journal (to the yellow covers familiar to some of our longest-tenured members) and the name of the journal: in that year the publication finally became the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics.
Following Gostin's tenure, the Journal was home to a list of extraordinarily distinguished EICs: Steven Miles, Karen Rothenberg, Ellen Wright Clayton, Bernard Lo, Kathleen Boozang, Sandra Johnson, Ana Illtis, and Kevin Outterson—all of whom created an unbroken chain that connects directly to our current chief, Aaron Kesselheim. The Journal also saw a talented string of Managing Editors, including Merrill Kaitz, Michael Vasko, and Kelly McDonald. When I took over the Journal in 2003, I tried to make my own modest mark, including spearheading the re-design that the Journal still sports today. I am also deeply proud to note I am the longest-serving editor in the Journal's history. Regardless, in our 45th year the one aspect that remains unchanged is our commitment to bringing you the best, most important, and most rigorously reviewed work in our multidisciplinary field, and our recognition that none of it could be possible without the support of our many readers, subscribers, and members. So, to all of you, thank you for making these 45 years possible.
