Opinion pieces at these levels are technically just that, but in practice, they can form the legal consensus. I don't know how common it is, but I have the imp

Opinion pieces at these levels are technically just that, but in practice, they can form the legal consensus. I don't know how common it is, but I have the impression that in at least one jurisdiction I'm aware of, publishing a journal article that argues for an interpretation of the law favorable to your client is an actual legal strategy employed by lawyers (for areas where the law is open to a lot of interpretation/there isn't much precedent yet).