There is opportunity to publish student papers outside your own law school's law review. It can be a lengthy and frustrating process because the competition to publish is very stiff, but if you feel that you have a unique piece that adds to the dialogue of the discipline, it may be worth your time to submit your work to other legal publishers. Without question, publication of your work gives you an advantage in the job market. 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 the most frequent publishers of student work are law reviews and journals. Submission requirements vary considerably, but there are a variety of resources that can assist you to allow the best possible opportunity for publication.

These tips were compiled from the resources listed under helpful tips and links, mostly written by professors and law review editors. 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160

process of submission

unlike other disciplines, with law articles it is not uncommon to submit to multiple publishers at a time. Use some of the resources listed below to make yourself familiar with the journals' submission requirements regarding format and submission rules. 160 august and february to march are the most productive times of the year to submit materials for publication. 160 editorial boards are generally unavailable over the summer, and upon return to school, they usually make their selections before the end of october. Consequently, summer months and october through february, editors are less likely to be reviewing articles.

The articles may sit in a backlog for long periods, at which point they are likely to be discarded. 160 back to top 65279 journals submission standards tend to require double spaced documents, though some specify triple spacing and endnoting. 160 articles should be bluebooked properly and in standard type font times new roman, 12 point, and footnotes in either 12 or 10 point.

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160 one statistic indicated that 90% of the journals require bluebook format and those that do not require it will accept it. 160 published authors and some law review editors indicate that articles submitted in book or journal page formatting are acceptable and have certain advantages. 160 this format entails editing the document so that it looks like a book page from a law review. There is an electronic template for this at professor volokh's academic legal writing web site.

If your footnotes are sloppy, you have already lost the battle in the competition for a publishing spot. Submissions should include a one page cover letter that briefly discusses how your article is novel and useful. 160 the cover letter gives a synopsis of the article and why it matters, explains what makes it a unique work, and supplies background information where it may be useful. 160 160 the discussion about whether or not your cover letter should identify you as a student is ongoing.

While you would never lie about your status, you need not draw attention to the fact that you are not an academic. Some law review editors have weighed in to say that if an author has not submitted any information about their affiliation and qualifications, they either assume the piece is written by a student or find it necessary to contact the author and ask for it, which can be annoying. 160 back to top journals submission standards tend to require double spaced documents, though some specify triple spacing and endnoting. There is an electronic template for this at professor volokh's academic legal writing 160 web site. deciding where to submit your article article submissions are usually driven by journal rankings. 160 rankings are based on the number of times a journal is cited, prominence of its contributing authors, and prestige of the associated law school.

News amp world report are flawed, the information does provide a notion of a school's reputation. 160 successful student authors and publishers warn that you may have to submit your article to over a hundred reviews and journals. Some recommendations are to start at the top, but most find it helpful to begin with those reviews ranked thirty to fifty. It is generally considered that the main law review of a law school publishes only pieces from professors and students on that law review.

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While this is not always the case, it is more difficult to get your article published in a law school's main law review. Chances of having your submission reviewed and accepted for publication increase if you look to a law school's specialty law reviews. You can usually tell the main law review from the specialty law review by its title: yale law journal, as opposed to yale law and policy review. 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 peer reviewed journals are gaining some prominence in the publishing field. Articles submitted to peer review journals are forwarded to volunteer reviewers, usually law faculty at various institutions, to offer input.

Often such journals focus on a particular area of the law or look for a particular social science methodology. These journals may offer better opportunities for student authors as they are less likely to disregard an article purely for the fact that it is written by a student. 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 another consideration is whether the journals to which you are submitting your article are available in places where scholars will find, and hopefully cite to, their contents. Are they in westlaw's journals and law reviews database? are they in lexisnexis' law reviews collection? are they in heinonline? are they indexed by legaltrac? are they indexed by index to legal periodicals and books? consult publisher's journal directory.

160 are they included in tables of contents services like current index to legal periodicals? see title list. There are web sites that facilitate submission of articles to multiple journals. For those journals that do not accept electronic submission, check their web site to learn their submission requirements. 160 specialty and peer review journals are more likely to fall into this category. 160 you should review the instructions to authors at any site that you use so that you are aware of any limitations. Top 25 journals may prefer that you submit electronically through their web pages because their software has been developed to pull specific information into reports to allow them easier tracking of submissions, though developments in software are making submissions to these reviews through electronic submission services possible. A low cost submission service from the berkeley electronic press, nearly 800 law journals in print currently accept submissions via expresso.