Fall Submission Season Looming

I know it's only July, but I guess it's time to start planning for the fall submission season.  A colleague helpfully pointed me to a document on SSRN by Profs Allen Rostron and Nancy Levit from UMKC that provides updated information on submission procedures for different journals and gives comparative rankings for different journals.  So that's worth a look if planning to send something out this season.

Also, any good tips for the best date to send things in the fall?

Comments

[Tim Zinnecker]

Jacqui, thanks for this post (you beat me to it!). I have an article (or two) ready to submit in the fall, and I welcome the responses. My own colleagues are suggesting the last week of August.

Here's another question. If an article is not time-sensitive, would readers suggest that an author can improve chances of better placement by waiting until the "spring" window (March/April)? Have most of the "top 75" journals already filled issues, leaving few (if any) open slots at this time?

[Jacqueline Lipton]

You know, I've heard that too ie most journals now fill in the spring and many people have said that they don't think there really is a "fall submission" window anymore. I'd be very interested to see what others think, particularly if there are any law review editors reading this.

[Benjamin Margulis]

I can only speak to the procedure at Cardozo Law Review de*novo, which, as an online publication, has no set "issues" or "timetables." Rather, we accept articles on a rolling basis, publishing them in batch updates every two or three weeks.

However, because de*novo is an online journal, I impose a hard limit on the length: 25 pages. The remainder of the submission guidelines are identical to those of most journals: well written, good Bluebooking, etc.

More information is available at the website (along with a fascinating article by Prof. Lipton): http://www.cardozolawreview.com

Warmest Regards,
Benjamin Margulis
Head de*novo Editor
Cardozo Law Review

[Jacqueline Lipton]

Thanks for the useful (and kind) comments, Benjamin.
BTW, I'm sure the Faculty Loungers would love also to get comments from editors of online supplements to law reviews to the extent that their submission procedures and publication guidelines differ from those of their main journals.

[Colin Miller]

Jacqueline, here is a submission guide covering online law review supplements that I based off of Rostron and Levit's document:

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1410093

[Ari]

Cardozo Law Review accepted 22 articles during spring submissions, leaving a handful of spots for the fall. The idea was to get a strong base of articles in the spring, to be supplemented in the fall by subject matter left uncovered in the first round of acceptances. For example, we would love to publish a few more theoretical pieces.

Kind Regards,
Ari Fontecchio
Editor-in-Chief
Cardozo Law Review

[Mike Kelly, Creighton Law School]

I got an offer from Pace Int'l J last week to be in their "on-line" volume - which is a new experience for me. Apparently, they publish two volumes in the regular way and then an online volume. So I asked them if my piece would still get standard editing and I'd still get reprints and it would still appear in the Westlaw and Lexis databases. They said yes, yes, and maybe - they hadn't checked yet. When they checked with Westlaw, they were told that it would, but had not heard back from Lexis yet. On-line publishing is a new adventure for everyone involved, but if it takes off then regular submission "seasons" may become a thing of the past...

[Andrew Ungberg]

The JOLT Digest, a companion to the Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, is an online-only resource featuring short synopses of recent developments in all areas of law and technology, including significant cases and legislation in the United States and abroad. The Digest is designed to provide academics, practitioners, and law students not only with timely access to important legal developments, but also with links to in-depth commentary on those issues.

Recently, the Digest has begun publishing student opinion pieces on significant issues in law and technology, and is looking to expand this area with pieces by law professors. As opposed to formal journal articles, Digest Essays are a more flexible medium - for example, a Digest Essay might address the ramifications of a newly issued judicial opinion, recent regulatory activity, or respond to other scholarly work. We welcome any work that is well researched, innovative, and contributes to the scholarly debate on Law and Technology.

Our online format works best with shorter works, so ideal submissions are approximately 5,000 words in length. The Digest publishes breaking developments weekly, and anticipates a rolling publishing schedule for Essays throughout the calendar year. While the Digest accepts submissions anytime, official "calls" occur in late August, January, and late May. Submissions should include a brief summary of the piece as well as the author's CV and contact information.

Visit the Digest at http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/. Questions and comments, suggestions or submissions can be sent to [email protected].

Sincerely,

Andrew Ungberg & Elizabeth Jenkins
Editors-in-Chief
Harvard Journal of Law & Technology v23

[Jeff K. Lee]

This fall, The Yale Law Journal will be launching a new online platform, The Yale Law Journal Online ("YLJ Online") which will replace The Pocket Part. YLJ Online will continue and expand on all of The Pocket Part's features, which include publishing commentaries on timely issues in the law and responses to Articles in the print Journal. It will also offer authors the opportunity to publish longer Essays of 4,000-6,000 words that combine the features of op-eds and traditional law review articles, as well as various new features including expanded podcasts and recordings of pieces. YLJ Online aims to release substantive scholarship with the flexibility and broader accessibility of the online medium. As with The Pocket Part, all pieces published in YLJ Online are available on LexisNexis and Westlaw.

The editors that comprise the YLJ Online Committee are all members of the Journal's Board, and pieces undergo the standard editing process (albeit on a much shorter timeline than most print pieces). We consider pieces on a rolling basis, with no set quota on acceptances.

YLJ Online will be launched at the end of September. Until then, please visit The Yale Law Journal's current website at http://www.yalelawjournal.org/.

Best regards,

Jeff K. Lee
Managing Online Editor
The Yale Law Journal, Volume 119