Publishing Tips

The law review submission process can be daunting.  The LWI Committee on Scholarship Development and Outreach collected the following sources we hope will help.  The first group of articles relates to the nuts and bolts of the submission process, while the second group relates more to the selection process.  Finally, we've included citations and links to additional informational articles on writing.  

We hope these materials can aid in the process of pursuing your scholarly goals.  Happy Writing!

Behind the Curtain: The Editorial Board Selection Process

  • Rachel J. Anderson, From Imperial Scholar to Imperial Student: Minimizing Bias in Article Evaluation by Law Reviews, 20 Hastings Women’s L.J. 197 (2009).
  •  Leah M. Christensen & Julie Oseid, Navigating the Law Review Article Selection Process: An Empirical Study of Those With All the Power-Student Editors, 59 S.C. L. Rev. 175 (2007).
  • Minna J. Kotkin, Of Authorship and Audacity: An Empirical Study of Gender Disparity and Privilege in the "Top Ten" Law Reviews, 31 Women’s Rts. L. Rep. 385 (2010).
  • Robert M. Lawless & Ira David, The General Role Played by Specialty Law Journals: Empirical Evidence from Bankruptcy Scholarship, 80 Am. Bankr. L.J. 523 (2006).
  • Jason P. Nance & Dylan J. Steinberg, The Law Review Selection Process: Results from a National Study, 71 Alb. L. Rev. 565 (2008).
  • J.C. Oleson, You Make Me [Sic]: Confessions of a Sadistic Law Review Editor, 37 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 1135 (2004).
  • Nathan J. Saunders, Note, Student-Edited Law Reviews: Reflections and Responses of an Inmate, 49 Duke L.J. 1663 (2000).
  • Dan Subotnik & Glen Lazer, Deconstructing the Rejection Letter: A Look at Elitism in Article Selection, 49 J. Legal Educ. 601 (1999).

Nuts & Bolts: Who, What, When, Where, How, & Why

  • Alfred L. Brophy, The Signaling Value of Law Reviews: An Exploration of Citation and Prestige, 36 Fla. St. U.L. Rev. 229 (2009).
  • Alfred L. Brophy, The Relationship between Law Review Citations and Law School Rankings, 39 Conn. L. Rev. 43 (2006).
  • Dennis J. Callahan & Neal Devins, Law Review Article Placement: Benefit or Beauty Prize, 56 J. Legal Educ. 374 (2006).
  • Brannon P. Denning & Miriam A. Cherry, The Five Stages of Law Review Submission, available Here
  • Russell Korobkin, Ranking Journals: Some Thoughts on Theory and Methodology, 26 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. 851 (1999).
  • Nancy Levit, Scholarship Advice for New Law Professors in the Electronic Age, 16 Widener L.J. 947 (2007).
  • James Lindgren, An Author's Manifesto, 61 U. Chi. L. Rev. 527 (1994).
  • Allen Rostron & Nancy Levit, Information for Submitting Articles to Law Reviews & Journals, available Here
  • William R. Slomanson, Legal Scholarship Blueprint, 50 J. Legal Educ. 431 (2000).
  • John P. Zimmer & Jason P. Luther, Peer Review as an Aid to Article Selection in Student-Edited Legal Journals, 60 S.C. L. Rev. 959 (2009).

Other

  • Mary Beth Beazley & Linda H. Edwards, The Process and the Product: A Bibliography of Scholarship about Legal Scholarship, 49 Mercer L. Rev. 741 (1998).
  • Bernard J. Hibbits, Last Writes? Reassessing the Law Review in the Age of Cyberspace, 71 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 615 (1996).
  • Michael N. Widener, Safeguarding "the Precious": Counsel on Law Journal Publication Agreements in Digital Times, 28 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 217 (2010).
  • Publishing Tips
  • Sanity and the Article Submission Process

Places to Publish

In this section, we highlight periodic publications that provide both background or contextual articles and up-to-date scholarly articles.  These publications provide valuable resources for scholars at any stage of a writing project and with any level of experience.

Here is a helpful guide to publishing in the major legal writing publications. 

Monograph Series

LWI’s Monograph Series provides an introduction to disciplinary foundations, often by identifying important early articles on a topic and sometimes by highlighting recent innovations. Scholars can get up to date quickly by consulting the Monograph Series, currently at five volumes, including a new teachers’ desk book, best practices for providing feedback, teaching theory, rhetoric theory and application, and advanced legal writing courses.

Legal Writing Journal

Legal Writing: the Journal of the Legal Writing Institute not only provides current articles on legal writing pedagogy, theory, and research, but also serves as a history of legal writing scholarship from 1992 to the present.

Legal Communication & Rhetoric: JALWD

The Journal of the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD) encourages and publishes scholarship on the study and practice of professional legal writing that will be of interest to judges, practitioners, scholars, and teachers.

Journal of Legal Education

The primary purpose of the Journal of Legal Education is to foster a rich interchange of ideas and information about legal education and related matters, including the legal profession, legal theory, and legal scholarship.

Journal of Appellate Practice & Process

The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process is the only scholarly law journal to focus exclusively on issues, practices, and procedures of appellate court systems, both federal and state, both American and international.

Clinical Law Review: A Journal of Lawyering and Legal Education

The Clinical Law Review is devoted to articles exploring lawyering theory and clinical legal education.

Law Library Journal

The Law Library Journal is the official publication of the American Association of Law Librarians and publishes articles on law, legal research, and legal materials.

Other journals, eJournals, and blogs

For timely information on specific topics related to researching and writing about legal communication, these resources are also helpful.

Second Draft 

Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing

Legal Writing eJournal

Law & Literature eJournal

Law & Rhetoric eJournal

Legal Education eJournal

The Persuasive Litigator