writing law journal article

Publishing in Law Reviews and Journals

Publishing in law reviews and journals-home, deciding where to publish, article submission services, author rights, sharing and depositing your papers, conferences and symposia, books, articles and other resources, writing competitions, videos of classes and presentations, tutorial and quiz, getting help.

Have you thought about trying to publish in a law review or journal?  This guide contains a variety of resources to help you in that process.  

Submit to DASH, Harvard University's open access repository

If you are a current HLS student, deposit your work in  DASH  (Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard).

This guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License .

You may reproduce any part of it for noncommercial purposes as long as credit is included and it is shared in the same manner. 

Comparing Law Journal Impact Factor/Prestige

Over the years, many ranking systems for law journals have evolved, incorporating a variety of methodologies and factors, including frequency of citation, prominence of author, etc..  Although such rankings can be useful for getting an idea of the prestige or "impact factor" of a journal, they should be taken with a grain of salt and in consideration of other factors that might be important to you.  Ranking of journals is frequently a subject of articles and blog postings.  Play close attention to how the data was compiled---e.g. through database searches, opinions of experts in the field, etc..

Law Journal Submissions and Ranking The Washington & Lee Law School Library produces this site that lists law journals by subject, country and other factors, and allows users to rank journals by impact factor or immediacy index. (Both are based on citation counts more or less, see ranking methodology ). Provides contact and submission information.

Allen Rostron & Nancy Levit,   I nformation for Submitting Articles to Law Reviews & Journals  (last updated 2023).

Bridget J. Crawford,  Information for Submitting to Online Law Review Companions (last updated 2023).

Michael Goodyear,  Information for Submitting Articles to Specialty & Non-Flagship Law Journals  (last updated 2021).

Nancy Levit et al,  Submission of Law Student Articles for Publication  (last updated 2016).

ISI Journal Citation Reports (Harvard ID and PIN required) Ranks journals in a wide range of disciplines including about 100 law journals. Rankings are based on citation counts in thousands of journals in the sciences and social sciences. From the initial screen, select Social Sciences Edition and View a group of journals by Subject Category (the default). On the next screen, select Law and View journal data by either Impact Factor, Immediacy Index, or Cited Half Life.

Most Cited Journals on HeinOnline This top 100 list is based on HeinOnline's citator feature called ScholarCheck. You can also use ScholarCheck to create your own metric. They also have a collection of most-cited law journals .

Eigenfactor This is a relatively new system that ranks journals as Google ranks websites (mapping relationship structures). The coverage of law is not comprehensive, but it is useful for looking at journals in the context of the social sciences generally.

Google Scholar Metrics Google Scholar launched publication metrics in April 2012. They provide five-year h-index and h-median numbers for ranking purposes.

Bryce Clayton Newell, Meta-Ranking, Law Journal Meta-Ranking 2020 Edition, Meta-Ranking of Flagship US Law Reviews 

Measuring Quality - Writing for and Publishing in Law Reviews (Choosing Where to Submit and Publish)   A great guide compiled by the Gallagher Library at the University of Washington Law School, explaining the most common ranking factors, including important an extensive selection of articles and surveys.

Brian T. Detweiler, May It Please the Court: A Longitudinal Study of Judicial Citation to Academic Legal Periodicals

U.S. News To Publish Law Faculty Scholarly Impact Ranking In 2021

Accessibility of the Content

Is the journal available in places where scholars will find, and hopefully cite to, its contents? Some considerations include:

Is it open access or freely available?  Check the journal's website for contents and the journal's policy.   You can also check the  Directory of Open Access Journals , but the coverage for law is not extensive. 

Is it in Westlaw, Lexis and other subscription databases? 

Is it indexed by Legaltrac (a.k.a Legal Resource Index)? See title list  (downloads as an Excel file).

Is it indexed by Index to Legal Periodicals and Books? See title list .

Is it included in Tables of Contents Services, such as Current Index to Legal Periodicals? See title list .

Selected Directories of Law Journals

In addition to Washington and Lee's Law Review Submissions and Ranking website , there are several directories that can be used to find out more information about law journals that are currently being published.

• Ulrich's Periodicals Not specific to law, Ulrich's describes periodicals in all disciplines, worldwide. Most comprehensive source for finding law-related serial publications. Includes newspapers, bar journals, and trades. Usually provides a description, contact information, circulation figures, abstracting and indexing services, and links to publishers' sites. Use Advanced Search to find appropriate journals. At minimum, you may want to limit Country of Publication to United States, Subject to law, Status to Active, and Serial Type to Academic/Scholarly.
• Directory for Successful Publishing in Legal Periodicals Call Number: Reference K 36.J69 1997x A bit out of date but still useful. Covers about 500 major law journals. Describes the journal's particular focus, preferred manuscript style; acceptance rates, details about the review process, and occasionally explains factors in manuscript rejections.

Short-Form Publishing

Many law reviews now have blogs and websites that accept shorter submissions. See Colin Miller's Submission Guide for Online Law Review Supplements, Version 7.0  and Information for Submitting to Online Law Review Companions by Bridget J. Crawford . Washington & Lee also lists selected ones on its   Law Journals: Submissions and Ranking website .

Scholastica

Hls student scholastica funding.

The Harvard Law School subsidizes Scholastica journal submissions for current students with publishable academic work. 

Eligibility

To access this support, you must receive sign-off from your faculty supervisor that your article is ready for submission and/or that submission will further your academic goals.

Before we activate your account, we ask you to complete a tutorial and quiz about submission strategy. You may also want to set up an appointment with a librarian to discuss strategy and how to select journals for submission. We encourage you to review the  Law Library’s Guide to Publishing in Law Reviews and Journals.

How to Participate

Send a request using your Harvard email to [email protected] . Include or separately forward the approval from your faculty supervisor. 

How it Works

When you contact us, we will send you a link to an online tutorial and quiz. Once you have completed the quiz, and we receive your request and faculty approval,  Library staff will add you to our Scholastica account. Once you acknowledge our invitation, you will be free to begin your submissions. Your account will remain active through the end of the pilot unless you reach your maximum number of submissions

Submission Levels

• SJD– up to 50 submissions per academic year during your time at HLS. Unused submissions will roll over to the next year. 
• LLMs – up to 50 submissions  total during your year at HLS.
• JDs – up to 50 submissions total during your three years at HLS.
• Submissions may be used up to 10 months after graduation.

Note:  Please keep track of your journal submissions and notify us when you reach 50, as Scholastica does not limit them automatically. 

JOURNAL POLICIES FOR SUBMISSION

Allen Rostron and Nancy Levit compiled a table of journal policies for publication, Allen Rostron & Nancy Levit  Information for Submitting Articles to Law Reviews & Journals  (2021).

Michael Goodyear,  Information for Submitting Articles to Specialty & Non-Flagship Law Journals  (2021)

Sherpa/RoMEO  is a searchable database of publisher's general policies regarding copyright and the self-archiving of journal articles on the web and in Open Access repositories.  Each entry provides a summary of the publisher's policy, including what version of an article can be deposited, where it can be deposited, and any conditions that are attached to that deposit. 

How You Can Submit an Article

Journals have different policies for receiving submissions.  Your best starting place is to check the journal's website, which usually provides details about its policy.  We have collected on this page some potential resources that you can use for submitting an article.

Learn about Author Rights

If you do get an acceptance for publication, you might be asked to sign an author agreement/contract with the publisher.  Some standard agreements require things such as transferring copyright or prohibiting what you can do with your own work.  See Benjamin J. Keele,  Advising Faculty on Law Journal Publication Agreements  for a brief basic review of terms to consider.

SPARC Author Rights

• Author Rights and the SPARC Author Addendum

Scholar's Copyright Addendum Engine

Hosted by Science Commons, you can enter the article information and choose the rights you want to retain and generate a standard addendum on pdf  to provide for the publisher's consideration.  http://scholars.sciencecommons.org/  

Keep Your Copyrights

Developed by the Kernochan Center for Law, Media, and the Arts and the Program on Law & Technology at Columbia Law School, this website provides a good introduction to author rights and samples of contract language.

• https://kernochan.law.columbia.edu/content/keep-your-copyrights

Creative Commons Licenses

Creative Commons (CC)  provides creators with standardized licenses that describe, in plain language, what actions are and are not allowed with their content.

• Read more about the various licenses on the CC website .
• The CC License Chooser tool can help you pick a license that's right for you and your work.

Resources to Learn about Journal Copyright and Self-Archiving Policies

Journal publication agreements vary widely, but there are some resources that help authors get an idea of what a journal's standard policy has typically been.  While the journal publication agreement itself must always be reviewed, looking at these resources at the time of submission can be helpful, particularly if it is important for you to retain certain rights in your work.  Regardless of what a publisher's standard agreement states, you can always try to negotiate different terms. If the publisher is unwilling to budge from its position, you then need to decide how important it is to you to publish in that particular journal.

• SHERPA/RoMEO This website lists contains summaries of permissions that are normally given as part of each publisher's agreement.
• Benjamin Keele, Copyright Provisions in Law Journal Publication Agreements
• Dan Hunter, Walled Gardens
• Brian Frye, Christopher Ryan, Franklin Runge, An Empirical Study of Law Journal Copyright Practices

Working papers and self-archiving

Regardless of your plans for formal publication of your work, you are encouraged to deposit your student papers with the university's open access repository, DASH . Doing so will enable you to share your work with other members of the Harvard community, as well as the world at large.  If you are concerned about making your content available open on the Internet, you also have the option of submitting only the metadata (e.g. title, your name). See HLS Student Papers Series in DASH for details.

You might also want to deposit your paper (or its metadata) in SSRN or another working paper repository to associate yourself with the work and make it available for feedback from others in the field.  Scholars frequently make their "working papers" or drafts available for early feedback and reaction from colleagues.

The SSRN Legal Scholarship Network hosts research paper series for academic and other research organizations such as the  Harvard Law School, Public Law & Legal Theory Research Paper Series .  Scholars can publish their work in a large number of law-related e-journals within SSRN's Legal Scholarship Network's four areas including Law  & Economics, Public Law & Legal Theory, Legal Studies and Law Research Center Papers. 

Author Identification

Giving the proper author credit for research is the goal of Open Researcher and Contributor ID ( ORCID ) iDs.  ORCID is a non-profit, community-driven, Open Access effort to create a registry of unique researcher identifiers.

“ORCID provides a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes you from every other researcher and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between you and your professional activities ensuring that your work is recognized.”

You can create a new ORCID or link your existing ORCID using Harvard ORCID Connect , HarvardKey required.

Research Profile Services

• Scholars@Harvard
• Google Scholar Citations
• Academia.edu
• Conference Alerts

This resource tracks academic conferences worldwide, including ones concerning law.  E-mail alerts are available.

• Legal Scholarship Blog

A Service from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law & University of Washington School of Law, which tracks Law-Related Calls for Papers, Conferences, and Workshops .  You can sign up for alerts of new additions.

Annuals and Surveys Appearing in Legal Periodicals

• Annuals and Surveys Appearing in Legal Periodicals by Catherine L. Kerr and Joy Humphrey Call Number: Reference KF8 .K47 1996 ISBN: 0837793122 Tracks surveys appearing in law reviews, bar association journals and annuals. Arranged by jurisdiction and subject.

Selected books

Other Guides

• Writing for and Publishing in Law Reviews (Gallagher Law Library, University of Washington School of Law) This very extensive guide covers various aspects of publishing.
• Brian D. Galle, The Law Review Submission Process: A Guide for (and by) the Perplexed
• Scholastica Resources Run by the submission service Scholastica, there are various resources/tips (written from the perspective of a service provider) including their blogs .

Blogs/Current Awareness

• Brian Leiter Law School Reports
• PrawfsBlawg
• Faculty Lounge

HLS also offers many prizes for its students papers generally. See Harvard Law School Writing Prizes for more information.

Often included in many student writing competitions is the opportunity to have your work published in a journal. See Awards and Competitions (HLS Program on the Legal Profession) for a list of competitions.

• Writing Competitions (Pence Law Library Guide)
• Writing Competitions for Young Lawyers and Law Students (ABA Young Lawyers Division)
• Tutorial and quiz to obtain Scholastica account (HarvardKey required)

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• Last Updated: Apr 12, 2024 4:50 PM
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The Steps to Researching and Writing a Scholarly Article: Structuring Your Article

• Getting Started
• Picking a Topic
• Preemption Check and Preliminary Research
• Continuing Your Research
• Structuring Your Article
• Bluebooking

I am ready to write, now what?

The question on how to organize and structure a law review article comes up frequently enough that it is useful to provide some references and tips. 

• Look at how other articles are structured. The preemption materials, particularly, the law review articles, will come in handy when determining how to structure your paper. How have authors' writing on similar topics structured their papers?
• Eugene Volokh at UCLA published a book on academic legal writing  and discusses how to organize a law review article.
• NYU Law provides a brief outline of writing a note for a law journal.

NYU Law's - Typical Outline of a Note

Nyu law's the writing process  - the typical outline of a note.

• Introduction : The Introduction should include a description of the problem, a thesis statement, and a roadmap of the argument to follow.
• Part I : This section should be used to set forth the background information on which the later analysis in your Note will depend . It should be a general and broad review of the important issues relevant to your topic that educates your readers about everything they must know in order to understand your Note. When writing this section, be sure to use language that a reader who is not familiar with your Note topic can easily understand.
• Part   II : This section should examine the major cases and statutes that your Note will be analyzing. It will contain the main portion of your analysis of how the law stands. For example, if your topic focuses on a circuit split, Part II is where you would explain the conflicting holdings and rationales. You may also choose to discuss what other commentators have said about your topic and these cases.
• Part III : This section is where you will contribute your own analysis of and views on the topic . You will say why you feel the cases/commentary you analyzed are wrong and what should be done instead. In the case of a circuit split, say which side is better and why. Part III is where you should place your original thoughts and contributions, along with the conclusion of your Note.
• Conclusion : The Conclusion should briefly restate what you have already said . You should not focus too much on this section when preparing this Prospectus.
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• Last Updated: Jan 22, 2024 9:35 AM
• URL: https://researchguides.lawnet.fordham.edu/scholarlyresearchwriting

UC Law Journals' Guide

Guide overview, writing a scholarly article - general tips, narratives, storytelling, and outsider scholarship.

• Choosing a Topic
• Preemption Checking
• Decoding Abbreviations
• Finding Books
• Finding Articles
• Finding Statutes
• Legislative History & Bill Tracking
• Administrative Law
• Docket Searching
• Citation Management Services
• Bluebook Citation
• Law Student Guide to Identifying & Preventing Plagiarism
• Evaluating Sources
• Research Guides
• Law Library Legal Research Tutorials
• Vendor Legal Research Tutorials
• Non-Legal Research Tutorials
• Accessing Databases & E-Resources
• Law Library Useful Links
• Get Help & About the Author
• Feedback on this Guide

Congratulations! You’re now a member of the University of Cincinnati Law Review, Human Rights Quarterly, Immigration & Human Rights Law Review, or The Intellectual Property & Computer Law Journal. As a member of one of these publications, you may need to write an article, pull sources, and/or cite check. This guide is intended to introduce you to the many ways that the Library can help you accomplish these things successfully!

The following books and articles can help you figure out just how to write that scholarly article:

For some background information on narratives, storytelling, and outsider scholarship (be sure and check with your editors or instructor regarding these styles of writing) try these:

• Next: Choosing a Topic >>
• Last Updated: May 29, 2024 8:22 AM
• URL: https://guides.libraries.uc.edu/uclawjournals

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Choosing a Topic for Your Journal Article

Contacting your journal's librarian, books, & articles.

• Identify Your Topic
• Preemption Checking
• Review Literature

Contact Your Librarian Liaison

Your journal's liaison can provide helpful research advice at any stage of your writing process, from researching possible topics and preemption checking, to researching your approved topic. Please contact your liaison to schedule a research consultation:

Law and Inequality: A Journal of Theory Law and Practice : Vicente Garces ​ Minnesota Journal of International Law : Loren Turner Minnesota Journal of Law, Science and Technology : Michael Hannon Minnesota Law Review : Scott Dewey

​ Choosing a topic appropriate for a law review note or comment is a challenging task. You need to find timely subject matter about which you can provide novel commentary. Typically, you will focus on a recent case, enactment, or promulgation that illustrates a new development in the law. Although numerous books and articles on legal writing exist, only a few assist with topic selection. Those listed below will help you launch your topic selection.

Recommended Guides, Tutorials & Articles

• Writing For & Publishing In Law Reviews: General Information Prepared by Mary Whisner, Gallagher Law LIbrary, University of Washington School of Law. An excellent series of guides covering various aspects of writing and publishing in law reviews. Many of the resources discussed in this guide are also available to U of M Law Students.
• Really Basic Rules for Writing Good Papers in Law School, Allison Christians, Really Basic Rules for Writing Good Papers in Law School, 23 Green Bag 2d 181 (2020). This extremely brief guide is intended to help students avoid some frequently observed habits of poor writing. It covers paper structure, substance and style.
• Writing a Student Article Eugene Volokh, Writing a Student Article, 48 J. LEGAL EDUC. 247 (1998). In this article I try to give some advice, based on my own writing experience, for you to mix and match with whatever other advice you get. These ideas have worked for me, and I hope they work for you. If you find this article useful, I suggest you reread it at various stages of your project; as you get further into your piece, you might find yourself profiting from some tip that you missed when you first read it.

• Lexis: Write a Publishable Note for Your Law Review or Journal A 4 page guide (PDF) that provides advice on choosing a topic for your note and preemption checking.
• Lexis: Write a Publishable Comment A concise guide on writing a case comment including case selection and preemption checking.
• The Value of Legal Writing, Law Review, and Publication By Lawrence J. Trautman, 51 Ind. L. Rev. 693 (2018). Presented first is a brief examination of why lawyers do not write well. Second, is a description of the law review: its value; a brief history of the American law journal experience; the editor selection process; who does what on law reviews; and the number and type of law journals. Thoughts about the writing process and important considerations regarding law review writing in particular are then presented. Reflections by recent law journal editors about their law review experiences are offered, along with suggestions about how authors may improve their manuscripts. Following that, the who, what, where and when of the publication process is covered. Comments about the Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN) are presented, then followed by a brief discussion about the currency value of citations. I believe this Article starts a *694 fresh conversation about the importance and value of legal writing, law review, and law journal publication.
• Write on! A Guide to Getting on Law Review By Patrick Eoghan Murray (unpublished paper, posted on SSRN)
• Stalking the Golden Topic: A Guide to Locating and Selecting Topics for Legal Research Papers By Heather Meeker, 1996 Utah L. Rev. 917 (1996)
• Taking Note of Notes: Student Legal Scholarship in Theory and Practice By Andrew Yaphe, 62 J. Legal Educ. 259 (2012)
• Practical Tips for Placing and Publishing Your First Law Review Article By Robert Luther III, 50 U. Rich. L. Rev. Online 63 (2016).
• In Search of the Read Footnote: Techniques for Writing Legal Scholarship and Having It Published By Christian C. Day, 6 Legal Writing: J. Legal Writing Inst. 229 (2000)
• How to Write a Law Review Article By Richard Delgado, 20 U.S.F.L. Rev. 445 (1986)
• Academic Legal Writing: How to Write and Publish Gerald Lebovits, 78 N.Y. St. B.A. J. 64 (2006).
• How to Write a Law Review Article Sean Burke, 99 J. PAT. & TRADEMARK OFF. Soc'y 113 (2017).
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• Last Updated: Apr 3, 2024 3:10 PM
• URL: https://libguides.law.umn.edu/journaltopic

Writing for & Publishing in Law Reviews

• General: Texts & Advice
• Follow New Developments
• Mine Others' Ideas
• Shape Your Topic
• Search for Published Articles
• Search for Books & Book Chapters
• Search for Working Papers, Upcoming Symposia
• Using AI Tools
• Type of Journal
• Measuring Quality

Submission Guides

Law review mailing addresses, electronic submission, writing an abstract, how to format the paper, when to submit, simultaneous submission & expedited review, responding to calls for papers, article selection process, publication agreements.

• Guide Authors

Two authors maintain a journal-by-journal guide to law review submission policies and post it on SSRN : Allen K. Rostron & Nancy Levit,  Information for Submitting Articles to Law Reviews & Journals . Note: covers each U.S. law school's general law review; does not cover specialized journals.

Another useful article for students (by Levit et al.), is Submission of Law Student Articles for Publication (updated Aug. 30, 2016). Chart indicates which law reviews do and do not accept submissions from students at other schools. Again, covers general law reviews, not specialized journals.

Colin Miller annually updates and posts his Submission Guide for Online Law Review Supplements (the version from July 22, 2013, covers 49 general law review online supplements).

• Washington & Lee, Law Journals: Submissions & Ranking Links to journals' submission policies; provides email addresses.
• Scholastica Founded by a group of Chicago graduate students in March 2012, Scholastica now includes over 700 law reviews and journals.

Your abstract will be the first thing most editors see when they review your paper. Remember that the editors have not been thinking about your topic as much as you have—in fact, as third-year law students, they might know nothing about your topic. Your abstract is your first chance to explain why your topic is interesting and important and how your paper makes a contribution to the field. Make sure that it is well-crafted and clear. Proofread it carefully: there's no need to turn off editors before they even start skimming the article!

Later, the abstract will help researchers find your article and entice them to read it—more good reasons to put some effort into it!

Eugene Volokh, Writing an Abstract for a Law Review Article , Volokh Conspiracy, Feb. 8, 2010.

Mary A. Dudziak (USC law): How (Not to) Write an Abstract , Legal History Blog, Oct. 23, 2007.

Patrick Dunleavy, Writing Informative Abstracts for Journal Articles , Writing for Research, Feb. 16, 2014.

Optimizing Your Article for Search Engines , Wiley-Blackwell Author Services. Includes examples of abstracts that do better and worse jobs helping users find a paper using a search engine like Google. Also from Wiley: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your article .

Colorado State University's Writing Center has a very thorough online tutorial . It is not focused on law, but its techniques can be used in any field.

Advice for computer science papers (adaptable to law with a little thought): Philip Koopman, How to Write an Abstract (1997).

First, read the journal's submission guidelines or instructions for authors. The editors often specify whether they want single- or double-spaced, Word or PDF, footnotes or endnotes, and so on. (Footnotes are standard in U.S. law journals, but some cross-disciplinary journals use a format common in social sciences.)

Some editors might look past odd formatting, typographical errors, and sloppy citations to see the brilliance of a paper. But why make them? Faced with two papers that are comparable in content, most editors will choose the one that will be easier to edit. Take the time and care to make your paper look good.

See the Gallagher guide  Bluebook 101 .

The  Academic Legal Writing website includes a Word template .

Peak submission times for student journals are February-March (as new editorial boards are looking toward the next volume) and August (as student editors are returning from their summer jobs). Authors who submit after these peaks may still place their papers, but it might be harder because some journals will have already filled their issues.

• Scholastica Law Review Submission Insights Includes data and information about the submission cycles.

It is common for authors to submit papers to many law journals at once. When one journal makes an offer to publish, the author may ask more desirable journals to expedite review, hoping to "trade up."

For example, suppose an author submits to 26 journals, A through Z, with A being the most attractive (most prestigious) and the rest falling along a spectrum of desirability. Journal M makes an offer and gives the author two weeks to decide. The author contacts journals A-L, tells them about the deadline, and asks the editors to make a decision quickly (i.e., to "expedite review"). Journal G makes an offer. The author contacts Journals A-F. None of them make an offer, so the author publishes with Journal G.

Some people don’t like this practice, because it takes advantage of the work of the student editors of lower-ranked journals. In this example, the editors of journal M put in the work to decide that the article was worth publishing, and the author just used that work to get more attention from other journals. These critics suggest that authors should submit to their preferred journals—those where they would published if offered the chance. If they don’t get offers, then they can submit to their next preferred journals. See Joseph Scott Miller, Essay, The Immorality of Requesting Expedited Review , 21 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 211 (2017), HeinOnline .

Some journals have specific policies about expedited review. For example here is the Harvard Journal of Law & Technology 's policy:

We will conduct expedited reviews for articles with publication offers from other journals. So that we are able to appropriately respond to such requests, authors submitting an expedited review request should specify: (1) their need for consideration on an expedited basis, and (2) the offer deadline from the other journal(s). As with standard submissions, we have a strong preference for expedite requests submitted via Scholastica . If you email us regarding an expedite, please include "expedite" in the subject line of the email.

Some peer-reviewed journals do not participate in this process. Be sure to read the submission guidelines for the journals you are interested in. For example,  The Journal of Law and Economics states:

Papers submitted to the Journal of Law and Economics must not have been published and must not be under consideration elsewhere.

The Journal of Empirical Legal Studies states:

Simultaneous submission policy: Simultaneous submission of papers to JELS and other journals is permitted.  JELS , however, requires that if a submission is accepted for publication in JELS before acceptance by another journal, the author commits to publishing the article in JELS .  Thus, if JELS accepts an article before other journals have acted, the author must publish in JELS .  If an author receives an acceptance before JELS has acted, the author is free to withdraw the submission from JELS , or to request an expedited review from JELS .  Please contact JELS for details.

A call for papers is an announcement by editors of a journal or organizers of a conference that they are seeking papers on a given theme. Some calls for papers ask authors to send an abstract or proposal; others seek finished papers. When you respond to a call for papers, be sure to read carefully all of the instructions (deadlines, word count, citation style, etc.).

The Legal Scholarship Blog lists conferences, symposiums, and calls for papers. You can search by topic, you can use the calendar to find upcoming paper deadlines, or you can simply browse the listings. Posts usually link to the journals' or conferences' websites for more information.

Many student writing competitions lead to publication. See links.

Leah M. Christensen & Julie A. 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). HeinOnline

Jason P. Nance & Dylan J. Steinberg, The Law Review Article Selection Process: Results from a National Study , 71 Alb. L. Rev. 565 (2008). HeinOnline

As an author, consider whether you will still have the right to use your article in future works, to distribute it to your students, and to post it on the web (for instance, on SSRN ). You can negotiate with the journal if you don't agree with all the provisions in the journal's form contract.

See Benjamin J. Keele, Advising Faculty on Law Journal Publication Agreements (2012), for a discussion of the issues to consider.

A good starting point is the model publication agreement (1998) from the Association of American Law Schools . See also Model Copyright Agreements from Copyright Experiences Wiki . The Copyright Experiences Wiki also has information about individual law journals' policies.

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• Last Updated: Apr 8, 2024 5:40 PM
• URL: https://lib.law.uw.edu/writinglawreview

Georgetown Law Journal

How to write a note: a conversation with published authors.

Each year, The Georgetown Law Journal publishes six to ten Notes researched and written by students. Journal members are required to write a scholarly Note by January of their 3L/4E year. Volume 110 Senior Notes Editor Wynne Leahy recently sat down with Volume 109 Senior Notes Editor Orion de Nevers, published authors Courtney Hinkle and Hayden Johnson, and reference librarian Dan Donahue to discuss the Note writing and submission process. A recording of their conversation is available below.

The Journal ‘s Volume 109 Notes Committee also spoke with recently published authors Chris Conrad, Hayden Johnson, Diana Reisman, Ari B. Rubin, and Charlie Thau about writing a Note. As readers will see, there is no  right  way to do it.

About our respondents:

• Chris Conrad –  Reefer Access: Dispensaries as ‘Places of Public Accommodation’ Under Title III of the ADA , Volume 108.5; Judicial Power in the Laboratory: State Court Treatment of the One Good Plaintiff Rule , Volume 108.3.
• Hayden Johnson –  Vote Denial and Defense: A Strategic Enforcement Proposal for Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act , Volume 108.2.
• Diana Reisman –  Breaking Bad: Fail-Safes to the Hague Judgments Convention , Volume 109.4.
• Ari B. Rubin –  Grounding the Lame Duck: The President, the Final Three Months, and Emergency Powers , Volume 109.4.
• Charlie Thau ­–  Is This Really the Best We Can Do? American Courts Irrational Efforts Clause Jurisprudence, and How We Can Start to Fix It , Volume 109.3.

1. In your own words, what is a student Note?

• Conrad : An academic publication, authored by a student, that addresses a topic of law that is novel and noteworthy.
• Johnson : A student Note is published scholarship on a subject within student comprehension. A student Note is a unique opportunity to add to the scholarly discussion in a less competitive track compared to the Article selection process.
• Rubin : A Note is a law journal article by a newly minted practitioner, nothing less. The same form and goals apply: a cogent and novel thesis, air-tight argument, and stunning clarity. If anything, the forms differ in depth and length. The Note is not expected to be quite as probing. But if you can live up to the standards of a practicing attorney, your Note might stand the test of time.

2. How did you select a Note topic? If you researched several topics before selecting yours, how did you investigate potential topics and how did you know when you identified the best topic to write on?

• Johnson : I selected my topic from several research memoranda I completed during two voting rights internships. From these research assignments, I understood the governing legal framework, studied the recent commentary from election law academia, and had an opportunity to learn from a range of perspectives of supervisors who are practitioners in the field. I then spoke to professors at Georgetown Law about my proposed topic and further narrowed my scope for the Note to be something within student comprehension. I also asked Professor Paul Smith (while taking his Election Law class) to supervise my research project and he provided essential feedback on my topic selection.
• Rubin : Before law, I used to work as a writer in Hollywood, and there the importance of having a good idea is drilled into your inner-being. A good idea is one that you could tell your hick uncle, and it would get him excited. That means it needs to have mainstream appeal even while carefully rooting its arguments in legal reasoning. I started with the general category and limitations that my Note had to meet. Because, like most students, I was writing for a class initially, that meant the nature of the class and any constraints that my professor imposed dictated the field I was writing about. From there, I scoured the issues of law that were hot topics in the field and then compared those topics to what the top news stories had been recently. This step helped me analyze which legal topics I might stretch to answer broader problems in society. Because I was writing about separation of powers, the controversies over the Trump administration provided plenty of fodder. Finally, as I began to brainstorm specific ideas and test them by pitching the ideas to others, I looked for what sparked interest in them, and I returned regularly to the original question of what I was excited about. It is important to remember that from the time you first have the idea to the time you are done working on it for publication, more than a year might have transpired. You still must be interested in that same subject by the end.
• Thau : I really stumbled into my Note topic. During my 2L firm summer, I was assigned to write a memo on what I thought was an insanely boring question of contract law. As it turned out, the issue was a) interesting; b) the caselaw was totally counterintuitive; and c) because the caselaw was counterintuitive, many practitioners were just simply wrong about how the caselaw operated in practice. I wrote that memo and it became the baseline for my Note. If you’re interested in getting published, definitely don’t wed yourself to a particular area of the law. I did not like Contracts during 1L, but I recognized that the topic had some practical use. The more I kept an open mind, the more I became interested with the issue.
• Reisman : My professor was very helpful in directing me to a topic of general and current interest. From the beginning, I was hoping to publish my Note so I wanted to select a topic that was being discussed and debated today. My original plan was to submit this piece to an international law journal or more specialized, peer-reviewed journal. I was lucky that my topic happened to have a strong domestic focus, which I believe made it eligible for a generalist journal like GLJ . I began with background information on the topic (in my case, a multilateral treaty) and stumbled on—what I believed to be—a serious problem that no scholar had yet addressed.

3. A thousand-mile walk begins with a single step: Once you selected your topic, what was the first step in your Note creation process?

• Johnson : My Note discussed the recent applications of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to a certain subset of election laws, so my first step was to know the recent lower court cases inside and out to identify trends and understand how judges tended to resolve these cases. It helped to create a chart that catalogued the holding, reasoning, etc. of cases addressing similar subjects in different circuits.
• Rubin : First, know the subject. You have to become your own teacher. Treatises and law articles are a godsend. Start broadly with what you think the main topic is, then follow the recurrent themes to see what has been written. Keep reminding yourself that your job is to identify and ideally fix a problem. If you discover that the challenges on your topic have all already been successfully addressed, keep looking. Do not stop digging until you get to an issue that makes you say, “Jeez, someone should do something about that.” Second point is that the learning process will not stop. Even well into your revisions, you will need to put things on hold and teach yourself a new legal concept in order to address a lingering problem in your argument. For this reason, do not expect to know everything at the outset. Start writing and let your article grow organically.

4. Describe your research process once you selected your topic.

• Thau : I think you first want to center your research around your argument. Find an argument that’s compelling, try to outline your argument, and let that outline guide your research. Then, let the research reshape your structure and refine/redefine your argument. The easiest way to start researching is, in my opinion, to look through a comprehensive body of secondary sources on the topic. Chances are that, though your argument may be novel, somebody has written something on the topic. Whether those secondary sources reframe what you think is up to you, but at the very least you’ll gain a more comprehensive picture of the topic, and those secondary sources are often extremely helpful as collections of other sources.
• Rubin : HeinOnline is a go-to for law journal articles and Westlaw has a great compendium of treatises. I avoid actual books at first just because they are too inefficient. But keep in mind that law journals are far from authoritative. Their strength is that you can follow their footnotes back to the original source. (Hint: If the journal article you’re reading is not well sourced, move onto the next one.) Talking to practitioners can be useful if you turn it into an actual interview and include their conclusions in your writing. I tend to wait until I am at least through the first draft before having these conversations. News archives are valuable for factual research (but make sure to confirm their conclusions), and podcasts can also be a great way just to expand your immersion on the topic.
• Johnson : I completed a supervised research project with Professor Paul Smith during my 3L fall semester after I had taken his Election Law class my 2L spring semester. Having the opportunity to work with Professor Smith put my research project on a different track, both because of his excellent advice/edits and because I was able to set aside dedicated time to work on the project for class credit.

5. What challenges did you encounter while writing your Note? How did you overcome them?

• Johnson : A challenge I’m sure all Note writers face is narrowing your scope. I was constantly mindful about wanting to narrow my topic to fit Note length constraints and try to discuss a subject that balances being novel and something that a student (as a novice on the subject) can add a meaningful contribution. I think the way to overcome this challenge is to do the hard work of reading all of the scholarship from leading academics on a subject and identifying areas where scholars have left open room for further or distinct analysis. I found it useful to complete a full page writeup/outline on each article about what the author(s) did discuss (and quotes/citations that I could use to bolster claims in my Note), but also detailing what the author(s) did not address to know that I still had some room to add to the dialogue.
• Conrad : Often, it can be difficult to know whether your findings are accurate and abide by more complicated legal thinking. It’s important to “gut check” findings against professors or practitioners familiar with the topic to ensure you’re not drifting too far afield.
• Rubin : The most important step is to figure out the flaws in your argument. This means sharing your argument with both knowledgeable sources in the field, but also outsiders who might offer divergent takes or merely point out areas that are impossible to understand. I was not shy about asking for reads. With this feedback, the trick was not getting lazy. Problems in the argument sometimes meant authoring new sections (and learning new law), or completely overhauling certain ideas. It takes a lot of persistence.
• Thau : It was challenging to write the Note while focusing on my other commitments (schoolwork, Journal , personal life, etc.), but it was really helpful that I got to turn my Note in for credit, and I would highly recommend that anyone who wants to get published write their Note for a class. It was also hard pushing past the mental roadblock of “what if this topic isn’t compelling to the Journal /what if my Note isn’t good enough?” I was working really hard on it, and I didn’t want all of that to not come to fruition. To that end, I was really lucky to have friends/family members take a look at my writing and offer constructive feedback. You should definitely ask your law school friends to take a look at your Note or portions of your Note, because they will often see things that you just can’t because you’re so invested in your argument/writing or overlooking something. Also, saying this as a former Senior Writing Fellow, you should definitely go to the Writing Center.  They’re trained to help you with this stuff.

6. In your view, what factors make a Note particularly compelling?

• Conrad : Novelty, empiricism, and the timeliness of the issue.
• Reisman : I received some great advice from my professor in this class, which I believe applies to all legal scholarship: don’t just point out a problem, present a solution. I have noticed that, at least in Georgetown Journal of International Law , sometimes the Notes committee turns down a well-written and well-researched Note because the author has not really contributed something new or interesting to the discussion. Or perhaps the author’s takeaway is something generic, as in “there should be a new treaty” or “x country should stop doing this.” My advice would be to put a lot of thought into your solution or your takeaway to make sure it goes beyond what other scholars have already said.
• Rubin: My theory is that the issue must affect people personally. If it is a narrow niche of law, ask how the average person might stumble into the problem you have identified. Obviously, it is easier to pick a broadly applicable subject at the outset than it is to fake universality where it does not exist. A narrower topic is fine if you know you intend to publish it in a more targeted journal. But the same underlying question is important: Is the idea esoteric, or is it something that might make the man on the street stop to learn the answer?
• Thau : To me, a compelling Note combines sophistication of ideas with clarity of writing and structure. You obviously want to have an interesting/novel argument, but none of that matters if the Note isn’t readable or understandable. Often, scholarly works are necessarily complex, but that does not mean they should be incomprehensible. The best Notes take those complex ideas, frame them within a tight structure, and keep the writing clear. Often, unnecessary verbiage/legalize weigh the Note down. To that end, read the Note out loud to yourself. You get a much better feel for the writing, structure, and argument by doing that than anything else.
• Johnson : I tried to remain guided by two considerations: novelty and humility. It is essential for a student Note to add something new to the discussion, while also having a realistic understanding that students (or at least speaking for my own capacity as a student) cannot write the same type or quality of a piece as a leading academic or practitioner. From my view, the sweet spot for writing a compelling Note is to identify a new take or previously unexplored question that can realistically be discussed by an author who does not have the benefits of practical experience with that area of the law, broad understanding of the greater legal context gained from years of being in academia, or resources of research assistants, faculty symposia, etc. Finding a narrow point of discussion or proposal that still recognizes the larger context without attempting to master it is the key.

7. Honestly, how long did it take?

• Rubin : I came up with my idea in September 2019. As of September 2020, I am still working on it. So, there you go.
• Conrad : From the point of topic selection through final publication? Easily hundreds of hours for each publication.  I would say an average of 200 hours for each.
• Reisman : As a result of COVID-19 in the spring, I started this paper rather late. Start to finish, I would say about 2.5-3 months. I put in a fair bit of time, but alongside other classes and extracurriculars.
• Johnson : The lifespan of my Note from topic selection to final publication was about 2.5 years (which I think is unusually long, but I will explain my process to the extent it is helpful). I began considering writing something on my topic after my 1L summer internship. At that time, I tried to take some time to read and compile detailed notes on some of the relevant Supreme Court cases and scholarship from the very top academics in the field so I could preliminarily evaluate whether it was a worthwhile subject for a student Note. I also began following Election Law blogs and practitioners/academics on twitter to keep up with the latest discussions, as well as asked professors with an interest in Election Law about their thoughts on my proposed subject (all were very willing to provide their helpful perspectives!). I then learned about the supervised research project opportunity at Georgetown and asked Professor Paul Smith to supervise my research. I began outlining the Note during 2L spring semester while I was taking Election Law and started more detailed researching and some writing 2L summer in the evenings. I completed the supervised research project during 3L fall semester and had 4 draft iterations. I further narrowed down the length of the final product for publication purposes over 3L winter break and began submitting to GLJ and other law journals that accepted student Notes in early February. Once selected by GLJ , I went through multiple rounds of edits with the top-notch student editors and the Note was finalized and ready for print in November after I graduated.

8. What was the publication process like?

• Rubin : The process has been wonderful. GLJ has the best Note editors in the world. Honestly, I have published in multiple journals, and GLJ is leaps and bounds ahead, in terms of both professionality and acumen. But wherever you publish, expect to work with the editors substantively on improving your Note. This means a few drafts of macroscopic changes and improvements, and then the inevitable proofreading and cite-checking.
• Conrad : Painfully prolonged but very helpful. It can be difficult to strike a balance between incorporating useful feedback and excluding feedback that, while potentially helpful, you choose to ignore.  The time that passes can be frustrating if the topic on which you write is one that is dynamic.  This can lead to significant revisions that warrant additions, all of which require further editing.
• Johnson : GLJ for Volume 108 was a well-oiled machine. The student editors assigned to my Note clearly took the time to read it thoroughly and understood what I was trying to get across and the key sources supporting my contentions. The Note went through various stages of editing and cite-checking over the course of several months. The editors gave me advice and opportunities to workshop confusing passages or fix citations that were to the wrong pincite or had become mixed up through my own editing process.
• Reisman : I am still mid-process, but so far, it has been great. The GLJ editors are very professional and easy to work with. The feedback I have received on the text of the Note has been very helpful.

9. Looking back, how would you sum up the Note writing and publishing experience?

• Johnson : Writing a Note is a fantastic experience and it felt like a capstone for my law school experience that would be similar to other graduate programs. The process and outcome inspired me to continue seeking publication for other research projects and have an interest in a future as an academic. It is hard work and a long process, but worth it. In job and clerkship interviews, my Note has come up more than anything else I did in law school and I am always excited to speak about the Note because it was a truly positive experience.
• Rubin : Publishing is a highlight of the law school experience. I took full advantage of the classroom opportunities to develop topics I was curious about into full articles. Not only did it provide multiple opportunities to write publishable work, but it was a great way to teach myself areas of law I found interesting and work intimately with professors whom I respected. Needless to say, having a publication on your resume is also a feather in your cap when it comes to hiring. There are few things in law school that are largely under your control. The quantity and quality of Notes you author is one of the few.
• Conrad : Extremely thorough. It was a privilege to have the staff of GLJ working to better my publications.  The production of both of my Notes ranks high on my list of accomplishments in law school.  It’s very fulfilling to publish something that contributes to a field of legal thinking, while backed by such talented editors.

10. Do you have any final advice for students pursuing Note publication?

• Rubin: One additional step to think about is just what it takes to find a publisher in the first place. You have a home at Georgetown to get your work in print, and you should consider all of the school’s journals. But do not limit yourself to Georgetown. Every law school has multiple journals and while many of them publish only Notes from their own students, at least 70 schools accept outside submissions. You should plan on spending a few nights just going through the journals’ websites to see which ones are available. Also, remember, after graduation, you can always expand upon your Note and consider submitting to any journal as an Article.
• Conrad : Put in a ton of effort early to come up with an interesting topic. Once you have an interested issue to research, it (1) makes you more willing to commit the time to the process, and (2) makes the topic more enticing to the Notes committee, as the prospect of citations and use of student Notes in litigation is a point of consideration.
• Johnson : I will reemphasize the importance of thinking hard during the topic selection stage about novelty and humility (i.e., picking a topic that can realistically be addressed by a student who is an amateur in the field). I wish I had thought about it even more at the beginning of my process and was glad that I eventually felt confident about my Note meeting these two considerations. Also, I highly advise students to pursue a supervised research project ( see above ) because it allows students to build a relationship with a favorite faculty member, receive their expert advice, and incorporate the student’s Note writing goals into their course load instead of trying to separately and simultaneously manage both. There are other ways to accomplish these goals—such as small seminar classes or being strategic about a research assistant position—but I think the supervised research project program is lesser known and best allows students to harness classwork to complete a Note. Best of luck!

Legal Writing

• Choosing a Scholarly Paper Topic
• Conducting a Preemption Check
• Evaluating Information
• Keeping Current
• Publishing Your Scholarly Writing

Publication Submissions and Writing Competitions

Expert advice, journal information, scholarship databases.

• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Legal Citation & the Bluebook
• Persuasive Legal Writing
• Transactional Legal Writing
• Litigation Focused Writing
• Legislative Drafting
• Judicial Writing
• ADR Drafting

• Publication Submissions
• Writing Competitions

When to submit The academic publishing service  Scholastica  has identified two key dates for journals receiving and reviewing submissions: Feb. 1 and Aug. 1. However, student pieces are more likely to receive offers later in the cycle, and ASU Law Professor Troy Rule recommends a target date of late March. Submitting on schedule can help because a significant number of journals close themselves off from submissions for parts of the year. Scholastica also suggests that if you are hoping for a place in a particular journal to ask the staff when to submit your paper.

How to submit Scholastica  provides a law review author guide including instructions on creating an account, submitting your writing, communicating with prospective publishers, and submitting to multiple journals, as well as general tips to get your ideas in print. It also details how to withdraw papers and how to respond to publication offers.

Where to submit Law schools typically offer themed journals concerning particular aspects of law or society in addition to general, flagship law reviews and journals. If you have an offer but want to know whether another journal is interested in your paper, an  expedited decision request  can help.

Arizona State Law Journal: Criminal Justice Reform National Writing Competition This contest offers prize money and potential publication in the Arizona State Law Journal Online. It is open to law students across the country. Articles must not exceed 7,500 words and must concern criminal justice reform.

American Indian Law Review National Writing Competition Three awards offered annually by the American Indian Law Review at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. The competition is available to any currently enrolled law student who submits a paper on any issue concerning American Indian law.

Artificial Intelligence Writing Competition This competition from William & Mary Law School's Center for Legal & Court Technology requires students to identify an application of emerging technologies, such as Internet of Things, facial recognition, or autonomous systems, and propose new regulations or regulatory systems to govern those applications.

Suffolk University Law School ICompete Writing A breakdown of writing contests into particular areas of law.

Georgetown Law Technology Review Student Writing Competition This competition for law students invites submissions addressing a legal or public policy question relating to emerging and sustained challenges to legal and political structures created by online platforms, digital services, and other emerging technologies. Up to three winners will be selected, with a first prize of $4,000.

ABA for Law Students Writing Competitions Contests in a variety of subject areas offer money prizes.

National Law Review Writing Competition This monthly contest for law students focuses on practice oriented analysis for lawyers and professionals in related fields.

AccessLex Writing Competitions This is a searchable database of law school writing competitions put together by a non-profit dedicated to legal education.

• Publications
• Tips from Published Authors

Getting it Published: A Guide for Scholars and Anyone Else Serious About Serious Books (William Germano, 2016) This title, available as an ebook, provides clear and practical guidance on choosing the best path to publication of scholarly writing. The author focuses on book publication but the lessons provided are applicable to article publication as well.

Information for Submitting Articles to Journals and Law Reviews   (Allen Rostron & Nancy Levit, 2023) This frequently updated guide to submitting articles to law reviews and journals includes information on methods of submission (such as through Scholastica, another academic publication submission program, or direct email), word counts, formatting, and how to request an expedited decision. This resource focuses on flagship law reviews and journals rather than subject-specific secondary journals.

Information for Submitting to Online Law Review Companions   (Bridget J. Crawford, 2022) Online journal companions provide another outlet for academic writing. Although these major law review companions may be a difficult destination for student writing to reach, the submission principles that the author identifies may help you associate with a big-name journal or prepare your work for consideration by other journals and online services.

Modern Legal Scholarship: A Guide to Producing and Publishing Scholarly and Professional Writing (Christine Coughlin et al., 2020) This book provides a comprehensive approach to researching, writing, and publishing a variety of documents relevant to legal practice in today's world. It covers a variety of publishing options in modern contexts including law journal articles, seminar papers and capstone projects, bar journal articles, policy papers, op-eds, social media posts, blogs, and even creative works.

Submission of Law Student Articles for Publication  (Nancy Levit et al., 2016) This guide is geared specifically toward students, with practical tips such as withholding publication until after beginning a clerkship, when national flagship law reviews may be more receptive toward submissions. It provides tips on maximizing publication chances, such as co-authoring with a professor and optimizing the cover letter and abstract.

Professors at  ASU Law  and  S.J. Quinney College of Law , as well as students and alumni who have published articles, provided the following tips:

Write for Your Audience Legal audiences are diverse, and your paper should be useful or interesting to legal academics or legal professionals.  Commentators can provide guidance  on how to conceptualize, organize, and execute your legal arguments.

• Break new ground : Our  Conducting a Preemption Check guide  can help you make sure that other writers have not already argued your key points. The more current and cutting edge your topic, the more likely it will be of interest to a law journal.
• Tap into general interests : Notes or comments of broad interest will garner more interest than papers that are focused too narrowly, such as one examining just one particular case or jurisdiction. 
• Join a conversation : Journals may consider articles that make an effective counterpoint to an ongoing academic discussion. Our Choosing a Paper Topic guide can help you identify subjects of hot debate.
• Summarize a complex doctrine : By virtue of externships or particular research projects, students often emerge as the experts in very discrete areas of the law, and you can impart your wisdom to the professionals. Many legal practitioners turn to law review articles to help them navigate issues that arise while representing a client. User friendly breakdowns of complex legal doctrines can appeal to audiences and, consequently, journals.
• Write for particular journals : Secondary journals in your field are more likely to publish student writing than general, flagship law journals. You can tailor your article to a particular journal by choosing appropriate subject matter and writing techniques. You can read up on particular publications by browsing  HeinOnline  (available on campus or through ASURITE).
• Use reliable sources : Proper input is essential for helping you write a useful history of legal precedent in your comment or note.  Meet with a Law Librarian  for assistance in identifying and navigating reliable legal and academic resources.
• Strike an academic tone : With some exceptions, law journals and reviews will prefer sober academic and legal analysis with professional vocabulary to papers that indulge in overt activism or "soaring rhetoric." Still, the writing should be engaging and flow well.

Seek Guidance

• Join a professor:  If you find a strong connection with particular professors' research interests, assisting them with their projects can be an excellent way to learn about topics and get exposure. You will likely read up significantly on particular legal debates, and you may even be able to co-write an article with a professor, which will increase your publication potential. Our  Research Assistants' Guide  can get you started.
• Get lots of feedback:  The more criticism and advice you solicit, the stronger your paper will be. It's particularly useful to seek different perspectives, sending articles to legal practitioners as well as legal academics.

Meet Publications' Expectations

• Reach the word count : Some student notes and comments may not be long enough to meet journals' requirements, so be sure to check journal websites to find their submission guidelines.
• Format your text properly : Most journals will enforce formatting requirements for submissions such as double spaced text. Journals will more likely reject students than legal professionals for formatting errors.
• Format footnotes properly : The law library provides resources to help you master legal citation in this  Legal Writing Research Guide . You may also  make an appointment  to discuss complex citations with a reference librarian or  email the reference librarians  about simpler questions.

Get Noticed

• Strengthen your cover letter and abstract:  First impressions count for a lot, and engaging introductory materials can help your work advance beyond the initial stages of a journal's selection process.  Commentators provide guidance  on how to get noticed.
• Cast a wide net : Try to send your article to as many journals as will likely take an interest in your topic to maximize your publication changes.
• Enter a contest : Student writing competitions typically provide prizes, recognition, or publication, depending on the particulars of the contest. Find a partial listing of contests in the Writing Competitions section below. 
• Run a blog : Particularly if you have a strong interest and take many courses in related areas of law, you can opine on a series of topics and build an audience for your ideas through a blog. It can be an informal place to recycle research assignments to gain exposure.
• ASU Law Journals
• Journal Metrics

Arizona State's law journals publish student works in print and online.

Arizona State Law Journal ASU Law's quarterly flagship law journal publishes professional and student works on general legal topics.

Jurimetrics This quarterly journal focuses on intersections between the law and science, technology, mathematics, and engineering.

Sports and Entertainment Law Journal This journal publishes professional and student writing biannually in print and online.

Law Journal for Social Justice This online journal focuses on local, national, and international social justice issues and provides a topical blog.

Corporate and Business Law Journal This journal publishes articles by students and academics, and it provides a forum for shorter, topical works.

Law Journal Submissions and Ranking For students seeking journals that will maximize their work's impact, the Washington & Lee Law School Library provides rankings, primarily based on citation counts. 

Alfred L. Brophy, The Signaling Value of Law Reviews: An Exploration of Citations and Prestige , 36 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. (2009) . A study of citations finds that articles published in secondary or subject specific journals can receive as many citations or more than articles published in top ranked general law journals. 

Social Science Research Network The SSRN can help academics notice your work before it is published. Academics provide feedback and may even cite to draft articles hosted on the website.

Faculty Scholarship Repository - Arizona State University Published articles by ASU Law faculty can help you identify topics for further research or find a mentor for your writing project.

HeinOnline Law Journal Library   (available on campus or through ASURITE) This resource archives full text PDF copies of law journal articles dating back decades to help researchers  identify topics or find potential publishers. 

• This database's  subject indexes  include subject specific journals that will be more likely to accept student submissions than flagship law reviews.
• Most Cited Journals on HeinOnline  lists the most prestigious law reviews and journals, which are typically highly competitive for professional legal academics and professionals. 

Google Scholar This resource compiles interdisciplinary and nonlegal scholarship in addition to law journal articles. 

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• Last Updated: May 20, 2024 12:51 PM
• URL: https://libguides.law.asu.edu/legalwriting

Harvard Law Review

Volume 137 issue 7 may 2024, in memoriam: justice sandra day o’connor.

The editors of the Harvard Law Review respectfully dedicate this issue to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

• John G. Roberts Jr.
• Stephen G. Breyer
• Justin Driver
• Cristina Rodríguez
• Stewart J. Schwab
• Eugene Volokh

Bail at the Founding

• Kellen R. Funk
• Sandra G. Mayson

The Second Coming of Political Liberalism

The role of certiorari in emergency relief, “hereinafter”: workplace protections, the state attorney general’s settlement toolkit, and injunctive relief, kānāwai from ahi: revitalizing the hawai‘i water code in the wake of the maui wildfires, halting administrative action in the supreme court, the presumption against novelty in the roberts court’s separation-of-powers case law, kiviti v. bhatt.

Fourth Circuit Holds that Article III Mootness Doctrine Does Not Apply to Bankruptcy Proceedings.

Colindres v. United States Department of State

D.C. Circuit Defers to Consulate’s Visa Denial.

K & R Contractors, LLC v. Keene

Fourth Circuit Declines to Consider Constitutionality of Removal Protections Because of Lack of Injury.

Lee ex rel. Gap, Inc. v. Fisher

Ninth Circuit Enforces Forum Selection Clause Blocking Derivative Suits.

Doe v. William Marsh Rice University

Fifth Circuit Advances Novel Theory of Liability for Anti-Male Discrimination.

Letter From Gavin Newsom, Governor Of California, To Members Of The California State Senate (Sept. 30, 2023)

California Governor Vetoes Bill to Extend Occupational Health and Safety Protections to Domestic Workers.

Platform Accountability and Transparency Act, S. 1876, 118th Cong. (2023)

U.S. Senate Introduces Mandatory Reporting And Disclosure Law For Social Media Platforms.

About the Harvard Law Review

Founded in 1887, the Harvard Law Review is a student-run journal of legal scholarship. The Review is independent from the Harvard Law School and a board of student editors selected through an anonymous annual writing competition make all editorial decisions. The print Review and its online companion, the Forum , are published monthly from November through June. The Review , the Forum , and online Blog welcome submissions throughout the year.

What Happened to Traceability?

• Joshua Perry

“An Arbitrary Fraction”: How the Family and Medical Leave Act Fails Rural Workers

• Melanie Hagerman

Honoring Statutory Restraint in Conflicts Analysis

• Katherine Florey

Bending Gender: Disability Justice, Abolitionist Queer Theory, and ADA Claims for Gender Dysphoria

Voluntary prosecution and the case of animal rescue.

• Justin Marceau
• Wayne Hsiung
• Steffen Seitz

Extrajudicial Segregation: Challenging Solitary Confinement in Immigration Prisons

• Felipe De Jesús Hernández

The Constitution of Difference

• Guy-Uriel E. Charles
• Luis E. Fuentes-Rohwer

Methodological Convergence in Community Financial Services

• Elias Neibart

Community Financial Services and the Intramural Debate over Novelty and Tradition

• Thomas E. Nielsen

On the Limits of ADA Inclusion for Trans People 

• A.D. Sean Lewis

Civil Suits by Parents Against Family Policing Agencies

• Alexa Richardson

Originalism Makes Sense: A Response

A thought experiment: does originalism make sense.

• In Kyu Chung

More from the Archives

Coloring in the fourth amendment.

• Daniel S. Harawa

Non-extraterritoriality

• Carlos M. Vázquez

Contract-Wrapped Property

• Danielle D’Onfro

Transinstitutional Policing

• Sunita Patel

Interrogating Dominion: On Political Theology and Summary Process Eviction in Connecticut

• James Stevenson Ramsey

The Anti-Klan Act in the Twenty-First Century

• William M. Carter Jr.

Book Reviews

Will the real shareholder primacy please stand up.

• Ann M. Lipton

Unshielded: How the Police Can Become Touchable

• Brandon Hasbrouck

Remembering Judy Heumann

• Robyn M. Powell

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• Michael Ashley Stein

Recently Cited

The student pieces featured below have been recently cited in judicial opinions and legal scholarship.

Shinn v. Ramirez

United states v. tuggle, freedom from religion foundation, inc. v. mack, united states v. varner, uzuegbunam v. preczewski, transunion v. ramirez, haskins v. 3m co., payday, vehicle title, and certain high-cost installment loans, revitch v. directv, llc, wilson v. houston community college system, geofence warrants and the fourth amendment, mcgirt v. oklahoma.

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Our reference librarians bring extensive training and practice experience in law, political science, and information science. Academic information resources are always changing, and your reference librarians know which tools are available and how to use them. 

When searching for books, first check NUsearch to see if it is available through the Northwestern University library system. If you do not find the book in NUsearch, check WorldCat . You can submit an interlibrary loan request for the item you find on WorldCat, and our library will attempt to borrow it from another library for you. 

Search Tips for NUsearch and WorldCat: 

• Use subject headings. NUsearch and WorldCat use common subject headings connected by hypertext links, so once you find one work on your subject, use the subject links to locate other works.
• Search both narrowly for your topic and more broadly for the overall subject.  
• Use NUsearch limits. Occasionally NUsearch provides many results unrelated to your interest. You can limit by date range, by specific library, or even a part of the law library collection.
• Browse the stacks. Other books on your subject and related subjects are likely located next to the book you identified through NUsearch on the shelf.
• NUsearch Northwestern's discovery search tool for the vast collection of our books, journals, journal and newspaper articles, videos, sound recordings, digital images and more.
• WorldCat An international catalog that allows you to search for materials in libraries worldwide. We regularly borrow books or request copies of articles from libraries throughout the country. As soon as you know your topic, use WorldCat to find out if a crucial book from another library will need to be borrowed. Borrow WorldCat books by interlibrary loan.
• Interlibrary Loan Provides instructions and the form for requesting books via interlibrary loan through the Pritzker Legal Research Center.

To find relevant articles for your research, you should search indexes, full-text current sources, and full-text archives. You can also search NUsearch to efficiently conduct a search across articles contained in various subscription databases ( e.g. , JSTOR, EBSCOhost Academic Search Complete, etc.) at once. 

• Indexes: Indexes, including LegalTrac and the Index to Legal Periodicals & Books, provide citations with abstracts to publications. Index editors apply consistent subject headings to articles, ensuring that you can locate many articles even when the title is obscure or the author uses different terminology. 
• Full-Text Current Sources:  Full-text searches on Lexis and Westlaw will help you locate additional articles that discuss your topic in part. Be sure to consider synonyms for your key terms so that you do not miss articles that use slightly different phrasing.
• Full-Text Archives:  Lexis and Westlaw journal databases date back only to the mid-1980s, but HeinOnline archive scholarship back to the mid-1800s. Find out what scholars said when your topic first developed.
• LegalTrac Citations with abstracts, and some full-text articles, from more than 800 legal publications. Focus is on journals published in U.S. law schools, but also covered are major journals from other English-speaking countries. Also covers law-related articles from more than 1,000 additional business and general interest periodicals.
• Index to Legal Periodicals and Books Indexes articles from over 800 legal journals (beginning in 1981), and from major law books published since 1993.th the Index to Legal Periodicals & Books covering 1981 to present. Focus is on publications from the United States. Does not contain any articles in full text. Current file also available on Westlaw (ILP).
• Westlaw - Law Reviews & Journals Contains law reviews and journals published in the United States.
• Lexis - Law Reviews & Journals Contains law reviews and journals published in the United States.
• HeinOnline Law Journal Library Contains more than 2,400 law and law-related periodicals. Subjects covered include criminal justice, political science, technology, human rights, and more. Coverage for all journals is from inception and goes through the most currently published issues allowed based on contracts with publishers. About 90% of journals are available through the current issue or volume. Search by article title, author, subject, state or country published, full text, and narrow by date.

SSRN and bepress allow scholars in various fields to post articles prior to formal publication, as a means to present their ideas to their colleagues and receive feedback. These resources allow you to view working papers and forthcoming articles. It can take up to a year for an article to be published in a law journal after it is accepted for publication. These resources offer access to scholarship that will be published in the future. 

• BEpress Legal Repository Hosts institutional repositories for over 80 U.S. and Canadian law schools, as well as many other academic and government institutions. Each linked repository contains scholarship uploaded by that institution, typically focusing on faculty scholarship.
• Social Science Research Network (SSRN) Open-access online database of scholarly research, including working papers and abstracts of works in progress as well as completed works. Includes a Legal Scholarship Network and various other networks in the following subject areas: Applied Sciences, Health Sciences, Humanities, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences.
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• Last Updated: Jan 30, 2024 11:41 AM
• URL: https://library.law.northwestern.edu/writingforjournal

31-point checklist to write an award-winning legal article or blog

• Career Guide
• Aishwarya Agrawal
• January 25, 2023

Writing a legal article or blog can be challenging, but with the right approach, it can be done effectively. This brief will provide tips and guidelines for drafting a legal article or blog, including how to select a topic, conduct research, use clear and concise language, and format your work for publication.

Here you go!

Selecting a topic for the research

Selecting topics for law articles can be challenging, but with a little bit of thought and planning, you can find a topic that is both interesting and relevant to your audience. Here are some tips for selecting topics for law articles:

Consider your audience. Your topic should be of interest to your readers and relevant to their needs. Think about the types of people who will be reading your article and what they might be interested in learning more about.

Stay current. Legal issues are constantly changing, so it’s important to choose a topic that is timely and relevant to current events. This will help keep your readers engaged and ensure that your article is providing them with the most up-to-date information.

Think about your area of expertise. If you have a specific area of expertise, it can be helpful to focus on topics that are related to your field of study. This will help you provide your readers with valuable insights and information that they may not be able to find elsewhere.

Look for gaps in current legal literature. Research on the legal topic you are interested in, check for gaps in the current legal literature, and try to write about those gaps or unexplored areas, this can increase your chances of getting published in a journal or law review.

Explore controversial issues. Controversial issues can be a great source of inspiration for legal articles. These topics can spark debate and generate interest from readers, but it’s important to make sure you are presenting a balanced and objective perspective.

Utilize legal research tools. There are many legal research tools available online, such as LexisNexis and Westlaw, which can help you find recent court decisions, statutes and regulations on a specific topic. This can be a great starting point for finding a topic that is both relevant and interesting.

Keep in mind the legal trends. Keep an eye on legal trends and emerging issues, such as changes in laws and regulations, as these can be good sources for article topics.

Best practices to write a legal article

Drafting a legal article or blog can be a challenging task, but with the right approach, it can be done effectively. Here are some tips for drafting a legal article or blog:

Start with a clear thesis or main point. Your article or blog should have a specific focus or argument that you are trying to make. This will help guide the rest of your writing and keep your readers engaged.

Conduct thorough research. Before you begin writing, make sure you have a good understanding of the topic you are writing about. This will require you to research relevant laws, cases, and other sources of information that will help you make your argument.

Use clear and concise language. Legal writing can be dense and difficult to understand, so it’s important to use clear and concise language that your readers can easily understand. Avoid using legal jargon or complex terms that your readers may not be familiar with.

Use examples and anecdotes. To help illustrate your points, use real-life examples and anecdotes that your readers can relate to. This will help make your writing more engaging and easier to understand.

Use evidence to support your argument. Legal writing relies heavily on evidence to support your argument, so make sure you are using credible and reliable sources to back up your claims.

Be objective. In legal writing, it is important to be objective, meaning that you should not let your personal opinions influence your writing. You should present the facts and the law as they are and let your readers form their own opinions.

Edit and proofread your work. Before you publish your article or blog, make sure you have thoroughly edited and proofread your work. This will help you catch any errors or mistakes and ensure that your writing is clear and error-free.

Provide references and citations. Legal writing requires proper referencing and citations, so make sure you are providing the necessary information for readers to follow up on the sources you used.

Remember, a legal article or blog is a way to educate the readers on the legal topic, so make sure to make it easy to understand and informative.

Formatting your article

Formatting a legal article is an important aspect of legal writing, as it helps to make your work clear, organized, and easy to read. Here are some key points to keep in mind when formatting your legal article:

Use a clear and consistent structure. A legal article should have a clear and consistent structure that includes an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The introduction should provide an overview of the topic and the main points you will be discussing. The body of the article should be divided into sections or paragraphs that present your argument and evidence in a logical and organized manner. And the conclusion should summarize your main points and provide your readers with a sense of closure.

Use headings and subheadings. Headings and subheadings are an effective way to organize your legal article and make it easy for readers to follow the flow of your argument. Headings should be used to indicate the main sections of your article, while subheadings can be used to break up the body of your article into smaller, more manageable chunks.

Use footnotes or endnotes. Legal writing often involves citing sources, so it’s important to use footnotes or endnotes to provide your readers with the necessary information. Footnotes or endnotes should be used to indicate the source of any quotes or information that you use in your article.

Use proper citation format. Make sure you are using the proper citation format, such as Bluebook or OSCOLA. This will help you properly cite the sources you use in your article and ensure that your readers can easily find the sources you cite.

Use clear and consistent font and formatting. The font and formatting of your legal article should be clear and consistent, so that it is easy for readers to read and follow. Use a font that is easy to read, such as Times New Roman or Arial, and use consistent formatting throughout your article.

Avoid using overly complex or specialized language. Legal writing can be dense and difficult to understand, so it’s important to use clear and concise language that your readers can easily understand. Avoid using legal jargon or complex terms that your readers may not be familiar with, as they can make your article more difficult to understand.

Use bullet points, tables, and figures to highlight important information. Bullet points, tables, and figures can be useful for highlighting important information and making your article more visually appealing.

Proofread and edit your work. Before you submit or publish your legal article, make sure you have thoroughly proofread and edited your work. This will help you catch any errors or mistakes and ensure that your writing is clear and error-free.

How does a legal article differ from a legal research paper?

A legal article or blog is different from a legal research paper in several ways, including the purpose, format, and audience.

Purpose: The primary purpose of a legal article or blog is to inform and educate the general public or legal professionals on a specific legal topic, whereas the primary purpose of a legal research paper is to present original research and analysis on a specific legal issue.

Format : Legal articles or blogs typically have a more informal and conversational tone, whereas legal research papers are more formal and academic in tone. Legal articles or blogs are shorter in length, usually around 800 to 1500 words, whereas legal research papers are much longer, typically around 10,000 to 20,000 words.

Audience : Legal articles or blogs are typically aimed at a broader audience, including the general public, legal professionals, and law students, whereas legal research papers are usually intended for a specific academic audience of legal scholars and researchers.

Language and Jargon: Legal articles or blogs try to avoid legal jargon and complex legal terms, and use simpler language that can be easily understood by a general audience. On the other hand, legal research papers use a more technical language and legal jargon, which is more appropriate for academic research.

Research and Analysis: Legal articles or blogs tend to provide an overview of a legal topic and its current state, whereas legal research papers provide an in-depth analysis of a specific legal issue. Legal research papers are expected to cite legal authorities, case laws and statutes to support the argument.

Citations and references: Legal research papers require proper referencing and citations, whereas legal articles or blogs often do not require formal citations, but it is still good practice to provide references and citations for the sources used.

Publication: Legal research papers are typically published in academic journals, law reviews, or as a part of a thesis or dissertation, whereas legal articles or blogs are typically published online or in legal publications.

Impact: Legal research papers tend to have a more significant impact on the legal community as they present original research and analysis on a specific legal issue, whereas legal articles or blogs have a more general impact as they are intended to inform and educate the general public and legal professionals about a specific legal topic.

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How to Write Law/Legal Articles (Structure & Format to Use)

• Post author: Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka ACMC
• Post published: April 9, 2022
• Post category: Legal Articles

How to Write Law Articles : Writing law article is a very demanding undertaking. Law is not a general field; therefore there are some peculiarities ascribable to it. A writer who seeks to write law article must be well grounded in law, particularly on the topic or area intended to be written on. Just like every other article, a law article must have purpose and direction. It must as well have a target audience. These two preliminaries are the crossways to a good law article.

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Table of Contents

How to Write a Legal/Law Article (Structure and Format to Follow)

The Preliminaries: A writer is usually motivated to write on a particular topic by a reason or reasons. These reasons constitute the purpose and direction of the article. This raises the question as to what exactly the writer intends to achieve by the writing. The writer may have been motivated to develop an appraisal on a particular topic, and this is usually the case, because an appraisal permits the writer to assess the totality an applicability of the intended principles and then develop their personal opinion on them, after which the writer recommends solutions or alternatives if any.

All these are firstly considered in the preliminary stage. Another important consideration in the preliminary stage is the audience. Every piece of writing has a targeted audience. It is the category of audience borne in mind by the writer that inspires the language of the article and sometimes the purpose and direction too.

Also see: How to become a successful lawyer

Abstract: An abstract is an abridgement or summary of a longer publication. A proper law article must have an abstract. The abstract should come immediately after the title. It is under the abstract that the writer gives a brief overview of the content and purpose of the article. The abstract must bear the readers in mind in such a way that after perusing through the abstract, the reader should have a clue of the article’s purpose and direction.

An abstract must not be long. It is necessary to draft an abstract before writing the rest of the article. The draft abstract can always be reviewed from time to time before publication. Some writers may however find it more preferable to complete the article first before writing the abstract. This is also not a bad practice.

Here is an example of what an abstract should look like. – “ In this article the writer considered the relevance of adoption laws in protecting the interest of the adopted child. The article went further to highlight areas which though may have been intended by the legislature to sanctify the adoption procedures, actually occasions in justice against the adoptive parents. Relevant case laws and statutory authorities were cited to juxtapose the positions, and finally, the writer thereon proffers solutions which stand a better practice in the contemporary human existence” .

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The body/content of the article: In a law article, an abstract do not qualify as an introduction. The introduction should come first under the body of the article. It is under the introductory stage that the writer lays adequate foundation on the topic being written on. The introduction may include definition of terms, prior and present positions of the law, identification of issues, etc.

After the introductory stage, the analysis stage follows. It is under this stage that the writer begins to tackle the issues raised during the introduction. The analysis must be presented smoothly, systematically and logically in order to carry the audience along. The analysis stage should discuss the relevant principles of the law in details. The analysis stage can as well include statistics gathered by the writer which can be used to illustrate the practicality of principles or for any purpose relevant to the article.

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The use of Authorities: in law, it is the practice that salient principles of law must be backed up with authorities. A law principle not supported by an authority is viewed as a mere opinion and as such, weight is attached to it at the discretion of the reader. In the order of strength and precedence, legal authorities include; the provisions of any domestic or domesticated enactment, case laws, law dictionaries, foreign laws and cases, obiter dictum and comments by legal authors.

These authorities can be employed by the writer in any stage of writing; whether the introductory stage, analysis stage or conclusion. Every legal article must be backed up with authorities. Where authorities are cited by the writer, their citations must be provided correctly and positioned appropriately. For the case laws, the proper citation should include the case’s citation in the law report (the report name, volume, and year).

Comments made by legal authors should be cited with the name of the author together with the occasion or the piece where the comment was made, and also the year or edition. The authorities cited must wear a different body from other contents of the article. Authorities are to be specifically highlighted either by Capitalization, italics, bold, or the combination of any.

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Conclusion: Having shown full working in the analysis stage, the conclusion stage warps up the entire piece of work. At the conclusion stage, the writer provides the answer to the issues raised in the introductory stage. It is under this stage that the writer proffer solutions to the problems identified.  Also it is under this stage that the writer makes clear his own view or position on the topic discussed.

This stage must as well resolve the questions raised in the mind of the readers in the course of their reading the article. The conclusion stage need not necessarily be long. At the conclusion stage, readers will always refer back to the title of the article to observe whether the purpose and direction of the article was actually achieved. The conclusion stage is not optional for a law article; it is compulsory.

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Other contemporary issues

Language : it is best for the language of a law article to be simple. This is especially if the target audience includes the larger society. Simplicity in language enhances readability and clarity, and the attainment of the purpose and direction of the article.

Simplicity of language does not extinguish the use of legal jargons. When legal jargons are used, it should be specifically highlighted by the use of italics. Where the jargon employed is not a regular one, it may be necessary to add its meaning to the footnote. In all, it would be a very stressful task for your readers to frequently consult the dictionary while reading your article.

Paragraphing: a law article must observe the rule of paragraphing. Proper paragraphing is very important in law writing. Paragraphing improves the readability of the work, makes the work neat, and also steers and sustains the interest of the reader. In law articles, the writer’s main points are highlighted in paragraphs.

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Plagiarism: just like in every other academic piece, plagiarism must be totally avoided. Plagiarism is an academic offence of copying another’s work or ideas and presenting them as one’s own without acknowledging the original owner or source.

To avoid plagiarism, all the writer is required to do is to properly cite the source of the information presented.

Review: a law article must undergo several revisions before publication. The review should relate to the general context, grammar, choice of words, professionalism, citation, structure, readability, purpose attainment actualization of the target audience and perception.

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Writing a legal article is a tedious exercise. It demands intensive and extensive research, and then several drafts upon drafts of the article’s compilation. Purpose and direction is very much emphasized on in a law article because its relevance is a sustenance technique which permeates through all of the stages.

Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka, ACMC, is a lawyer and a certified mediator/conciliator in Nigeria. He is also a developer with knowledge in various programming languages. Samuel is determined to leverage his skills in technology, SEO, and legal practice to revolutionize the legal profession worldwide by creating web and mobile applications that simplify legal research. Sam is also passionate about educating and providing valuable information to people.

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Thank you very much for this. It really is easy to understand and full of knowledge.

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Law professor outlines risks, encourages best practices to use AI for legal, academic writing

Mon, 01/29/2024.

Mike Krings

LAWRENCE — One of the biggest concerns regarding artificial intelligence is that people will use it as a writing tool, then pass off the results as their own work. But when Andrew Torrance and Bill Tomlinson tried to list AI as a co-author on a law review article, journals didn’t like that either.

That was just one step on a journey the legal scholars have taken while using artificial intelligence in academic writing, which has included the publication of a piece guiding others on best practices and mistakes to avoid. In their first citation, they noted that the paper was written not by, but with, the assistance of AI.

Torrance, the Paul E. Wilson Distinguished Professor of Law at KU, and Tomlinson of the University of California-Irvine have been longtime collaborators. Their early work using AI in scholarly writing has developed into several papers. “ChatGPT and Works Scholarly: Best Practices and Legal Pitfalls in Writing with AI,” written with Rebecca Black of the University of California-Irvine, was published in the SMU Law Review.

“We wrote a bunch of papers using AI and got them accepted. And along the way we learned a lot about what worked and what didn’t when using AI,” Torrance said. “It’s enhanced productivity a lot. Before, one paper a year or so would be good. Now you can do so much more. We edit ourselves to make sure those pitfalls don’t happen. In some cases, we consider AI to be a co-author. That’s one of the things we learned right away, is be explicit. We celebrate that we use it.”

The paper provides guidelines for those curious about using either of the leading AI engines in their academic writing. They largely apply to any kind of writing, but the authors found while AI can be a useful tool, a human touch is still necessary to avoid faulty work. The guidelines include:

• Using standardized approaches.
• Having AI form multiple outlines and drafts.
• Using plagiarism filters.
• Ensuring arguments make sense.
• Avoiding AI "hallucinations," in which the tools simply make things up.
• Watching for repetition, which the models tend to use.

Torrance is also an intellectual property scholar, so violating others’ copyrights would look especially bad, he said. Making sure citations of others’ work are accurate is also vital.

The researchers provide step-by-step guidelines on usage as well as information about the ethics of AI in writing and its place in legal scholarship.

“It gives you a huge head start when using these tools,” Torrance said. “Remember, these are the absolute worst versions of these tools we’ll see in our lifetimes. We’re on the Model T now, but even the Model T is amazing. But you need to be sure you don’t drive it into a ditch.”

Tomlinson and Torrance also noted using AI allows for “late-finding scholarship.” In traditional publishing, if the science or scholarship changed, that information would have to wait for a new edition. Now, as understanding evolves, writing can continuously be updated. That opens the door for publications that can be “dynamically definitive instead of statistically definitive,” Torrance said, while simultaneously making knowledge more accessible.

Torrance, Tomlinson and collaborators Black and Don Patterson of UC-Irvine wrote that, regardless of what one thinks about AI, it can play an incredibly useful role in academic writing and that those who use it properly can have a decided advantage in productivity.

“We hope this paper allows or helps people to shift some of the mentality around AI. I’m sure we haven’t identified all the possible pitfalls,” Torrance said. “Frankly, a lot of these are mistakes you need to avoid, period. I think a lot of the same principles apply between a human writing and using AI. We thought, as a public service, we should put this out there.”

Regardless of how AI evolves, the authors have laid a foundation for how scholars could use the tool in legal and responsible ways. And a piece of advice Torrance offers students in his legal analytics class can apply to all, even if they’re not in the field of law.

“The tagline for the class is, ‘Be the lawyer who masters AI, not the one who is run over by it,’” he said.

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