Volume VI of the SRBLSA Law Journal  will accept author submissions from attorneys, professors, judges, and students. 

A prospective author need not be a BLSA member, though BLSA members are strongly encouraged to submit to the Journal.


The 2011-2012 Theme is:

 

 

The criteria for submissions is as follows:


1.) Topics: You are free to write on any topic that fits with this year's theme and involves legal issues that impact African-Americans. We ask that your article be legally and logically sound; at least 25 pages in length, including footnotes; and we also ask that you strictly comply with the standard Bluebook form of citation as stated in the 19th edition. Submissions should be accompanied by a title page and a brief biography of the author. Professionals may submit a CV in lieu of, or in addition to, a biography. Students submissions must be accompanied by a resume.


2.) Formatting: The article should be at least 25 pages in length (this includes footnotes). Submissions should be double-spaced with 1" margins on all sides. Please use 12-point, Times New Roman font for text and page numbers. Footnotes should 10-point, Times New Roman font. Page numbers should be centered at the bottom of each page.


3.) Footnotes: There is not a footnote to paragraph ratio, per se, but a good rule of thumb is that almost every sentence in your paper should be supported by some authoritative source, unless it's your own conclusion.  A paper 25 pages in length should contain around 250 footnotes.


4.) Symposium Details: If you are selected for publication, you will be invited to attend and possibly present your work at the SRBLSA Law Journal Symposium. While SRBLSA does not pay for travel, I will write a letter to the Dean of your law school, or your employer, requesting funds to support you in this endeavor. You can find out more about this year's symposium here.


5.) Deadlines: The deadline to submit  your completed article is December 2, 2011  We are accepting completed products immediately. Please email your submissions to eic@srblsalawjournal.org. You may submit a draft or abstract ahead of the December 2 deadline to have it reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief who will let you know if your work is suitable for this year's issue.


Publication decisions will be made no later than December 31, 2011.


If you would like to discuss possible topics, or have a paper already written that you are thinking of submitting, feel free to contact the Editor-in-Chief, Donnalee Donaldson, at eic@srblsalawjournal.org.

 

The Journal is limited in the number of articles and notes it can publish. Once we reach that limit, no exceptions can be made.

 

EMAIL TO:

Donnalee Donaldson

Editor-in-Chief, SRBLSA Law Journal Vol. VI eic@srblsalawjournal.org


Once a submission is approved for publication, each author will be sent a formal packet with all pertinent documents and further instructions for the writing process. Each author must commit to meeting very rigid guidelines to ensure a successful and timely publication. If selected, students and professionals are committing to complete your submission by a strict deadline.  Failure of students to do so may be considered a violation of their respective institution's Honor Code.

 

 

Each work will undergo several rounds of editing. After the first round, if the Editorial Board does not believe the work does not meet expected standards, the Journal  reserves the right to return the work to the author and rescind the offer to publish.

 

FOR STUDENTS:


Notes and Comments are written by law students and typically shorter than Article submissions. A Note is an analysis of the holding or issue in a specific court case, while a Comment focuses on either legislation or on a more general legal theory or principle.

 

FOR PROFESSIONALS:


Articles are written by law professors, judges and legal practitioners. They serve an important purpose in that they express the ideas of legal experts with regard to the direction the law should take in certain areas. Such writings have proven influential in the development of the law and have frequently been cited as persuasive authority by the United States Supreme Court and other courts throughout the United States.

 

NOTE:

 

Subscribers of the Social Science Research Network are now able to electronically submit articles to the SRBLSA Law Journal for publication through SSRN's eSubmission service.