What Makes a Good Submission - How To Pull Together A Successful Article for Publication in a Journal

Many students and scholars have asked me what makes a good submission.  There are a number of things that editors look at related and here is a summary of some of the top things to consider. 

·      Write about something you are very familiar with. This could include something closely aligned to an old profession or something that you studied in college. If you are already an expert in a topic, you can mix this with legal concepts and your paper will stand out. For example, I was an investment banker prior to law school and wrote & published a paper on fair value accounting and the financial crisis. A friend who worked as an auctioneer wrote an published a paper on art law. This combination of your experience and the law will be very appealing to journals and makes for interesting papers.

·      A cover letter and good abstract (summary of what you have written) are essential! When you submit your paper to a journal, these two documents may be the only thing that the editor reads and for 95% of the papers received, this alone is the basis for rejection. As such, you must use the cover letter and the abstract to market yourself and capture the reader’s attention.

·      Make sure that your article is final and free from errors.  Get as many people as possible to read and edit your paper and this will help you to catch errors and will also alert you to areas of your paper that need work. Also, listen to their feedback!

·      Follow the Journal’s instructions! This includes font size, spacing, length of article, submission timing, cover letters or anything else they say. Several good papers are not considered because they do not adhere to simple guidelines.

·      Consider joining a journal at your law school. While some journal work like cite checking may not be the most glamorous work in the world, you will get great experience and learn what makes a good article and why some are rejected.

·      Do not plagiarize! Plagiarism is cheating and involves stating or summarizing the work of others without citing them. All papers have a significant amount of citations and this is normal. If you use someone else’s ideas, cite them. If you do not, this could have significant implications related to your ability to become a lawyer.

·      Consider the content of your paper and perhaps submit to specialized journals. For example, my paper dealt with a business topic so I primarily submitted to business law journals.

·      Keep it simple! I was an editor on the Human Rights Journal at Harvard Law School and many papers that the journal received were complicated and confusing. You are not writing a literary masterpiece so there is no need to use symbolism or complex metaphors. Instead, use simple plain language. Also, if your paper deals with a complex topic like finance for example, make sure that you either explain the terms you are using or simplify the language. Remember the people deciding whether or not to publish your paper are law students and are not quantitative experts or economists.  They are often students just like you.

This summary is one of many law school helpful tips in the new book Law School Lowdown: Secrets of Success from the Application Process to Landing the First Job – (Barron's Publishing) - Author Ian E. Scott.  You can order Law School Lowdown on Amazon by clicking here.

Why Should You Publish While In Law School?

There are several good reasons to publish while you are in Law School and the Dean of Harvard Law School agrees.  “You should try to publish at least one scholarly paper during your law school experience.” This excellent advice was offered by Harvard Law School’s Dean, Martha Minow, during a student meeting.

When I was in Law School I followed this great advice and published a paper in a business law journal.  I was surprised to discover the process was much easier than I thought it would be and the publication has reaped enormous rewards.  In addition to the resume building benefit, when you publish you will put your name in print and this is a good feeling. You should be proud if you publish something and there is no better feeling than receipt of the finished product with your name boldly splashed across the cover.

Why Should You Publish While In Law School?

There are several good reasons publishing while you are in law school.  Here are a few:

1.     You will already have to write at least one comprehensive paper during your three years at law school—so why not try to get it published.  Often you may not have to modify a paper you have written much, and depending on your topic and area of expertise, your work may be exactly what a particular journal is looking for.

2.     Some journals will publish student work, but will only publish a non-student’s work if the person is an expert in the field. As such, your status as a student can get you an opportunity and audience that you would not otherwise have.

3.     There may be a significant cost savings associated with publication as a student because many students have the benefit of submitting their papers to as many journals as they like for free through an on-line submission vehicle called ExpressO. If you are not a student, you must pay over $2 per journal. With hundreds of journals, this can become costly.

The Submission Process

Thankfully, the submission process for articles is electronic so you can easily submit your note to several journals simultaneously. The best way to make a simultaneous electronic submission is through a website called ExpressO.

ExpressO makes the submission or your article and cover letter to over 750 journals fast and easy. Best of all it could be free for students if your law school has an institutional account with ExpressO!

Once submitted, you will start to receive a number of rejections and this is normal. Even people who ultimately have their papers published in the Harvard Law Review will receive rejections from numerous other journals so do not be discouraged. It can take some journals several weeks to review a paper and make a decision as often the papers undergo several rounds of review before a decision is made and journals get thousands of requests.  Once you accept their offer, you are required to sign a contract with the journal and the editing process starts. Your paper is then placed into the subcite stream and various subsciters will start to check your citations and edit your paper. Even for a good paper, the editing process is extensive. When I submitted my paper for editing, it contained 50 citations. When the editors were done with the paper it contained over 300.

This summary is one of many law school helpful tips in the new book Law School Lowdown: Secrets of Success from the Application Process to Landing the First Job – (Barron's Publishing) - Author Ian E. Scott.  You can order Law School Lowdown on Amazon by clicking here.

Preparing for 1L Summer

If you are a 1L, you have likely received all of your grades back from your first term and you are now settling into your second.  Before you know it though, the school year will be over and you will have a "free" summer.  While your college summers may have been a time to explore the world or party, your 1L summer is a time to improve your resume and position yourself for your legal career.  Here are some things you should be thinking about and planning for NOW.

1.  Law Review & Journals

You will start to hear about your law review and journal competitions that will occur right after you finish your last set of exams.  The competition is usually a difficult 3-7 day event where you are given hundreds (or thousands) of pages of material and asked to write an article.  Based on the results of the competition, you may be asked to join a law review or journal.  While the timing for the competition is not great (right after exams), you should do everything you can to participate as Law Review and Journals look great on your resume.

2.  On Campus Recruitment (OCI)

One of the reasons your 1L year is so important is that your grades are the primary factor that will determine how you will do during the on campus recruitment that will occur at the end of your 1L summer.  This is where law firms come to your campus and offer you summer employment for your 2L year.  These jobs are highly coveted as they pay over $160,000 per year and this will be your only shot at one.  During the second semester, try to take any interview or job search classes or seminars you can find.  OCI is an important next step in your legal career.

3. Transfer

You may want to consider transferring law schools to "upgrade."   This is a very personal choice and you should look at all of the pros and cons.  You will find articles related to transferring on this blog.  Just access our search tool.

4. Job

You should also focus on the job that you will take for your 1L summer.  You should start looking early as all of the "good" jobs go fast.  You want to find a "legal" job for sure and look for something that will look good on your resume.  Even people who go to top schools have a tough time with the 1L summer job search so start your search early.  While pay is a consideration, the really important part of your 1L job is the duties you will be performing and the organization you will be working for.  

5.  Enjoy the Summer

While it is an important summer, take the time to relax and enjoy it. 1L year was tough and you need a break to get ready for your last two years of law school.  

Starting Classes Again! Be sure to Evaluate What You Did Correct and What you Did Wrong

A wise man once said that insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result. While I am not sure who the wise man was, I believe the phrase is accurate.  This especially applies to Law School and doing well while you are there.  As you return to classes after the winter break, you will likely get results back from the exams you sat for in December. If you did not do well, you should sit down and evaluate exactly what you did in the last term and make some changes.  Do not fall into the trap of thinking that you can exhibit the exact same type of behavior and do well in your second and future terms.

If you did poorly on exams, ask your self the following questions.  

• Did you skip classes
• Did you make your own outline
• Did you review your notes after each class
• Did you get enough sleep
• Did you participate in a study group
• Did you go in and ask your professor for help
• Did you do practice exams before each exam
• Did you surf the internet while in class
• Did you pay attention in class or daydream
• Did you eat correctly or did you eat junk food
• Did you cram for exams

These are just some of the questions you should ask yourself and depending on the answer you should change your habits!  If you did well, you may want to ask the same questions and continue doing what you are doing right!

Good luck during your next term!

Top Things A Solo Law Firm Should Do At Year End

This post is for all of those aspiring law students who wish to open their own practice.  

As the owner of a solo law practice, all year you have likely been running around acting as manager, developer, business generator, marketer, human resource manager and administrative assistant.  Given the numerous roles, it is often tough to sit back and look at the big picture.  For some businesses, December can be a slower month and it is a great time to reflect and plan for the future.  Whether you are running a law firm or a lemonade stand, as 2012 comes to an end there are several things that a prudent business owner should consider to position themselves for the new-year.  Here are the top things you should consider.

1.     Thank Your Customers

Study after study has shown that it is far easier to get new business or a referral from an existing client than it is to find a new client.  Even though many know this is the case, some business owners ignore current clients while spending significant resources trying to attract new clients.  This is a big mistake.  While business generation is important, you should make sure that you are catering to existing clients and you should also find some way to thank your clients.  This can be taking them out for coffee or dinner, sending them a small gift or even sending them a card.  A generic blast email to a client is better than nothing (although pretty close to nothing), but instead of this approach you should always try to personalize any message you send.  Let your customers know that they are special and it will likely be the best time and money you ever spent.

2.     Thank Your Referral Sources

In order for a business to thrive, a significant amount of your clients or customers will come from referrals.  Many of these referrals will be extremely lucrative for you and you should certainly acknowledge the people who send customers/clients your way.  This is not only a matter of courtesy but it is good business, as it will differentiate you from others and keep you at the top of a referral source’s list for next year.  Lawyers have a number of ethical rules to follow when it comes to providing things of value for referrals but even lawyers can send a hand written thank you card to referral sources or find another way to make your referral source feel appreciated.  For other industries, certainly a gift or a dinner is the minimum that you could do for someone who has referred significant business to you.

3.     Take Advantage of Tax Law that Can Reduce Your Tax Burden

There are a number of things you can take advantage of before year-end that will save you tax dollars.  Here are a few tax saving tips;

• Make a 401K contribution
• Look at expenses you can pay by year-end to get a tax deduction like association dues and other business expenses
• Make charitable donations
• Calculate estimated taxes and make a payment

Check with your lawyer or accountant for more tax saving ideas and also ask him/her about any tax changes for 2013.

4.     Review Your 2012 Marketing Plan & Make a New Plan for 2013

Just last week I made a list of all of the marketing sources I used in 2012 (eg. Published Articles, Newsletters, Networking, JD Supra distributions, Social Media, etc), and compared this to the clients that each source generated.  This simple analysis will allow me to modify my marketing strategy for 2013 to focus on the most lucrative marketing strategies.

5.     Set Some Realistic Goals for 2013

You should give some thought to some of the things that you want to accomplish in 2013.  If you have not made a business plan yet, perhaps now is a good time to make one.  A plan forces you to sit down and think from a financial and strategic perspective and this will only help your business.  This analysis should also include a comprehensive review of your expenses and a budget for the New Year.  I just went through a budget review exercises and I was able to significantly reduce my expenses based on a line-by-line review of what I spent money on in 2012.

6.     Meet With The Business Professionals That You Planned to Meet With All Year But Did Not Get a Chance

One meeting you should have for sure is a meeting with your accountant.  I will contact my accountant this week and also have meetings set up for insurance and 401K plan set up.

7.     Critically Review Your Policies, Procedures & Make Changes

During the year, I often did not have time to review policies such as billing, practice management, accounting, personnel, operations and consultations.  At year-end, it is a good idea to take a look at how you did things and ask yourself whether you can improve in some way.  I just went through this exercise and changed my policy with respect to consultations and implemented a new practice management system that has streamlined my accounting and billing.

8.     Review Your Website

Do not underestimate the importance of your website!  We had a client that just signed with our firm last week who indicated that one of the reasons he signed with us was because he thought we had a professional website that kept him on our page long enough to get a feeling for who we were.

Even if you are in law school, you can mark this post and refer to it when you achieve your dream of opening your own firm. Good luck!

Would You Like To Sit For The Bar Exam In February Rather Than Go To Class?

So what will they think of next? The State of Arizona is considering letting students sit for the bar exam in February rather than going to class.  I for one would have loved the option. (not sure I would have done it but I would have loved the option.)  This week, the Arizona Supreme Court is reviewing a proposal submitted by the law schools in the State, requesting 3Ls be provided the option to sit for the February bar exam as long as they meet some criteria.  

The proposal would permit students in their third year to sit for bar exam courses rather than their regular classes and the bar preparation would be more focused on professional skills. Deans of these law schools view this as a positive move to help students more quickly find a job, save money and become increasingly ready to practice law. Let us know what you think...We are very interested in your thoughts so let us know what you think.

Exams, Exams, Exams

If this is your first set of law school finals, our thoughts are with you and we can only say that it is not going to be as bad as you think. Well..perhaps it will be but it will be over quickly.  While the process can be a tough one, with Finals around the corner, we wanted to give you some helpful tips.  Here is a list of things to help you get through the next few weeks.

• Study In Groups but Find a Good Group

It is impossible for a law student to assimilate all of the information that law school has to offer. As such, studying with a group of people will help you recognize the things that you may have missed. A great approach is for all members of the group to work on a hypo or an exam and then sit down with the group to go over answers.  Remember to listen carefully to the answers of your fellow students because they will always have picked up on things that you will miss.  

• Avoid Study Groups that Waste Your Time

While a good study group is great, cut your losses if you do not feel you are getting anything out of the group or they are wasting your time.  Give it a real chance but you will find that your time will run out as exams near and you will not have time to waste.

• Make Your Own Outline

Do not use commercial outlines or other outlines that you can download at places like the outline depot.  The benefit of an outline is making your won and your grade will significantly improve if you work on your own outlines. This of course assumes that you went to class and have notes to make a good outline.

• Do As Many Practice Exams and Hypos as You Can

I was always shocked at how many people entered an exam and had not done even one practice exam. This is a mistake!  You should do as many exams as you can under timed conditions and compare your answers with either the answer sheet or friends

• Do Not Borrow Time from Subsequent Exam Questions

At the start of an exam, budget your time from each question and DO NOT BORROW TIME.  Those who borrow end up missing easy points on final exam questions. The fact is you likely have gotten as many points from the question you are wasting time on and you can always come back to it if you like if you have time.  

• Make A Schedule

Make a study schedule of what you want to cover and stick to it.  Time is a premium around exam time and you will find that the organized student does best.

• Go Visit Your Professor

There are many reasons to visit your professor during office hours.  First, Professors often give away what is on an exam.  Second, they can clarify things you do not understand. Third, they will see that you are engaged and this may help your participation grade. 

• Relax

Do not stress yourself.  You should of course take exams seriously but do not beat yourself up or stress too much. this will only lead to poor performance.  

Good Luck!!!!