Journal of Legal Education

Submission Methods

The Journal of Legal Education requires that manuscript submissions be made via Scholastica. Inquiries to the JLE on other topics may be addressed to jlesubmissions@aals.org.

Article types

Authors must submit manuscripts electronically (Word documents preferred). Authors may not submit manuscripts submitted for consideration by another publication. Citation style should conform to the most recent edition of A Uniform System of Citation, published by the Harvard Law Review Association. Manuscripts over 50 pages will be reviewed with particular care to determine whether such length is warranted.

In addition to scholarly monographs, the Journal welcomes short submissions (under 10 pages) for the following occasional features: “At the Lectern,” describing new or unusual classroom techniques instructors have found particularly effective; “Legends of the Legal Academy,” profiling law teachers whose lessons, teaching style and scholarship have left or are leaving an enduring imprint on their students, their institutions and the profession; and “Dialogue,” offering scholars the opportunity to respond to research published in a recent issue of the Journal of Legal Education, expanding on that research, for instance, by asking new questions or applying findings in new contexts. We also publish book and movie reviews relating to legal education or important legal topics.

Submission requirements

Manuscript Format Word documents are prefered.

• Style guide: The current edition of The Uniform System of Citation, published by the Harvard Law Review Association.

• Figures/tables/illustrations requirements:

Submissions containing images must also be accompanied by separate, stand-alone files; the image file names should be labeled to match the figure/image numbers displayed in the manuscript (e.g., image1.jpg). Images may be .jpeg, .jpg, .tif or .eps. Grayscale mode is preferred, but all images must be at least 300 dpi resolution. Final image inclusion is at the discretion of the editors. Manuscripts will be screened preliminarily by the Journal’s editorial staff. Depending on the outcome of that process, submissions may then be sent to an appropriate scholar for double-blind review. Because our publication queue is long, manuscripts accepted for publication may not appear in print for up to a year following acceptance.

Additional Required Files
The Journal requires that all authors sign a publication agreement.

Editorial and Peer Review Process

Manuscripts will be screened preliminarily by the Journal’s editorial staff. Depending on the outcome of that process, submissions may then be sent to an appropriate scholar for double-blind review. Because our publication queue is long, manuscripts accepted for publication may not appear in print for a year or longer following acceptance.

Publication Details

After a manuscript has gone through the initial review process and has been accepted for publication, the manuscript is sent to copy and citation editors for review. After that takes place, the article is returned to the author for final approval. There is some variation to this review process, and authors may receive copies for approval after the editing process is finished and again, after the citations edits are completed.

Copyright

The AALS holds the copyright to the JLE as a compendium, but it does not own the copyright to individual articles published in the JLE. In most cases, AALS retains a nonexclusive license to publish, reproduce, display, and distribute JLE articles in any language and in any form, and to grant third-party use without seeking the author’s prior express consent. No part of an article may be reproduced, republished, or reprinted without permission in writing from the AALS. Certain permissions can be granted free of charge (i.e., reprints for academic use, such as a casebook), while others incur a fee (purely commercial purposes).

Permission to use copyright-protected JLE materials should be obtained, in writing, by the requesting party prior to using the JLE materials. The AALS grants permission for use of JLE content in academic classrooms free of charge. Classroom use entails the copying and no-fee distribution of works to enrolled students and instructors at a college or university. Most commercial republication requests, other than, for example, use in an academic casebook, requires payment of a copyright release fee for non-exclusive, one-time use of the work. A publisher wishing to use any copyrighted material from the JLE must obtain advance permission from AALS to republish, unless that copyrighted material is considered “fair use.” As a general matter, “fair use” is typically limited to scholarly, educational and other non-commercial uses.

When permission is granted, authorized users of copyright-protected JLE materials should in all cases identify the author and the JLE and affix a notice identifying AALS as the copyright holder of the JLE: © 2020 Association of American Law Schools.

For permission to use copyright-protected JLE material and other copyright questions, contact copyright@aals.org .