Can you publish as a student? Forum

[Verity]

As a current student, if I were to write an actual journal article, not a note, for a different law review or journal at a different school, is it possible that it would be published?

Please no remarks on how sophomoric anything I would produce would be. Just want to know if law reviews or journals would consider publishing work written by a student at a different school.

[Lincoln]

Depends on the journal. Most journals' articles committees take the author's pedigree into account, but there are some journals (Yale Law Journal comes to mind) that do blind selection, and consequently publish only based on strength of scholarship. Either way, though, your chances are pretty slim.

Also, publishing a note is not something to scoff at.

[bloobook]

.

[roofles]

Yes, you can. I know three current students who have. Just know that it will not be easy and that you will have to submit your note to many, many law reviews to have a good shot at publication.

[Verity]

Yes, you can. I know three current students who have. Just know that it will not be easy and that you will have to submit your note to many, many law reviews to have a good shot at publication.

How does that work? Do I send them to many law reviews, and then once a law review informs me that it might want to publish, do I withdraw from all the others?

[beardown_tho]

read Academic Legal Writing by Volokh

he talks about it and can give you a better run-down than anyone here can

[bdubs]

Get a well regarded faculty member to co-author your article. They will probably take top billing, but it's the way that is most likely to be successful.

[CanadianWolf]

With respect to a student note, certainly possible, but with respect to an article penned by a current law student, possible but unlikely unless the student's pre-law school credentials are substantial & relate to the topic of the article.

[Younger Abstention]

Get a well regarded faculty member to co-author your article. They will probably take top billing, but it's the way that is most likely to be successful.

Good luck trying to do this, unless you have a particularly close relationship with a professor. Even then, I'm not sure this happens too often.

I know a few people who published articles (not as a Note) as law students, but it's difficult. Consider saving the article and submitting it when you are a graduate, as journals are far more likely to accept an article from a graduate than from a student.

[Verity]

Get a well regarded faculty member to co-author your article. They will probably take top billing, but it's the way that is most likely to be successful.

Good luck trying to do this, unless you have a particularly close relationship with a professor. Even then, I'm not sure this happens too often.

I know a few people who published articles (not as a Note) as law students, but it's difficult. Consider saving the article and submitting it when you are a graduate, as journals are far more likely to accept an article from a graduate than from a student.

Yeah, this sounds a little unusual. Profs don't really go around co-authoring with students; they seem to give them credit if they helped with the research, at best.

Question: what's the process like? How/when do you submit to journals and what's the best strategy? Anything else you can do to make the article seem more publication-worthy?