The Decision to Publish? Forum

[Cade McNown]

Hi all. I don't see a thread on this point: Under what circumstances would you decline an offer to publish your student Note/Comment?

Background: I'm a 3L, LR, at UT/Vandy/UCLA/USC. I submitted two student papers for publication, the better one to my LR, the other to a Secondary Journal at my school dealing in the same legal field as my expected practice. I have not received notice re LR, but I was offered publication in the SJ. W.r.t. this offer, I'm concerned that those in my expected practice area would find my note's argument contrarian & implausible. In this situation, assuming the paper is at least well-written, do the benefits of publication outweigh the small chance that someone important would read my paper and think I'm an idiot?

[BarbellDreams]

Hi all. I don't see a thread on this point: Under what circumstances would you decline an offer to publish your student Note/Comment?

Background: I'm a 3L, LR, at UT/Vandy/UCLA/USC. I submitted two student papers for publication, the better one to my LR, the other to a Secondary Journal at my school dealing in the same legal field as my expected practice. I have not received notice re LR, but I was offered publication in the SJ. W.r.t. this offer, I'm concerned that those in my expected practice area would find my note's argument contrarian & implausible. In this situation, assuming the paper is at least well-written, do the benefits of publication outweigh the small chance that someone important would read my paper and think I'm an idiot?

Yes.

[Cade McNown]

Yes.

Are there no possible circumstances where you would decline an offer of publication?

[NotMyRealName09]

Yes.

Are there no possible circumstances where you would decline an offer of publication?

Unless you're arguing for lowering the age of consent, the unfair stigmas of sex offender registries, that bestiality should be legal, or that child pornography is no big deal - no.

[thesealocust]

Don't be silly, nobody reads journal articles.

Best moment of my life was hearing Chief Justice Roberts rail on legal academia and journal articles. Those rare bursts of sanity in this profession are truly delightful.

[Cade McNown]

nobody reads journal articles.

Thanks. I figured this was probably TCR.

[LSATNightmares]

I went through this decision recently. I thought my article didn't have any particularly unique arguments, but my LR decided to publish it. If a group of smart students think it's pretty good, then it's probably good enough for publishing, I reasoned. I'm also a female, and I took Lean In's message to heart about how women often limit themselves by questioning their work and abilities. So I decided not to do that and take the plunge.

[Myself]

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[manofjustice]

Yes.

Are there no possible circumstances where you would decline an offer of publication?

Unless you're arguing for lowering the age of consent, the unfair stigmas of sex offender registries, that bestiality should be legal, or that child pornography is no big deal - no.

One of these is not like the other.

[guano]

If you say something controversial and you might want to go into politics in the future
If you say something that will piss off clients (I considered writing a scholarly article about how a particular financial instrument (which is approaching becoming a trillion dollar industry) has all the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme, but realized that if I did, I'd be blackballed from ever working in that field, or for anyone doing significant business related to that type of product or with companies in that field)

[KD35]

Yes.

Are there no possible circumstances where you would decline an offer of publication?

Unless you're arguing for lowering the age of consent, the unfair stigmas of sex offender registries, that bestiality should be legal, or that child pornography is no big deal - no.

One of these is not like the other.

180.

[IAFG]

I've never actually read a comment, not even my own, and I was a note & comment editor.

[Myself]

.

[Hipster but Athletic]

If you say something controversial and you might want to go into politics in the future
If you say something that will piss off clients (I considered writing a scholarly article about how a particular financial instrument (which is approaching becoming a trillion dollar industry) has all the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme, but realized that if I did, I'd be blackballed from ever working in that field, or for anyone doing significant business related to that type of product or with companies in that field)

Which one, prestigious intellectual guy?

[guano]

If you say something controversial and you might want to go into politics in the future
If you say something that will piss off clients (I considered writing a scholarly article about how a particular financial instrument (which is approaching becoming a trillion dollar industry) has all the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme, but realized that if I did, I'd be blackballed from ever working in that field, or for anyone doing significant business related to that type of product or with companies in that field)

Which one, prestigious intellectual guy?

Which one what?

[Myself]

.

[Hipster but Athletic]

If you say something controversial and you might want to go into politics in the future
If you say something that will piss off clients (I considered writing a scholarly article about how a particular financial instrument (which is approaching becoming a trillion dollar industry) has all the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme, but realized that if I did, I'd be blackballed from ever working in that field, or for anyone doing significant business related to that type of product or with companies in that field)

Which one, prestigious intellectual guy?

Which one what?

Particular financial instrument

[guano]

If you say something controversial and you might want to go into politics in the future
If you say something that will piss off clients (I considered writing a scholarly article about how a particular financial instrument (which is approaching becoming a trillion dollar industry) has all the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme, but realized that if I did, I'd be blackballed from ever working in that field, or for anyone doing significant business related to that type of product or with companies in that field)

Which one, prestigious intellectual guy?

Which one what?

Particular financial instrument

I'll PM you, because it's specific and can lead to outing

[Gorki]

If you say something controversial and you might want to go into politics in the future
If you say something that will piss off clients (I considered writing a scholarly article about how a particular financial instrument (which is approaching becoming a trillion dollar industry) has all the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme, but realized that if I did, I'd be blackballed from ever working in that field, or for anyone doing significant business related to that type of product or with companies in that field)

I think this has less to do with controversial topics, and more with how broad sweeping they are. If your argument is so shaky that it just makes controversial statements with little to-no consensus or support to back it up, I doubt it will ever get published any way.

That said, if you have an honest hatred for a certain legal concept or law, it is probably better if you not spend 45 years of your life defending clients that routinely push it to the limit and break the law in those areas. You will burn out fast anyway.

For the most part no one will read your comment, ever. Save future 2Ls writing their notes, and maybe a few professors who need a "see also." If the title is something like "WHY WE NEED TO ABOLISH XYZ LEGAL DOCTRINE TODAY," then you put potential employers on notice... Otherwise, no, they will not read your 70 page note you wrote in the infancy of your legal career.

[guano]

If you say something controversial and you might want to go into politics in the future
If you say something that will piss off clients (I considered writing a scholarly article about how a particular financial instrument (which is approaching becoming a trillion dollar industry) has all the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme, but realized that if I did, I'd be blackballed from ever working in that field, or for anyone doing significant business related to that type of product or with companies in that field)

I think this has less to do with controversial topics, and more with how broad sweeping they are. If your argument is so shaky that it just makes controversial statements with little to-no consensus or support to back it up, I doubt it will ever get published any way.

That said, if you have an honest hatred for a certain legal concept or law, it is probably better if you not spend 45 years of your life defending clients that routinely push it to the limit and break the law in those areas. You will burn out fast anyway.

For the most part no one will read your comment, ever. Save future 2Ls writing their notes, and maybe a few professors who need a "see also." If the title is something like "WHY WE NEED TO ABOLISH XYZ LEGAL DOCTRINE TODAY," then you put potential employers on notice... Otherwise, no, they will not read your 70 page note you wrote in the infancy of your legal career.

The two questions to ask:
1) if I were the client, would I not hire someone over this article? (Assume article has opposite stance from you, personally)
2a) do I think I might ever go into politics? 2B) If yes: how large a portion of the electorate would not vote for me over this issue?

Q1 has a very high bar; most clients won't give a shit about most topics
Q2 is probably not relevant. Most people won't go into politics. Of those that do, most won't be at a high enough level for their article to matter. If it does matter, odds are that your layer accomplishments will matter a lot more.

Either way, chances of it being an issue are small. Just don't praise hitler or advocate for death panels

[rad lulz]

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