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Submitting Student Work to CLR

Does CLR accept student pieces from nonmembers?

Yes. The California Law Review invites all current 2L members (Class of 2006) of the Boalt community to submit a comment or casenote to be reviewed for publication in CLR. Students whose work is submitted by October 31, 2005 and accepted for publication will be invited to join CLR for the remainder of their third year. Publication of their submitted work is contingent upon completion of standard 3L CLR requirements.

When should I submit my piece?

All pieces must be submitted by October 31, 2005. Please note that most pieces submitted for publication are returned with a request that they be resubmitted with specific changes. In fact, most pieces require at least one or two resubmissions before they are accepted. Because the accepted version of a piece must be submitted for publication by October 31, 2005, it is important that you submit your piece early enough to permit revision before this deadline. For this reason, we suggest that you submit your piece for the first time no later than mid-July.

What papers are eligible?

Note also that you may submit a piece that you have written for course credit. However, a piece that has been accepted for publication by another journal is not eligible for publication in CLR. There are two types of student pieces:
(1) Casenote: an approximately 20 page paper written about a recent court decision, either as a guide for practitioners or, preferably, as a jumping off point to evaluate a certain issue in an area of legal doctrine. See, e.g., Scott Birkey, Gordon v. Texas and the Prudential Approach to Political Questions, 87 CALIF. L. REV. 1265 (1999).
(2) Comment: a 40 to 60 page paper where the author finds a problem in the law, analyzes it, and suggests a solution. It is important to start with a narrow and manageable thesis. An average comment contains an introduction, a section presenting the relevant legal background, a rigorous analysis section (including the solution to the problem you identify and the rationale for that solution), and a conclusion. The analysis is the most important part of the comment because it is your opportunity to contribute something new to legal scholarship.

How do I submit my piece?

If you would like to submit a piece for consideration, please submit five copies, unbound, with anonymous cover sheets that state (1) the title of your piece, (2) that you are not a current CLR member, (3) the date and result of your last preemption check, and (4) any other comments that would be useful for consideration, such as timing issues. You should also submit one separate cover sheet containing both the title of your submission and your name and contact information. Copies should be submitted in a manila envelope and delivered during business hours to the Student Writing Administrator, c/o Steve Swerdlow, Room 592, Simon Hall. To preserve the anonymity of your work, it is very important that you specify "Student Writing Administrator" on the envelope.

How and when will my piece be reviewed?

Submissions are reviewed on an anonymous basis by the CLR Notes and Comments editors. You will be notified as to the status of the piece in one of three ways: (1) the piece has been accepted for publication; (2) the piece has been rejected and will not be considered further; or (3) the piece has significant publication potential and should be resubmitted with specific changes. We will make every effort to reply to authors within 30-60 days.

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California Law Review, Inc. (CLR) is a California nonprofit corporation.
CLR and the authors are solely responsible for the content of their publications.