Submission Guidelines
Lawyers eJournal
The Massachusetts Bar Association's weekly online newsletter has multiple submission options.
Articles related to substantive law updates, practice tips and committee activities are welcome, in addition to:
- For Your Practice pieces: Submit an article on a variety of law practice management or tech-related topics relevant to running or working in a law firm. Articles are generally 500–750 words and include few, if any, citations.
- Viewpoint pieces: Provide an opinion piece of 500–750 words.
Contact the MBA Media and Communications Manager with submissions, proposals and questions.
Section Review
The MBA’s bi-monthly online Section Review runs practice area-specific articles from November through July. Authors coordinate their proposals/articles with the appropriate section council.
Deadlines and word limits vary (from 500–2,500 words), and articles with no citations are preferred.
Contact the MBA Media and Communications Manager with submissions, proposals and questions.
Massachusetts Law Review
The longest continually published law review in the nation, the Massachusetts Law Review is published quarterly by the MBA and includes articles, case comments and book reviews of interest to MBA members.
The editorial board comprises lawyers, judges and academics representing a variety of legal disciplines and specialties. The Law Review board is always looking for submissions from members of the bar and invites proposals either in outline form or completed manuscripts.
Whether an article or case comment, we are looking for pieces offering a deeper analysis of a legal issue, rather than a bare description.
Articles should discuss applicable case law, statutes, rules or regulations. Articles may run anywhere from 5,000 to 15,000 words. We look for topics that are timely and likely to be of interest to Massachusetts practitioners. In judging submissions, we particularly value those that are insightful and well-written.
Case comments are confined to a discussion of a recent civil or criminal case with relevant cites and a brief description of related cases. The comments run 2,500 to 3,000 words.
Book reviews discuss recent books of interest to practitioners and run about 2,000 words.
All article submissions are subject to peer review and to a vote by a majority of the editorial board members at the monthly meeting. If accepted for publication, an editor is assigned and the editing process begins. Authors may either submit proposals or full articles to the editorial board by sending them to the MBA Media and Communications Manager.
In evaluating submissions, the editorial board considers several factors, including, but not limited to:
- Will the article be of interest to our membership?
- Is the topic relevant to Massachusetts practice?
- Is the topic timely?
- Does the author offer new insight?
- If the article attempts a balanced explanation of the law, does it offer critical insight? That is, does it have depth or is it too superficial?
- If the article offers a specific point of view or argument, does it educate the reader about all points of view, giving legal and, if appropriate, historical or social context? If not, should it reflect other points of view?
- Is the article well-written? Logical? Accurate?