Article Selection Guidelines
Peer Review
The Journal uses peer review (1) to make knowledgeable choices of worthwhile articles, particularly in fields that are not within the expertise of Editorial Committee members; (2) to assure impartial review; and (3) to provide informed feedback and guidance to authors of selected articles.
The Editorial Committee will seek peer reviews from two qualified individuals for each article that is selected to proceed after the initial review. All identifying information will be removed from the articles before they are sent out for peer review. The comments received will be shared with the authors of the articles, but the identities of the peer reviewers will be kept confidential.
Internal review
The Editorial Committee will use the following criteria to select major articles:
- Usefulness: does the article make a worthwhile contribution to legal writing theory, research, or practice? can it be used by lawyers, in the classroom, or for further research?
- Importance: is the article important, that is, is it nonrepetitive, meaningful, and nontrivial?
- Value: is the article consistent with knowledge in the field? if not, does it explain why? does the article fit within the context of the literature in the field? is it intellectually honest?
- Rigor: does the article show sufficient depth and soundness of reasoning?
- Organization: is the work structurally sound? in a piece that applies theory, is the theory explained logically and appropriately and in sufficient depth for understanding?
- Readability: does the piece communicate well? does it give insight in an interesting way? is an intelligent, human voice apparent?