Department Descriptions

The Profession - features articles addressing the many challenges confronted by the practice of law as a business and as a profession, such as the challenge of reconciling our roles as lawyers, business people, colleagues, family members, and citizens. It seeks to identify and illuminate the competing demands these challenges entail. (1500 words; no footnotes/endnotes)

Legal Analysis - provides timely insights and in-depth analysis on a wide range of emerging legal issues of substantive and practical concern to the legal community. (2500 words; no more than 15 footnotes/endnotes)

Heads Up - focuses on statutory enactments, new case law, regulatory changes, new guidelines and protocols. Aimed at keeping the practitioner in the know, Heads Up seeks to help readers stay on top of the ever-changing landscape that is the practice of law. (750 words; no footnotes/endnotes)

Case Focus - provides a timely, in-depth, expert review of a new decision -- federal, state, administrative -- of particular importance generally, or practice area specific. The analysis focuses on the impact on prior case law or statutory interpretation, the complexities/gray areas of the opinion and what practitioners need to know about the effect the opinion has on their practice. (750 words; no footnotes/endnotes)

Voice of the Judiciary – provides a forum for expression of judicial views. Written by members of the state and federal judiciary, the articles cover a broad range of topics of current interest to the bench and bar. (1000 words; no footnotes/endnotes)

Opinions, Reflections and Advice – offers an opportunity for members of the legal community to voice their opinions, reflections, and/or advice on issues affecting the practice of law. This department will feature one of the following columns:
Vantage Point - 750 words on a policy matter of pressing concern to lawyers (no footnotes/endnotes).
Practice Tips - 1000 words on new developments in the law(no footnotes/endnotes).
Point/Counterpoint - two essays (750 words each) on some controversy affecting the legal community (no footnotes/endnotes).

Submitting a Proposal or Article for Publication

Authors interested in submitting a proposal or an article for publication in the Boston Bar Journal should submit it by electronic mail to the Director of Communications at bsashin@bostonbar.org. All proposals and articles are subject to review by members of the Board of Editors. All submissions must conform to the guidelines set forth below as well as the specific guidelines applicable to the department of the Boston Bar Journal for which the proposal is submitted. The Board of Editors, at its sole discretion, may change or modify these guidelines at any time.

Articles should be arranged in the following order:

• Title
• Author’s name
• Acknowledgment of assistance, if desired
• Text of article

Footnotes/Endnotes

Cases cited should be kept in the text of the article rather than placed in the endnotes. All names of cases should be italicized, not underlined. Footnotes/endnotes, where permitted by the applicable guidelines, must be a separate file and submitted as an electronic mail attachment. Footnotes/endnotes should not be included at the end of the article. All footnotes/endnotes must conform with The Bluebook, A Uniform System of Citation.

Biographical Statement

A short biographical statement (approximately 25 words) must be provided at the time the proposal or article is submitted. The statement should include the author(s) current position and any affiliations with the BBA. Interest in any litigation or other matters discussed in the article should be disclosed. The statement should be created as a separate file and submitted as an electronic mail attachment.

Additional Materials Required Upon Acceptance of Proposal or Article

• Photograph - A head and shoulders print or environmental portrait of the author(s), in black and white or color, must be submitted. Electronic mail attachments are acceptable, provided that the resolution of the photograph(s) submitted is at least 300 dpi and the file type is either JPG or TIF. Portraits taken by professional photographers work best.
  
• Copyright Release - A copyright release in the form found at http://www.bostonbar.org/bbj/signoff.pdf must be submitted by the author(s) once the proposal or article is accepted for publication.

Cite Checks and Shepardizing
Authors are responsible for cite checks of any case references and footnotes, and for shepardizing any cases referred to in the article.

Editing
Authors are required to proofread their own material and certify that it is accurate, grammatically sound, and free of typographical or spelling errors prior to submission of the article. The Boston Bar Journal does not provide galley proofs to authors. The Board of Editors reserves the right to edit or to reject articles submitted. Any articles accepted for publication by the Board of Editors that need to be edited will be returned to the author(s) for revision.

Extra Copies
Authors are provided with two complimentary copies of the printed magazine. Extra copies may be obtained for $2.00 each, but must be ordered at the time of final submission of the article.

Editorial Policy
The Boston Bar Journal is the premier publication of the Boston Bar Association. We present timely information, analysis, and opinions to more than 10,000 lawyers in nearly every practice area. Our authors are attorneys, judges, and others interested in the development of the law. Our articles are practical. Our publication is a must-read for lawyers who value being well informed on important matters of legal interest. The Boston Bar Journal is governed by a volunteer Board of Editors dedicated to publishing outstanding articles that reflect their authors' independent thought, and not necessarily the views of the Board.

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