I just learned that Randy Kozel, who was a student in my Thorny Problems of Free Speech Law seminar last Fall at Harvard, has accepted an offer to publish his seminar paper (on government employee speech) in the Northwestern Law Review. He had circulated it a few weeks ago, three months after he graduated, and got offers not just from Northwestern but also from another Top 20 law review.
I mention this to encourage other students who are afraid that they can’t get their pieces published anywhere, or at least anywhere good. Yes, there is some prejudice against non-lawprof submissions (and even more against submissions from people who are still law students). But this shows that even Top 20 journals take such papers seriously, of course if they’re good (and Randy’s is very good).
Moreover, as I’ve mentioned before, other people I know have had pieces published even while they were still law students — with one exception not in the Top 20 main journals, but still in Top 50 main journals or specialty journals at the Top 10 schools. (Sasha had his n Guilty Men piece published in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review before he even started law school, but oddly enough there might be a little less discrimination against non-lawyers than against current law students. And, besides, he’s Sasha.)
Incidentally, I should also mention that many lower-ranked journals are as professional, diligent, and helpful as the higher-ranked journals; and publishing in those journals will still provide a very good credential. But, let’s face it, the pecking order is out there, whether you like it or not, and it’s good to know that quality work can find a place in journals near the top of that order.
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