In response to my blog post on my revised essay, How to Read A Judicial Opinion: A Guide For New Law Students, I received a nice e-mail from a recent law school graduate who wanted to thank me for posting it. At first things started off very pleasantly. "Thank you for making such a reference available," the young lawyer wrote. "[H]ow I wish I had known of such an essay prior to my first day of law school!" But then signs of a very dreadful disease -- formerlawrevieweditorosis -- began to appear.

  It began apologetically. "[E]ven after graduation," he wrote, "I cannot seem to turn off the admittedly anal-retentive law review editor part of my brain." Soon the disease was on full display: "I noticed the following and was almost involuntarily compelled to grab a pen," he wrote. "Please tell me the craziness will lessen with time." And then the edits followed:

* Page 2 - the heading of "Concurring and/or Dissenting Opinions" is followed by a bolded period while all other similar headings above are followed by a bolded colon.
* Page 4 - the heading of "Terms in Appellate Litigation" is followed by a colon that is not bolded.
* Page 5 - the heading of "3) Know the disposition" is followed by a period that is not bolded.
* Page 5 - the second paragraph under heading number 4), the third sentence would read better as ... opinions in your Civil Procedure casebook ... [as opposed to opinion].
* Page 5 - the second paragraph under heading number 4), the last sentence seems to be followed by two periods.
* Page 5 - the footnote beginning on this page (starting with "The phrase") is inconsistent with previous notes - the size of the number is larger, there is no space after the number, and (most importantly), it should be numbered as note 3 (since it follows note 2).
* Page 6 - the last paragraph under heading number 4), the second sentence includes the word "thin" that looks like it should be "think" instead.
* Page 6 - the heading of "5) Understand the significance of the majority opinion" is followed by a bolded colon while all other similar numbered headings are followed by a bolded period.
* Page 7 - the first sentence under the heading of "The Practical Reason" looks to have two spaces between "an" and "essential" rather than one.

  I'm happy to receive these edits, of course, as I'll benefit from them when the piece reappears in print. But I did want to make sure incoming journal editors are aware of the serious health risks of their new positions: Editors, don't let this happen to you! Are there any other former journal editors in the VC readership who can provide support, a cybershoulder to cry on, or any other advice on how to cure or handle this dreaded condition? Does it go away with time? Or is the condition permanent?