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Saturday, July 28, 2018
Submission Angsting Fall 2018
This is the post to share information or ask questions about submitting to law reviews.
The comments can be used to share information, complaints, praise, etc. about which journals you have heard from, which you have not, and so forth.
Additionally, a spreadsheet to gather information is here (and embedded below).
I won't update or watch the spreadsheet. You can go ahead and add your own information by going to the spreadsheet here. The spreadsheet is editable by anyone, except that a few columns and a row (the ones highlighted in yellow) are locked, either because they auto-calculate or because tampering with them has caused a problem in the past. (If something about them needs to be changed post a comment, and I will change them.) As more information is added, I will do some pointless data calculations on subsequent sheets.
Entering information in the column entitled "Username" is of course totally optional, but a way to make keeping track easier. For example, if you pick a username, you will easily be able to sort by your entries and update them, instead of trying to remember what day you submitted and sorting that way. This also adds information -- showing, for example, that all of the entries on the spreadsheet come from one person, or from lots of people, etc. At any rate, totally optional, and simply a way to add more information.
Rostron & Levit's extremely helpful guide to submitting to law reviews is available here (this is the July 2018 version). The article now also includes hyperlinks to law review websites.
Comments now appear from newest to oldest.
Posted by Sarah Lawsky on July 28, 2018 at 07:07 PM | Permalink
Comments
Hi, everyone. I've never submitted in August before; only in the Feb cycle. I am wondering how the process differs. For example, there are some journals open on Scholastica now - does that mean they're open and reviewing, or did they just never bother to close after they finished reviewing in Spring? Is the process different in Fall than in Spring? No idea how this works...
Posted by: Confused | Jul 19, 2019 11:00:15 PM
Cal has been closed for almost a week now. Fordham, BU and UCLA now closed too.
Posted by: anon | Mar 16, 2019 1:06:03 AM
@Anon: Thanks so much. Will do.
Posted by: Rogue 1 | Feb 5, 2019 11:49:27 AM
Rogue1: new angsting thread for Spring 2019 now up and running (just), so might repost there.
Posted by: Anon | Feb 5, 2019 11:35:24 AM
Dinged by Yale in 4 days. Also received a quick ding from WashU. However, my rejection from WashU did not come via Scholastica notification (had to check database). Did those reporting rejections from WashU receive a Scholastica notification?
Posted by: Rogue 1 | Feb 5, 2019 11:16:20 AM
Twenty-four-hour ding from Wash. U.
Posted by: profx | Feb 5, 2019 7:25:42 AM
submitted to some journals on 2/1 and some today. 3 dings already from Wash U and Wash Law, which got the article on 2/1 and also from Nevada to which I submitted today and got a rejection within 3 hours!
Posted by: TiredProf | Feb 4, 2019 5:43:27 PM
I've submitted (2/1). One ding so far (Wash. U. L. Rev.). Let the angsting begin!
Posted by: anon | Feb 4, 2019 4:20:30 PM
I'm planning to submit on 2/11. When I've submitted earlier than that, I usually end up with a mediocre offer and no ability to expedite by the deadline.
Posted by: anon | Feb 4, 2019 2:49:22 PM
I am still scrambling to get a piece together, but looked and a lot of journals still aren't even open yet. My own school had their elections within the past few days but the new editors still need to get up to speed so they're not open.
Posted by: jr prof | Feb 4, 2019 2:33:07 PM
Anybody else submit for Spring cycle? I submitted yesterday and have already gotten my first ding, from Villanova.
Posted by: jrprof | Feb 4, 2019 12:47:58 PM
I submitted to the Arizona issue and also heard nothing.
Posted by: BarPending | Nov 3, 2018 5:36:44 PM
Did anyone still on here happen to submit a piece for Arizona State’s Arizona Issue? I submitted an article a while back but never heard anything.
Posted by: Anon | Nov 1, 2018 7:11:25 PM
Stealth ding from Chicago.
Posted by: Late to the party | Oct 25, 2018 1:41:14 PM
"Anyone hear from Texas lately?" Not a peep.
Posted by: Late to the party | Oct 23, 2018 12:38:08 PM
Many websites are hopelessly outdated, so ordinarily I'd trust Scholastica, but Penn's website was very specific, along the lines of saying that it was accepting submissions *for 2019-20*--they seemed to have changed their tune because I finally got a decline through Scholastica saying that they were full until spring. Haven't checked to see if they are still saying they are open on Scholastica.
Posted by: Anon | Oct 20, 2018 6:13:55 PM
Thanks to everyone who responded. One poster raise an interesting issue - which to believe when the journal's website text & Scholastica open/closed status differ. I tend to believe the latter is more accurate, only because I've seen so many hopelessly out-of-date websites. Are there journals who are good at keeping their websites updated?
Posted by: Late to the party | Oct 20, 2018 4:18:28 PM
Indeed, Penn was never open but decided to let us all spend $6.50 on Scholastica anyway. Ohio State did open late in the season (and is still open), but only for the purpose of getting one article for its spring issue. I haven’t heard anything from them, but got rejected by Columbia and Chicago. Anyone hear from Texas lately?
Posted by: Anon | Oct 19, 2018 9:51:03 PM
Penn was always closed i believe. they said they were closed on their website all season, yet still accepted submissions on scholastica. i don't think they gave any offers.
Posted by: anon | Oct 18, 2018 11:07:28 AM
Yes, finally heard from Columbia a week or two ago that they were full. Penn finally got on board, too, and said the same.
Posted by: Anon | Oct 18, 2018 11:00:30 AM
Columbia closed weeks ago I believe.
Ohio state was not even open this term. USC never gets back to people though if you email they will politely reject you if you want finality. They have open only 12 spots so the likelihood is low to begin with.
Posted by: anon | Oct 18, 2018 11:00:08 AM
I submitted mid-September to a very small number of journals. Have not heard from Chicago. Has anyone heard from/about Columbia recently?
Posted by: Anon | Oct 18, 2018 10:54:07 AM
Late to the party, I was really late to the party (submitted Sept 27). I got a Chicago rejection about a week ago but haven’t heard from the others you listed.
Posted by: Anon | Oct 18, 2018 9:32:31 AM
Has anyone heard from any of the following lately: Chicago, Texas, Southern California, Arizona State, Ohio State?
Posted by: Late to the party | Oct 17, 2018 8:09:55 AM
Forcing rejections: I doubt most student editors would guess that you are on the hook for submission fees, and they might be checked out of Scholastica if full. So, while cumbersome, go to the journal's actual webpage and contact by email via the main journal email, call, or write directly to articles editors whose direct emails are posted. Politely worded, I bet they will comply without hard feelings--these workarounds might also help you get around the source of the bottleneck (we had one when I was an articles selection editor, and it wasn't me).
Posted by: Anon | Oct 14, 2018 2:39:25 PM
I have the same question as Kayfabe re: forcing rejections. If anyone is still out there angsting and has any thoughts I'd appreciate them as well. My institution still reimburses me, but like many people I am holding out for an offer from one of the 50+ journals that have never responded and it would be nice to figure out a way to get journals to be more responsive and just mass reject when they're full. I'm waiting for a few schools that historically never respond (USC, Connecticut, Case Western, Denver) and a few schools that seemed from the spreadsheet to be busy rejecting early (Texas, Boston College, Arizona State) but have since gone silent. I have a Friday deadline at a journal about which I am lukewarm and really wish I had more clarity.
Posted by: Anon | Oct 10, 2018 7:12:37 AM
Anybody have advice about forcing rejections?
My department won't reimburse me for submissions that I withdraw, unless that's due to an acceptance somewhere else. In the past I've had some journals that had clearly rejected a piece but still refused to actually reject it, even after I contacted them basically asking for a rejection. In the past, I believe I had a piece "under review" somewhere for over two years before I had to withdraw it.
Posted by: Kayfabe | Oct 9, 2018 2:03:32 AM
Thanks, Anon @Sep 27, 2018 7:49:23 PM! I was the one asking for advice on where to publish, and being relatively new to the academy I was happy to get the advice but found it borderline insulting given that I'm a professor at one of those "lower ranked schools." I'll admit I did share that comment with a few other colleagues who laughed at the pompousness of it all.
Posted by: SuperLateSubmitter | Oct 2, 2018 4:22:54 PM
This is my third fall cycle, and against all sound advice and wisdom I submitted something in late September. In all likelihood, I will pull it back and resubmit like a normal person in early February, but for those of you still waiting to hear back I can report that there are several journals still actively reviewing. I've gotten three T100 offers since Saturday and several rejections (some form, some personal).
I also wanted to quibble with a comment from anon on September 21 explaining why, in their opinion, Oklahoma is not a good journal: "Just look at who they publish, a lot of practitioners and professors at lower ranked schools." Not sure publishing work from "professors at lower ranked schools" indicates less prestige or lower quality for the journal. There are excellent scholars at law schools across the rankings spectrum, and to the extent the journal submission and publication process maintains any modicum of meritocracy to it, we ought to expect journal editors to look beyond letterhead bias when considering a submission. I teach at one of these "lower ranked" schools, and we have several faculty members who regularly publish in T20 journals. I should hope their inclusion in these journals would not somehow lower the prestige of those journals moving forward.
Posted by: Anon | Oct 2, 2018 11:29:35 AM
Would have been nice if Penn had spared us (or our institutions) the $6 submission to Scholastica and simply closed at the start. Looking at you, too, Wash U.
Posted by: anon | Sep 27, 2018 7:49:23 PM
late scholar, not sure about the particular journal, but there are several prestigious peer-reviewed journals that don't appear as high (or at all) on W&L rankings. The American Journal of International Law comes to mind--easily/prob recognized as the best US int'l law journal, but only their online is even on the list. Maybe because it's not on Westlaw, just HeinOnline and elsewhere.
Also, those looking at Penn, fwiw their website says they are accepting but for 2019-2020, i.e., a year from now....
Posted by: IntlAnon | Sep 27, 2018 11:33:29 AM
I am considering submitting a piece to the Journal of Legal Analysis. It seems highly regarded. Is it better than its 70ish W&L ranking? I think so, given the caliber of scholars who publish there. To me, it feels more like a top 50 venue (or better).
Is it a good idea to aim for this exclusive submission, peer review journal rather than law reviews of similar W&L ranking?
Posted by: late scholar | Sep 26, 2018 7:40:36 PM
Well, this is frustrating. My T100 offer expires Tuesday and about 90% of the law reviews I submitted to did not even respond. Does anyone know if anything is still happening?
Posted by: OR | Sep 23, 2018 12:46:21 PM
Hastings is done.
Posted by: SuperLateSubmitter | Sep 21, 2018 6:23:38 PM
Thanks, AnonP and anon @3:46! I feel like I've gotten so much conflicting information re: whether just to go with straight USN, USN reputational rankings, or W&L.
Posted by: SuperLateSubmitter | Sep 21, 2018 4:07:58 PM
Oklahoma is not a good journal -- I consider it lower ranked than its school. Just look at who they publish, a lot of practitioners and professors at lower ranked schools.
Posted by: anon | Sep 21, 2018 3:46:09 PM
I'd say Miami out of these three. Oklahoma and Miami are ranked similarly on USN, but Miami has an edge on the W&L rankings, and it strikes me as a bit more prestigious thank OK. Good luck!
Posted by: AnonP | Sep 21, 2018 1:31:48 PM
My time runs out on Tuesday and I'm anticipating that I'm not going to hear anything else over the weekend. I'm relatively new at this and I'm having a hard time figuring out where to place this article. I originally wrote my article for inclusion in a symposium issue of the American Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law, but also submitted it broadly. The offers that I've got in hand now are 1) Am. J. of Gender, Soc. Pol. & L., 2) Oklahoma Law Review, and 3) University of Miami Law Review. Which do I take?
Posted by: SuperLateSubmitter | Sep 21, 2018 11:03:39 AM
Georgetown is full.
Posted by: OR | Sep 21, 2018 3:45:29 AM
I'm done. Content, not delirious. I learned a lot (and a lot from you guys, too). Who can forget the insane three days of the refresh hack? Before some person, clearly smarter than me, told me about source codes and such, I took about 25 videos on my phone of my finger refreshing Scholastica. Good times. Thanks to all for the community and commiseration. Catch you all next time around, and I wish you well.
Posted by: blargh | Sep 20, 2018 7:10:58 PM
Yes, it's very common for journals to not respond to expedites.
Posted by: AnonP | Sep 20, 2018 12:36:37 PM
I'm pretty new to this process, and I'm wondering if it's typical for journals to just not respond at all to expedite requests? I have a deadline for today at 5 PM, and have not heard a peep from more than 50 journals (flagship and specialty). Should I expect to hear from many of them today?
Posted by: anonanonanon | Sep 20, 2018 9:49:44 AM
@notlosinghope - would be grateful if you could update spreadsheet. Thanks.
Posted by: anon | Sep 20, 2018 8:06:16 AM
On the question of whether things are still happening: two of the three offers I've received this cycle have come in the last week, with one in the last 48 hours.
Posted by: NotLosingHope | Sep 19, 2018 10:52:51 PM
Not for me, and I have an expedite deadline tomorrow and eight key journals that have yet to respond. So yeah.
Posted by: anon | Sep 19, 2018 10:36:19 PM
Anything still happening?
Posted by: anon | Sep 19, 2018 4:53:52 PM
@latethistime - no clue. You can do it with Harvard. But it seems like lots of top journals, including Cal today, are assessing the expedites and nonexpedites and giving each a look.
Posted by: anon | Sep 18, 2018 8:18:05 PM
Do you think it would accomplish anything helpful to reach out to the top journals who haven't responded to ask status and say I only applied to the top journals and so an expediting is unlikely. Please just review it.......
Posted by: LateThisTime | Sep 18, 2018 4:12:59 PM
California rejection, not off expedite.
Posted by: Cali | Sep 18, 2018 1:42:41 PM
I just expedited to all of these, so I'll have data points soon when the rejections pour in about whether they are full. (And I guess if they totally ignore me, that in itself is a data point).
Posted by: anon | Sep 17, 2018 10:13:25 AM
angst3.0, blargh - Chicago just dinged me today and Columbia dinged me this past weekend. Nothing in the emails about being full, so I assume they are still reviewing.
Posted by: late submitter | Sep 17, 2018 9:43:45 AM
For those who heard from CRCL, was it off an expedite? Or did they contact everyone who is advancing at this stage?
No word from Penn, Wisconsin, Chicago, Georgetown, Texas, USC, Columbia, BC, Arizona . . . it would be helpful to know if they are still reviewing.
Posted by: angst3.0 | Sep 16, 2018 8:28:42 PM
Do we know law reviews that are still actively reviewing? Harvard CRCL is one of them.
Posted by: Open | Sep 16, 2018 7:00:57 PM
I just wanna flag how grossly unprofessional it is that WashU is reporting as full, but only to expedites. It must be hard to tick the "reject all" button. Or maybe they're full because they've quietly accepted all of the non-expedite requests. Yeah, that's the ticket!
Posted by: Kayfabe | Sep 16, 2018 12:54:04 PM
Just received a Scholastica message from Vandy saying they are full.
Posted by: LateThisTime | Sep 15, 2018 5:35:00 PM
anon @ 3:45:30 PM, if the journal is Washington, you probably won't hear by the end of the week, however defined.
Posted by: anon | Sep 15, 2018 4:22:21 PM
Let's say a journal informed you that you have an upcoming final board review and will hear by the end of the week. When does the week end? COB Friday clearly not it. Mid-day Saturday clearly not it. Does end of the week have different connotations to a 23-year old? Or is promising "you will hear" a vow that is honored only when you are accepted? Do journals ever promise "you will hear," only never to be heard from again? Asking for a friend. :)
Posted by: anon | Sep 15, 2018 3:45:30 PM
Well, assuming that some of the people who have posted on the spreadsheet have expedited to Penn, as seems safe to assume, it appears Penn isn't even responding to those these days. There is one lonely Penn entry on the spreadsheet out of 540 data points, and it reflects a non-expedite submitted on 8/1 and rejected on 8/6. Beyond that, radio silence.
Posted by: anon | Sep 15, 2018 3:39:48 PM
I had an expedite deadline from a T40 law review and they never answered.
Posted by: AnonProf | Sep 15, 2018 3:37:48 PM
So is Penn one that just never responds unless you have an expedite deadline?
Posted by: LateThisTime | Sep 15, 2018 3:29:10 PM
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