The Journal has historically published at least twelve student works each year, encompassing both Notes and Recent Developments. Publication decisions are made through an anonymous selection process based on many criteria, including the timeliness of the issue discussed, the novelty of the author’s argument and analysis, the appeal of the topic, the quality of the writing, and the paper’s compliance with current Bluebook standards.

A Note is a substantial piece of legal scholarship (approximately 40+ pages with legal propositions appropriately cited). All AELJ staffers are eligible to have their Notes considered for publication by the AELJ Editorial Board, for a publication date the following year. Staffers start working on their notes in August/September, and the final draft is due by the middle of the staffer’s spring semester. There are various deadlines throughout the course of the year and meetings with your Notes Editor to receive feedback and ask questions. In order to receive journal credit, a staffer’s Note or Recent Development does not have to be accepted by the Board for publication. Credit will be awarded so long as the staffer makes a good-faith effort.

A Recent Development (RD) is a smaller, but still substantial piece of legal scholarship (approximately 25-30 pages with legal propositions appropriately cited). RDs can include a Case Comment or a Report on an emerging issue such as a new WIPO treaty. An RD must contain an authorial point of view (criticism, support, a proposal, etc.). RDs are done on a more rapid schedule (about 9 weeks) in order to ensure the timeliness of the topic for possible publication. Staffers writing an RD will receive feedback from a Notes Editor, but because of time constraints, there will be less interaction with a Notes Editor as compared to those staffers writing Notes. If an RD is accepted by the Editorial Board, publication will occur in the 2nd or 3rd issue of that year.

In addition to journal credit, well-written Notes and Recent Developments may satisfy the Cardozo writing requirement. This requires that a faculty member review a staffer’s draft and the staffer satisfactorily responds to the faculty member’s comments. AELJ has no control as to whether writing credit will be granted, but will ensure that a faculty member is assigned to read and respond to the Note or Recent Development (or the student may make such an arrangement herself).

Because AELJ is a specialty journal, the Journal provides a variety of Note and RD topics over the summer before your second year relating to Intellectual Property, cyberlaw, the First Amendment, sports law, entertainment and media law, amongst other fields, from which staffers can choose. These are merely suggested topics proposed by AELJ editors. Staffers are free to select their own topics, but these must be approved by the Editorial Board.