Aims & Scope
The first stage of the editorial process usually takes one week and involves spading by Law Review staff members. Spading is the process by which Law Review staff members edit the text of the paper and the footnotes for grammar, spelling, and structural errors. The staff members check each footnote to its original source for verification of the authority and add footnotes where necessary. The staff members also ensure that the citations to each authority are in proper Bluebook form.
The second stage of the process is performed by an Associate Editor and also takes approximately one week. The Associate Editor collates and evaluates all of the staff members’ suggestions. The Associate Editor then transcribes all of the proper changes onto a new copy of the article.
The Manuscript Edit is the third stage of the editorial process and involves a focus on grammar and Bluebook format. Manuscript Editors are selected for their expertise in Bluebook form and will evaluate the article from that perspective.
The fourth stage of the process is the Final Edit. This edit is completed by a member of the Executive Board (Editor-in-Chief, Executive Editor, Managing Editor, Allen Chair or Annual Survey Editor, Lead Articles Editor, or Senior Notes & Comments Editor). This editor reads the text and footnotes thoroughly for consistency in all areas and reviews any suggested changes to the text of the article, with an eye towards maintaining the author’s individual writing style. The final edit ensures that the article is ready for publication.
The article is then sent to the author for review. At the same time, the Law Review staff conducts two additional reads of the piece to ensure that no errors were missed during the previous editorial stages.
When the author is finished reviewing the article, changes made by the author and any additional changes made by the staff are combined. This completed copy is collated into what is called a “Page Proof.” A Page Proof is a draft of the article exactly as it will appear in the published book. The Page Proofs are read an additional two times by Executive Board members and then sent to the publisher, Joe Christensen, Inc., in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The publisher then sends back the Page Proofs with any identified corrections. Two additional reads of the entire book are then performed. This is called the “Book Proof” stage. The Book Proofs are sent back to the publisher and the publisher makes the final changes. The Law Review then receives advance copies of the book. We review the advance copy and then inform the publisher whether the book is ready to print.
