The event also featured notable speakers like United States Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard A. Posner, who warned the attendees about what he sees as problematic trends in law review publications, said Santa Clara Law Review Editor-in-Chief Brian Wikner. Judge Posner is center in the photo at left with Santa Clara Law Journal Editors Eric Hutchins on his left and Brian Wikner on his right.
"The conference was very productive," said Wikner, who spoke on panels entitled Author Relations and The Role and Functions of Law Reviews. "I enjoyed sharing some of my experiences over the past year and explaining to the incoming editors how they can create stronger relationships with authors, negotiate points of contention during the editing process, and produce an overall higher-quality journal."
Wikner was joined at the conference by Eric Lloyd, the incoming Law Review Editor-in-Chief. The Santa Clara Computer & High Technology Law Journal sent to the conference its current Managing Editor Eric Hutchins along with newly selected Editor-in-Chief Arisha Hatch and incoming Managing Editor Sriranga Veeraraghavan. The Santa Clara Journal of International Law sent Alicia Adornato, incoming Editor-in-Chief, and Esther Smith, incoming Senior Articles Editor.
Hutchins, who has been invited by his publication to stay on as Editor Emeritus after graduation this spring, spoke on panels entitled Brushing up on Bluebook Skills, Tips for Managing Editors, and The Editing Process.
"The conference was a wonderful experience that should become part of the journal tradition at
Hosted this year by The John Marshall Law School, the NCLR event features numerous workshops with perspectives from both student editors and academic authors. Attendees also meet with publishing vendors and network with prominent members of the legal community.
The conference, which started March 22, provided a crash course in law journal management for Lloyd, who was selected by the Law Review board to succeed Wikner as Editor-in-Chief less than a week before the trip.
"I thought it was a perfect initiation and that it will make my transition a lot smoother," Lloyd said. "I think we also came away with a better understanding of what other law reviews are doing, and with ideas on how to improve our own."
Lloyd plans to implement changes to the law review’s candidacy process as a result of attending the conference. Citing the wealth of practical knowledge available to incoming journal editors, Lloyd hopes attendance at NCLR annual conferences becomes customary for future editors of
As for Posner’s keynote, Wikner found the speech pertinent to the changing roles of law reviews within the legal community. Posner particularly criticized the growing number of articles published in traditional law journals that analyze interdisciplinary legal concepts. Wikner agrees that many law students lack the perspective and expertise to effectively select and edit such articles.
"If this trend of interdisciplinary scholarship continues to grow, I think future editors will have to consider adopting a peer-review model," Wikner said. "While law journals haven’t traditionally been peer-reviewed, it may become necessary to ensure that we’re putting out quality, timely scholarship meriting the attention of the legal community."
On the Web
- Santa Clara Law Review: http://www.scu.edu/lawreview
- National Conference of Law Reviews: http://www.nclr2006.com
