The Student Journal of Information Privacy Law — Submission Guidelines
1. Journal Publication Formats and Frequency
Monthly Edition. The Journal publishes Papers and Commentary Posts monthly in an electronic format on the Journal’s Website on the 25th day of every calendar month throughout the academic year beginning in September and pausing in May for the summer break. The Monthly Edition of the Journal will generally not be published in the months of May, June, July, August, December, and January. The Monthly Edition accepts submissions on a rolling basis throughout the year. Pieces submitted during a certain month may or may not be published within the month in which they are submitted.
Paginated Edition. The Journal publishes long-form pieces, such as Articles, yearly in an annual Paginated Edition in a compiled PDF or print format to be distributed to subscribers and alumni. The Paginated Edition shall be published in either May or June, at the latest, of each year. A copy of the Paginated Edition shall be maintained by the University of Maine School of Law in the University’s digital archive, known as the Digital Commons. The Paginated Edition accepts submissions on a fall application cycle beginning in August and continues to accept submissions on a rolling basis until the Journal meets its space capacity for a given Volume.
2. Methods of Submission and Author Qualifications
Method of Submission. Articles, Papers, and Commentary Posts may be submitted for consideration via the sjipleditor@maine.edu email address. These submissions must include a Word format of the submission, the author’s resume or CV, and an approximately 250-word abstract for the piece. Abstracts are not required for Commentary Post submissions. Articles authored by students outside of the University of Maine School of Law community may submit their work via the sjipleditor@maine.edu email address or the designated SJIPL Scholastica portal. All submissions must pertain to Information Privacy Law or a closely related area of law such as cybersecurity, AI, or Internet Law.
Qualification of Authors for Submission Eligibility. The Journal only considers the work of authors currently enrolled in a law school or an upper-level legal studies graduate program. The Journal will also consider the work of active practitioners if the work was created while the practitioner was enrolled in law school or an upper-level legal studies graduate program on a case-by-case basis and will give preference to submissions authored by currently enrolled students. Further, the Journal does not publish the work of first-year law students.
3. Classification of Submissions
Articles. Articles are pieces published in the SJIPL’s annual Paginated Edition. For consideration as an Article, a submission must be formal in nature, typically explore an issue in-depth, and advance a novel perspective on that issue. Articles should be between 7,500 and 25,000 words, including footnotes. Submissions exceeding 25,000 words will be considered but may be required to be shortened prior to publication depending on available space in the Journal for a specific publication cycle. Articles authored by University of Maine School of Law students that are not selected for publication in the Paginated Edition may be subsequently submitted for publication as a Paper in the SJIPL’s Monthly Edition. Staff members of the Journal are required to submit one Article for consideration during their tenure on the Journal.
Papers. Papers are pieces that are published online in the SJIPL’s Monthly Edition. The Journal only publishes Paper submission authored by students of the University of Maine School of Law. To be considered for publication as a Paper, a submission may be less formal than an Article and shorter in length. However, like an Article, the Paper should advance a novel perspective on an issue pertaining to Information Privacy Law or a closely related area of law such as cybersecurity, AI, or Internet Law. Papers should be roughly between 4,000 and 10,000 words, including footnotes. Papers falling outside of this range may be considered for publication but may need to be shortened or lengthened if the Journal so requests.
Commentary Posts. Commentary Posts are shorter-form posts that the Journal publishes in the SJIPL’s Monthly Edition. Commentary Posts are typically more casual in nature, like a blog post, and identify and provide commentary on a trending issue or current event in the field of Information Privacy Law or a related field, such as cybersecurity, AI, or Internet Law. Commentary Posts, typically, must be between 1,000-2,000 words in length, including footnotes. Staff members of the Journal are required to submit one Commentary Post for consideration during their tenure on the Journal.
4. Accepting Submissions from Student Authors Outside of the University of Maine School of Law Community
The Journal accepts submissions for Commentary Posts and Articles from student authors at the University of Maine School of Law, students at other ABA-accredited law schools in the United States, students at accredited law schools in other countries, and students enrolled in any graduate-level legal studies program.
5. Citation Requirements and Originality and Exclusivity of Work
Content, material, quotes, and language taken from another source or that do not originate from the student author’s own thoughts must be cited appropriately for a submission to be considered for publication. These citations, further, must be compliant with Bluebook guidelines. Additionally, the Journal shall not publish any material previously published elsewhere and shall, likewise, communicate to student authors that agreement to publish with the Journal reserves that material for exclusive publication in the Journal. All authors must agree to this exclusive use of the submission by the Journal prior to publication of the work in the Journal.
6. Denial of Submissions
If substantial or unreasonable edits concerning grammatical issues, syntax, or interpretations of the law or the topic at issue are required by the Journal’s Editorial Team to make a Paper, Article, or Commentary Post publishable, it will not be considered for publication in its current state. However, authors may resubmit their work once they have made the appropriate edits, as necessary. Likewise, submissions may be denied due to space availability constraints. Pieces denied due to space restrictions may be resubmitted for publication consideration in a later Edition of the Journal.
7. Acceptance of Edits Made by the Editorial Team
All authors must accept the Journal members’ edits when based on Bluebook or legal Authority or other official grammar guides. Should an author refuse to accept edits made by the Journal members which are based on the propriety of grammar, citation, or binding legal authority, the Journal reserves the right to deny publication to the author even if it was previously communicated to the author that the piece would be published.
8. Publication of Content on the Digital Commons
The University of Maine School of Law is among over 500 academic institutes that subscribe to an online repository of scholarship called the Digital Commons. When a student or faculty member authors a piece posted to the Digital Commons, it is accessible through other institutions’ libraries, giving the piece wider circulation than it may otherwise receive. Before the University of Maine School of Law publishes a student-authored piece on the Digital Commons, it must be deemed to be of publishable quality by an approved faculty member. Articles published in the annual Paginated Edition of the Journal are presumed to be of sufficient quality and will be published on the Digital Commons. For University of Maine School of Law students seeking the publication of Papers on the Digital Commons, those students are encouraged to contact the Director of the Information Privacy Program via email to request review and approval of their Paper. Commentary Posts will not be published on the Digital Commons.
