May 20, 2020
A Faculty Law Journal Committee will work with the Editors-in-Chief of all nine law journals to offer support and best practices.

The Rutgers Law faculty has approved new bylaws and guidelines to govern the school’s law journals. The goal was to create new standards for the law journals, ensure the journals would publish in a timely manner, and create a structure for students working on the journals that also provides additional faculty support.

The new guidelines were approved by the faculty at both the Newark and Camden locations earlier this month after the standards were recommended by the Budget and Planning Committee. The new guidelines also created a Faculty Law Journal Committee that will review status reports from the student journal editors twice each academic year.

“Our law journals are an important component of legal education that promote the production of knowledge in the legal profession.  Among the many strengths of Rutgers Law School is the diversity of our journals’ focus ranging from race, gender and religion to business, intellectual property and public policy,” said Professor Sahar Aziz who served as a co-chair of the Budget and Planning Committee. 

The recommendations include that all Rutgers Law journals must publish two issues per year, include two publications by non-student authors, and publications by legal scholars, professors, or judges, and retain a balance between student notes and non-student publications.

The rules also mandate that only accredited journals approved by the faculty may use the word “Rutgers” in their name. The rules set out clear consequences for failing to meet the faculty-approved standards, starting with a warning, to probationary status in the second year and possible closure after three consecutive years of failing to adhere to the rules.  The faculty agreed to a one-year grace period to allow the rules to take effect in June 2021. 

To ensure, students receive mentoring and guidance, the Faculty Law Journal Committee and each faculty advisor will receive written status reports from the journals’ editors-in-chief twice a year. 

This new structure establishes a system where journal members receive advice and support in a timely manner and the law school can share best practices among the journals. The Faculty Law Journal Committee will report the progress of each journal to the Co-Deans and faculty.

Rutgers Law School has nine student journals:  Rutgers University Law Review, Rutgers Computer and Technology Law Journal, Rutgers Journal of Law and Public Policy, Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion, Rutgers Law Record, Rutgers Race and the Law Review, Women’s Rights Law Reporter, and Rutgers Business Law Review.  In December, the faculty voted to accredit the existing Rutgers Business Law Review and to approve the creation of a Rutgers International Law & Human Rights Journal.
 

Rutgers Law Media Contact:
Shanida Carter

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