The Virginia Law Review will be accepting submissions for its March Notes Pool from 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 13th until 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27th. Late submissions will not be accepted. Students who would like their Note to be considered for publication in the Law Review should read the following guidelines and submission instructions:
- The recommended length for a Note is 10,000–14,000 words including footnotes (approximately 35–40 pages in double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font). Notes longer than 14,000 words are strongly discouraged. Notes longer than 15,500 words will not be considered without prior approval of the Notes Development Editor. Students may submit Notes shorter than 10,000 words without approval.
- Please use Bluebook style for your footnotes, rather than any other style guide.
- Submit SIX (6) physical copies of your submission to the Law Review office (SL 184) by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27th. Please use double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font for the body of your submission. Please use single-spaced footnotes rather than endnotes for citations and references. You may print your Note on both sides of the page.
- Your name should not appear on these six copies, nor should any other identifying information, but each copy should have an attached cover page which includes only the following pieces of information:
- The title of your submission.
- An abstract of approximately 250 words or fewer, single-spaced, which briefly summarizes the argument of your submission.
- A table of contents.
- A list of the five (5) secondary sources cited that are most related to your work. Please do not list cases or statutes.
- The word count for your submission, both with and without footnotes.
- If you are resubmitting a Note that you previously submitted to the Virginia Law Review, a brief description of any substantive changes that you made.
- Though not required, it may also be advantageous to include a paragraph on the cover sheet, (or subsequent page, if necessary), that addresses the following criteria. This information may be especially useful if your note addresses a topic that is niche or not widely taught in the law school’s core curriculum.
- A very brief summary of your topic’s doctrinal landscape and a clear articulation of your note’s central argument, including how your note advances existing scholarship.
- Submit everything in one large manila envelope with the title of your Note on the outside. A box will be available outside SL 184.
- All submissions must also be emailed to vlr_7f30@sendtodropbox.com in .docx format by the time the Pool closes. The document must include the cover page, the file name must be the [Note Title], and the subject line of the email must be “March Notes Pool.” Please remove any identifying information from the body of the document as well as personal information embedded in the digital file by following the instructions below. This includes removing identifying information typically included at the beginning of a Note in a * footnote, such as class information, Notes Advisors, or professors that assisted in the drafting and editing of the submission. Correctly following all instructions will maintain each author’s anonymity.
- Word 2010, 2013, 2016: Go to File, select “Info”, click on Check for Issues”, click on “Inspect Document”. In the dialog box, click “Remove All” and close box. Save document.
- Word for Mac 2016, 2018: Go to Tools, select “Protect Document” or select “Protect Document” button on Review tab. Save document.
- In addition to the document above, all submissions must include in a SEPARATE DOCUMENT the following information, which is to be both emailed to vlr_7f30@sendtodropbox.com in .pdf format and placed in a SEPARATE ENVELOPE in the box. The separate envelope should be sealed and have “[Title], Confidential” written on the outside. The electronic copy should be titled “[Title].Confidential” (e.g. “Breaking Bad Law.Confidential”). This separate document should be a single page and include:
- Your name, phone number, e-mail address, and mailing address
- The title of your Note
- A signed statement (an electronic signature will be accepted) that your Note was substantially written during law school
- The name(s) of the professor(s) with whom you worked when writing your Note
- For those eligible former students who are unable to physically submit a Note, it is not necessary to provide a hard copy, an online submission will suffice.
The results of the March Notes Pool will be announced at www.VirginiaLawReview.org. If you have any questions, please contact Notes Development Editor, Amy Vanderveer (fvu2tr@virginia.edu).