Mission Statement
The Independent Law Journal (ILJ) is a forum for independent-minded law professors, students, and professionals to publish scholarly articles, including pieces that conflict with current academic mainstream thought. The Journal is committed to free speech, freedom from ideological discrimination, and fostering robust scholarly debate across a wide range of viewpoints. In keeping with this mission, the Journal is overseen by a board of distinguished and ideologically varied legal scholars. It is staffed by independent-minded law students drawn from America’s top law schools and selected for their academic excellence. As a nationwide scholar-led, peer-approved, and student-staffed journal, the Independent Law Journal brings together current and future legal experts to publish groundbreaking ideas. The Journal aims to provide a space for conversation across the ideological spectrum and believes that progress is often made through disagreement and that truth often emerges from debate.
Three Ways the ILJ Improves on Other Law Reviews
- Promoting Free and Robust Debate Across the Ideological Spectrum
The ILJ is committed to publishing scholarly articles across the ideological spectrum and will not discriminate against pieces that conflict with current mainstream views. The ILJ also promotes scholarly discussion and debate by regularly soliciting replies to published pieces—raising the profile of published articles and ensuring the Journal never becomes an echo chamber. - Ensuring High-Quality Publications Through Peer Approval
Every article published by the ILJ is approved by an expert faculty board. Excellent students from America’s top law schools work closely with faculty to conduct an initial review of submitted articles, but final publication power rests with actual scholars—as it should. - A Publication Process Tailored to Authors
The ILJ provides a deferential, helpful, and swift publication process for authors. Authors maintain full control of style, tone, and vocabulary while still benefiting from student editors checking footnotes and giving valuable (but always optional) feedback. Publication is swift—no more six-month or year-long delays. The ILJ is also open for submissions year-round because scholarship never stops and neither should publication. Direct submission to the ILJ is also always free.
Summary of Journal Operations
(Always Open to Comment and Revision)
The Journal’s supervisory board is composed of law professors from top law schools in a range of legal fields. The editorial staff is drawn from judicial clerks, SJD candidates, and rising second- and third- year students from top law schools, with selections made based on resumes, transcripts, writing samples, and commitment to the mission statement. The editorial staff conducts an initial review of articles with input and guidance from faculty. Before an offer is extended, the editorial staff gives the supervisory board members, in particular those in the relevant legal field, a chance to review the article and veto publication. The Journal is thus peer-approved, ensuring a high quality of publications without creating the difficult burdens of a completely faculty-staffed journal. As part of the Journal’s commitment to fostering robust debate across differing views, the Journal may seek to publish pairs of articles with differing perspectives or solicit critical (or complementary) replies to accepted articles. The Journal also seeks to provide a deferential, helpful, and swift editorial process for authors that leaves authors firmly in control of style, substance, and tone. The number of articles published each year will depend on the number and quality of submissions. All articles will be published online, but authors can order physical offprints at the cost of printing. Funding for maintaining the website and covering other administrative costs will be drawn from private grant funding from donors who support the mission of the Journal. In addition to faculty board members, the Journal is pleased to list supporters who publicly endorse the ILJ’s mission statement without making any time commitment. Of course, such endorsement is limited to the Journal’s mission and does not extend to any particular article or ideological view. Such faculty endorsers are encouraged to refer potentially interested scholars or students to publish in or apply for staff membership with the Journal.
Submissions
Please submit pieces to the ILJ via Scholastica or by email to the student contact. Please include a CV or resume with the submission. The ILJ is open for submissions at this time.