The NYSBA Journal features articles of interest to attorneys practicing in New York State on topics related to New York State law as well as other legal issues.
The editors encourage submissions on topics of interest in the law and to lawyers, especially those that pertain to New York State’s laws and legal system. Articles should be timely and well-written, and appeal to a wide range of NYSBA members in different practice areas. Authors should be members of NYSBA. Articles more specific and narrow in scope might be submitted to a section publication.
Articles should not be reprints or excerpts from published books.
Please send submissions and any questions or concerns to [email protected]. If you haven’t heard back from us within 2 weeks, please reach out to check the status of your submission.
SUBMISSION DATES
The Journal is published four times per year (see below) and mailed to all NYSBA members and some libraries, as well as available online. Journal content may be used in the NYSBA Weekly content email blast to members, on the NYSBA website, and in CLE courses.
The submission dates below are the dates we would like to receive content in order to review material; this is not the final copy deadline. In the event we decide to publish your article, we will advise you of the final copy deadline, if edits are required. Content received after these dates may be held for the next issue; note that articles may be published online at any time.
Submission Dates for Upcoming Publications (2025)
WINTER (Pub date: 12/30/24) – 11/1/24
SPRING (Pub date: 3/28/25) – 2/5/25
SUMMER (Pub date: 7/21/25): 5/7/25
FALL (Pub date: 9/26/25): 8/7/25
WINTER 2026 (Pub date: 12/30/25): 11/5/25
We consider submissions on a rolling basis for the News Center.
For inquiries or submission, please email [email protected].
WHAT WE LOOK FOR
We look especially for articles on topics of broad interest that are newsworthy and describe important developments in areas of the law. For an article to be accepted by the Journal, it should be primarily an analysis of a current legal issue, and not simply explanatory. The articles we publish generally discuss changes made in certain legal areas and then suggest ways that lawyers can adjust to them. Authors should clearly connect the topic to something that is going on now, and why readers should be interested. We also consider human interest stories with a strong legal theme. Submissions that simply detail what’s in a new law or what a court ruled will be rejected. Opinion pieces will not be accepted.
You are strongly encouraged to review our issues and articles to get a sense of the type of content we publish. If you’re proposing an article on a topic already covered, be sure to explain why that topic should be revisited and what you’re adding to the discussion. Back issues to 2000 of the NYSBA Journal (for members only) can be viewed here. Current articles can be found in the latest issue and on the News Center area of the website.
Prospective authors are strongly encouraged to send a query summarizing the topic and how it will be approached ahead of the submission due date (see below).
If content is not suitable for the Journal, consider submitting to a section publication. In order to submit to a section publication, please find the section web page here and click on the “Publications” tab.
Keep in mind that our audience is mainly attorneys in New York State. Please also note the following:
- Articles and author bios should not be overly self-promotional. Avoid any articles that are one-sided and seem to be personal gripes about a particular person, office, or organization. This includes articles that take the side of the plaintiff or the defense or look at an issue from only one perspective. The Journal does not publish op-eds or letters to the editor.
- Articles cannot promote any one company, brand, product or organization.
- We generally will not consider for publication material that has been published or is pending for publication in other media. If your piece is time-sensitive or you have inquiries from other publications, please note that in your submission.
- While simultaneous submissions are acceptable, if we accept the article for publication, we expect you to withdraw it from consideration elsewhere. For questions about the status of your article’s review, please email [email protected].
- BOOK EXCERPTS & REVIEWS: We discourage submissions of chapters from books. The Journal does not accept book reviews but will on occasion, at the discretion of the editor, publish a staff-written story about a book of interest to the legal community.
- The Journal does not publish news about specific law firms or routine obituaries. We do, on occasion, publish tributes and profiles of prominent lawyers posthumously
- Journal contributors do not receive financial remuneration.
Once a submission is accepted, we consider it final, subject to copy editing and factual review as appropriate. NYSBA reserves the right to publish without further approval from the author. If we believe that substantive changes are necessary, we will review them with contributors. We do not share galleys with authors. NYSBA retains rights to all content (see copyright policy below).
Journal articles appear in print and also electronically on the NYSBA website (the News Center) and are available to NYSBA members as well as the general public. In some cases, an article may be available online before it appears in print. Not all News Center articles appear in the print Journal. A link to the online article will be sent to authors when it is published.
TECHNICAL AND PRACTICAL GUIDELINES
- Whenever possible and appropriate, articles should be written in a style geared toward a general audience. When included, legal terms should be defined, as necessary and appropriate. We generally try to avoid articles about highly specialized, technical legal topics or procedures that most attorneys would not find useful. These are more appropriate for a section publication.
- All articles for the Journal and News Center will be copyedited to conform to our preferred style, AP style. (For references, we use Bluebook, except for a few specific items where we differ.) Please note, as per AP style, the use of acronyms should be kept to a minimum and only be used for commonly known names. We do not put acronyms or other shortened forms in parentheses.
- Articles of up to 4,000 words, including endnotes, will be considered, but shorter pieces of 500 to 1,500 words are preferred. Longer articles may be submitted with an explanation of how you plan to cut it down.
- All articles must be submitted electronically as Microsoft Word files via email. Please label the file with the title and author name. Please do not submit PDFs.
- Do not underline any text; use italics instead.
- Legal citations and endnotes should be used when necessary and appropriate, but are not required. Citations and endnotes should be included only as legal references, and may not under any circumstances be used for factual asides or personal observations. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and format presentation of related citations. In general, follow the Bluebook. Avoid the extensive use of notes that might be more appropriate for a law review format. Copyeditors will ensure endnotes follow our house style.
- Please use the Endnote formatting option in Word for endnotes; any article that does not do so will be returned to the author. The notes and callouts need to be linked in order to work correctly in our software.
- We generally include a photo and capsule biography of each contributor. Contributors should submit by email a high-resolution (min of 300dpi) headshot and biographical info along with article submission. Please only include acknowledgments of anyone who actually contributed to researching or writing the article. As most authors have their writing reviewed by others, we ask that you refrain from thanking any readers who may have helped. Editors reserve the right to edit bios to conform to our style and for space. We take out any language that is overly self-promotional.
- Please be sure we have a correct, updated mailing address on file for receipt of complimentary copies. If you need to update your information, please log in to NYSBA.ORG or call the Member Resource Center at 800-582-2452.
COPYRIGHT AND REPRINT POLICIES
For copyright purposes, submitted material becomes the property of the New York State Bar Association. When submitting work to NYSBA, upon acceptance for publication, you agree to grant non-exclusive rights to NYSBA to publish your content both online and in print in any of our publications. Members and others are allowed to reprint material in accordance with the following guidelines. There are no exceptions to this policy.
Use by Author: Authors will have the right to a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide license to use the work for their own personal use and to promote their employer, law firm, or law practice. This use includes permission to make and distribute print or digital copies of the work to friends, colleagues, clients, or on an employer or law firm website or social media promoting the law practice without further notice to or approval from NYSBA, provided that the copy contains the following notice “Reprinted with permission from the New York State Bar Association © [ PUBLICATION YEAR].” Authors may contact [email protected] for assistance in creating a PDF of their article with the above notice included, if needed. Please also include the original publication information with the name of the publication, issue number, and date.
Republication: If authors seek to have the Work republished in another publication they may do so upon prior written notice and approval from NYSBA. Such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld when republication is more than 90 days after the original publication date. Request for approval of republication earlier than 90 days may be requested at any time. It is recommended that any request for approval be submitted at least 5 business days prior to any republication submission date. All notices and requests for republication approval must be sent to: [email protected].
MCLE Credit
MCLE credit may be earned for legal-based writing directed to an attorney audience upon application to the CLE Board. Guidelines for Obtaining MCLE Credit for Writing as well as a Publication Credit Application are available. Journal contributors who wish to obtain MCLE credit are wholly responsible for completing the process to obtain the credit.