Family Law Quarterly Staff Position Descriptions
The Family Law Quarterly is a nationally recognized and well respected scholarly journal published by the American Bar Association.
The Family Law Quarterly has two student editor positions:
- Student Editor-In-Chief
- Student Executive Editor
In addition, there are a number of Junior and Senior Staff Editing positions available each semester.
The Student Editor-In-Chief is primarily responsible for the Summer, Fall, and Spring issues of each volume, while the Student Executive Editor is primarily responsible for the Winter issue of the Quarterly. However, both the Student Editor-In-Chief and the Student Executive Editor work together to get all the issues published. These positions are largely administrative, recruiting student editors to proofread and cite and source check articles published in each issue and coordinating with the individual state reporters (usually a law professor or practicing family law attorney) to compile and submit the state's report for the year. The Student Editor-In-Chief and the Student Executive Editor also verify and check all student work for accuracy before final corrections are made by the Quarterly secretaries in preparation for final review by Co-Editor-In-Chief Professor Linda Elrod. In addition, the Student Editor-In-Chief and the Student Executive Editor supervise galley readings of page proofs by students prior to final publication.
Students selected for both of the above editing positions receive scholarship funds each semester they work in the position. New editors are selected during the Spring semester.
The Junior and Senior Staff Editors source and cite check, edit articles and reports for punctuation and grammar, review Bluebook citation format, and report on states for the "Law in 50" edition when a report has not been completed. A student must complete Legal Analysis Research and Writing II, have a minimum GPA of 2.5, and complete the Family Law Quarterly Write-on for selection onto the Quarterly staff.
Students interested in receiving credit for Family Law Quarterly will need to have volunteered at least 40 hours prior to taking it for credit and completed Family Law. Once a student registers for credit an additional 40 hours of work must be completed.
Factors considered when selecting students for the two editor positions include:
- number of hours volunteered to work on articles
- whether Family Law Quarterly has been taken for credit
- supporting of Family Law Quarterly through participation in galley readings and other activities
- interest in family law and related areas
- proficiency with the Bluebook and research and writing abilities
- completion of Family Law
Professor Linda Elrod makes the final decisions regarding the editor positions and may consider other credentials as well.
