The Bencher Editorial Policy
Feature article submissions to The
Bencher® are reviewed by members of the editorial board who are or have
been affiliated with the American Inns of Court. Editorial and
publication decisions are based on the board's judgment. The views
expressed in The Bencher® are those of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect the views of the American Inns of Court or the
editorial board.
The editorial board welcomes comments and
suggestions. Letters, especially those that contribute to furthering
discussions of professionalism, may be published at the discretion of
the editorial board. By submitting a letter, you are authorizing its
publication. Letters may be modified to meet space and content
restrictions.
The American
Inns of Court is strictly nonpartisan and reserves the right to edit or
decline to publish submissions deemed political.
Submission Guidelines
All articles should be submitted using the appropriate online portals linked below. If you have difficulty submitting your article through the portal, please contact us.
Feature Article Submissions
Authors are invited to submit original feature length articles on the topics of professionalism, legal ethics, civility, mentoring, and other subjects that advance the cause of excellence in the practice of law. Please reference our current listing of themes and upcoming deadlines. Recommended article length is 1000–2000 words and MS Word or WordPerfect files are preferred. Please avoid the use of footnotes or endnotes.
Inn the News Submissions
Inns are invited to submit Inn-related news items for publication in the "Inn the News" section of The Bencher® website. Articles must be a minimum of 250 words and up to a maximum of 750 words. Inns are also encouraged to submit photos related to their news item(s). Captions should be included for each photo identifying those in the photo and/or the activity depicted. Please refer to the photo and image submission guidelines below. Please note that The Bencher® does not publish "congratulatory" news or information that promotes a business, service, or publication. For more information and examples of acceptable news items please visit our main website.
Photographs and Images
Please submit JPG files at the highest resolution available and no smaller than 400 x 300 pixels. Head shots should also be submitted at the highest resolution available and be no smaller than 300 x 200 pixels.
Copyright
Before a feature article is published, authors will be sent a copyright
confirmation and release authorizing us to publish or use the article as
we choose free of any claims against us for its use. If a previously
published work is submitted, you are required to certify that you have
retained publication rights and/or obtained consent from any other
author(s) or entities that have previously published the article or any
substantial portion thereof.
Style Guide
The American Inns of Court uses and recommends that authors refer to The Chicago Manual of Style. If using citations, refer to The Bluebook—A Uniform System of Citation.