Submissions

Submit Online

MLR receives submissions of articles and essays exclusively through Scholastica. Our Scholastica portal opened for submissions on July 31, 2024 and will close on Friday, August 16th, at 5:00 pm EST.

Michigan Law Review has recently signed the Joint Law Review Statement on Data and Code Transparency, which can be read here. In line with this, authors of empirical papers should be prepared to provide any datasets and experimental procedures not included in the text of the paper to the Law Review upon being accepted for publication, unless an exception is made prior to acceptance. If a dataset used is publicly available for download elsewhere, this requirement may be waived, but authors will still be required to post their code and any hand-coded datasets. In rare, highly specialized cases, such as the use of proprietary data, authors should contact MLR upon submission. 

The MLR Articles Office reaffirms that we consider pieces on a rolling basis through the spring selection season and will consider submissions again in the fall.

Submit via Scholastica

Blind Review Policy

MLR uses a partially blind review policy for articles and essays. Please attach a version of your manuscript with your name and other identifying characteristics, including references to past work, redacted or removed.

Submission Guidelines

Along with your manuscript, please include a curriculum vitae for each author of the piece, preferably in a separate document. Michigan Law Review does not publish Articles written or co-written by J.D. candidates.

An email confirmation will be sent to the email address you provide. If you do not receive this email confirmation within five business days of the post date, please email us at mlr.articles.office@gmail.com.

Article Length

We strongly prefer scholarship that makes concise arguments. We are currently seeking essay-length pieces of less than 25,000 words, including footnotes.

Citations in manuscripts should appear in footnotes, not endnotes, and follow The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (21st ed. 2020). The style of citations and text should conform to The Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed. 2010). Please also review our article-length policy before sending your submission.

The Michigan Law Review has long been a light-edit journal. This has meant that we do not force authors to accept any of our suggested changes. We hope to build on this tradition in ways that make the editing process more productive while reducing pressures to add citations or explanatory material.

For questions regarding article submissions, please email mlr.articles.office@gmail.com.

The Michigan Law Review Online is currently open for submissions from current Michigan Law students only.

Current Michigan Law students should send anonymized pieces for consideration to the Managing Online Editor, with the subject line “Student Submission for MLR Online.”

We are closed for general submissions. Please check this page for updates on when general submissions will reopen. Questions about general submissions can be directed to the Executive Editors of MLR Online.

The Michigan Law Review invites essay submissions on current areas of legal thought and research for Michigan Law Review Online, the journal’s online publication.

MLR Online publishes short articles and essays by academics, judges, practitioners, and law students, as well as timely responses to articles in the print journal of the Michigan Law Review. Our online companion quickly disseminates the legal community’s initial impressions of important judicial decisions and legislative developments.

MLR Online strongly prefers submissions of between 4,000 and 8,000 words, including footnotes. Submissions should be written in a style accessible to a general audience of practitioners and policymakers. Citations in submissions should appear in footnotes and follow The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. The style of citations and text should conform to The Chicago Manual of Style. Pieces will be published on an expedited production schedule.

The Book Review issue of the Michigan Law Review is one of the most widely read law review issues in the country. It is the only issue from a leading law review dedicated solely to the analysis of recent books implicating our legal system, and we are proud of its storied history featuring foremost legal minds.

Information Regarding Book Review Selection

Thank you for your interest in the Michigan Law Review’s Book Review issue. Selections for Volume 123 are complete. The next Volume will likely begin selecting pieces in early 2025.

Submission Guidelines

Please send all submissions to the Book Review office at michlrev.ed.br@umich.edu. There are two options for submission:

(1) Submit a full draft manuscript. While we strongly encourage full manuscripts, we understand that this is not always possible.

(2) Submit a short draft section of your review, ideally three to five pages, along with a formal one- or two-page proposal that includes:

• Information about the book(s) you propose to review. This should include: author, title, publisher, and publication date; a brief overview of the book’s contents; and a brief description of the book’s place within legal scholarship, including an explanation of why you think the book is important and timely.
• Information about the piece you propose to write. This should include: a summary of the anticipated content or scope of the review, including a description of the angle you plan to take and the novel arguments that you anticipate advancing in the piece; and the stage you have reached in writing the review and the earliest date at which you could complete a draft.

Whether you submit a full draft or a proposal, please include the following information:

• If you have previously published with the Michigan Law Review;
• Any information relevant to either the book or proposed review, including, for example, a relationship with the author or a particular expertise in the area; and
• Your CV

If you have any questions, please email the Book Review office at michlrev.ed.br@umich.edu.

Associate Editors are required to write a piece of legal scholarship of publishable quality. This is a unique opportunity to explore an interesting legal controversy and propose a creative solution to the problem. Authoring and publishing a dynamic, well-reasoned piece of scholarship can be personally fulfilling and professionally rewarding.

The MLR Notes Office publishes Notes and Comments from the following student authors:

• Current MLR members may submit Notes and Comments.
• MLR alumni may submit Notes and Comments up to a year after graduation. After that year, alumni may no longer submit Notes or Comments (but may submit to the Articles Office).
• Non-MLR 2Ls and 3Ls may also submit Notes and Comments to the Notes Office during their time at Michigan.
• Beginning in Volume 119, current Notes Editors may not submit Notes for publication. However, they may submit to Calls before and/or after their tenure.
• Authors that have previously published a Note or Comment are eligible to be published a second time, but the Selection Committee will prioritize pieces by authors that have not previously had the opportunity to publish.

Call Deadlines for Volume 123

• Friday, March 1st, 2024
• Monday, April 1st, 2024
• Saturday, June 1st, 2024
• Tuesday, October 1st, 2024
• Friday, November 1st, 2024
• Monday, January 6th, 2025
• Saturday, February 1st, 2025

Note-On Policy

In addition to those students admitted to the Michigan Law Review through the Spring Writing Competition, second-year students at Michigan Law may become members of the Law Review by producing and publishing a Note. The Law Review encourages students writing innovative scholarship to consider publishing their papers via the Note-On process.

For more information, including eligibility requirements, please review our Note-On Policy or contact the Executive Notes Editor.

Light Edit

The Michigan Law Review is a light-edit journal. We do not accept articles if we are unwilling to publish them without major substantive revisions. Once we accept an article, we will discuss the type and extent of editorial input that the author feels will be most helpful. Our authors make the final decision on any suggestions we put forward.

The light-edit policy does not apply to student scholarship.