FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between NULR Online and Colloquy?

Colloquy was the original name of Northwestern University Law Review’s online companion to its print issues. The name changed in 2014 to Northwestern University Law Review Online (commonly referred to as NULR Online). While essays published during the Colloquy-era retain a distinct periodical abbreviation for citation purposes, NULR Online and Colloquy are otherwise one and the same.

How often does NULR Online publish scholarship?

At present, NULR Online publishes one essay per month, in addition to our podcast series. We also publish shorter pieces on our blog. This rate may increase or decrease throughout the year.

What is the difference between NULR Online essays and essays in print journals?

NULR Online focuses on publishing timely pieces in a format that is accessible to expert as well as lay readers. As such, our essays are generally shorter than a traditional essay in a print journal. While NULR Online welcomes essay submissions with word counts of up to 10,000 (inclusive of footnotes), an ideal NULR Online essay is between 5,000-9,000 words. NULR Online also discourages excessive use of footnotes and instead encourages authors to use footnotes primarily to provide necessary support for assertions made in the text of their essays. This unique style not only makes our pieces more colloquial, it also allows for a quicker editing process. Thus, the time from submission to publication is generally shorter than it would be for a print journal.

Are NULR Online (and Colloquy) pieces available on WESTLAW or LEXIS?

All essays are currently available on WESTLAW, LEXIS, and HeinOnline.

What is the format for citations to pieces published in NULR Online?

The format for citing NULR Online essays is [Author], [Title], [Volume] Nw. U. L. Rev. Online [First Page] ([Year]), [url]. For example:

Jordon Blair Woods, Autonomous Vehicles and Police De-escalation, 114 Nw. U. L. Rev. Online. 74 (2019), https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1272&context=nulr_online&preview_mode=1&z=1565049425.

What is the editing process for publishing pieces in NULR Online?

All pieces receive a thorough substantive edit, a source and citation check, and a final edit for technical issues and formatting. Thus, readers can be assured that pieces published in NULR Online have received the same careful treatment as pieces in the print journal—the only difference is the speed with which NULR Online pieces go from submission to publication. The editorial process for Online essays takes about 4.5 to 5 months. The speed of the process depends on the author’s interest in haste, the author’s willingness to review editorial suggestions quickly, and the availability of open NULR Online slots.

What is the submission window for NULR Online essays?

NULR Online accepts submissions twice per year–typically in early February and mid-August. Each round of submissions lasts approximately one month, and we strive to accept or reject pieces within two weeks of submission.

How can someone locate a piece in NULR Online?

We regularly have visitors who find our site while using a search engine to try to locate information on legal questions. Additionally, if someone enters a NULR Online citation, or its author and title into a search engine, it will take her there directly. Our archives can also be browsed chronologically. Finally, NULR Online content is available on WESTLAW, LEXIS, and HeinOnline, meaning NULR Online pieces can be located in exactly the same way as most other major legal scholarship.

If I publish with NULR Online, will that be considered “real” scholarship?

Yes. Unlike some other online projects of legal journals, NULR Online is not published in a magazine-style format, nor is it a reactionary supplement to the Law Review. Rather, NULR Online is an extension of the Law Review itself, subject to the same standards of quality, but able to take advantage of new technologies in order to publish faster and in a more publicly-accessible and interactive format. NULR Online essays are different from traditional Law Review articles and essays—to which the impressive list of authors that we have published in our short history attests. Only the timeliness, conciseness, and overall accessibility of NULR Online essays distinguish them from pieces in the Law Review.

What steps can I take to maximize the chances that my submission will be accepted?

First, have something worthwhile to say. The single most important factor in our acceptance decisions is whether the author is making a useful contribution to legal discussion and thought. Second, be clear and concise. We are firmly committed to the idea that a piece can simultaneously be thoughtful, clear, and brief. Give only as much background as is necessary for a reader to follow your argument, and make sure that your piece is organized so that it is easy to read. To this end, try to use footnotes sparingly, and keep them brief, as they can be more disruptive to an online reader than they would be in a print publication. Also, given that our editing timeline is much faster than a print journal, we find that relying on sometimes lengthy inter-library loans to check sources can bog down the process. If you must cite sources that are not readily available, we prefer that you submit electronic copies of those sources to us for our use in the source-and-cite process. Fourth, consider writing a critique of previously published scholarship in the Law Review, whether the prior scholarship was in the print journal or NULR Online. We enjoy publishing such pieces, and consider them with special care whenever we receive them. Finally, consider getting other authors involved in creating a dialogue with you on an interesting topic. We are committed to the idea that interactivity and dialogue are key ways of developing and refining legal ideas. We publish both single-author pieces and multi-person dialogues, but we have a special interest in the latter. We encourage authors to submit a proposal for a dialogue-based set of pieces.