Would you publish it?

[Would you publish it?]

Would you publish it?

Yes

 20 (87%)

No

 3 (13%)

Total Members Voted: 23

[qwest shun]

Suppose you've already committed to a law school next year. You would like to get into legal academia, so publishing law review articles and being on good terms with professors and deans are important.

Furthermore, suppose you recently had an essay accepted for publication in a mid-ranked law review. In the essay, however, you are mildly critical of a policy proposed by the dean of your future law school. Would you publish it?

The criticism isn't personal, it's something others have criticized the dean for, and it's probably not something you'd be afraid to say about someone you knew personally. Still, you don't know the dean will take it. What would you do?

[Tetris]

Yeah.  Publish it.  Criticism is the steering wheel of academia.  Why would you even think twice about it?

[Canuck996]

The easy answer is - yes you publish it. However, now that we established that you will publish it I have a couple of questions.

1. If you are already getting stuff published why/how are you going to a mid-ranked school?
2. Are you really planning to go into academia attending a mid-ranked school? Yes it is possible, no it is not probable.

[jubileeez]

The easy answer is - yes you publish it. However, now that we established that you will publish it I have a couple of questions.

1. If you are already getting stuff published why/how are you going to a mid-ranked school?
2. Are you really planning to go into academia attending a mid-ranked school? Yes it is possible, no it is not probable.

OP said mid-ranked law review, not mid-ranked school.

yes i would publish it; it's a great opportunity. congrats!

[Miss P]

I think the real question is whether you contact the dean about the article before it comes out.  I would probably write a short note to say, basically, "I am an incoming student and I will be publishing an article that takes Position A on Issue X in a forthcoming issue of Mid-Ranked Law Review.  I wanted to let you know because I know that you have taken position B, which has serious merits.  I look forward to being part of the lively intellectual community at Our School and I hope someday to have the opportunity to discuss Issue X and other important legal questions with you in person."  I mean, obviously this version is a little douchey, but I think it makes sense to give the dean the heads up and make sure s/he knows that you wrote the article before choosing your school.

[Canuck996]

The easy answer is - yes you publish it. However, now that we established that you will publish it I have a couple of questions.

1. If you are already getting stuff published why/how are you going to a mid-ranked school?
2. Are you really planning to go into academia attending a mid-ranked school? Yes it is possible, no it is not probable.

OP said mid-ranked law review, not mid-ranked school.

yes i would publish it; it's a great opportunity. congrats!

Mid Ranked Law Review = Mid Ranked school. The prestige of law reviews are ties fairly closely to the prestige for law schools. If the OP said mid ranked law journal as opposed to review that would make some difference. However, the law journal at each school is closely tied to law rank. Mid Ranked Law Review = Mid Ranked school.

[Miss P]

The easy answer is - yes you publish it. However, now that we established that you will publish it I have a couple of questions.

1. If you are already getting stuff published why/how are you going to a mid-ranked school?
2. Are you really planning to go into academia attending a mid-ranked school? Yes it is possible, no it is not probable.

OP said mid-ranked law review, not mid-ranked school.

yes i would publish it; it's a great opportunity. congrats!

Mid Ranked Law Review = Mid Ranked school. The prestige of law reviews are ties fairly closely to the prestige for law schools. If the OP said mid ranked law journal as opposed to review that would make some difference. However, the law journal at each school is closely tied to law rank. Mid Ranked Law Review = Mid Ranked school.

This is true for the most part, but I still think you're confused.  The OP said that s/he was publishing in a mid-ranked law review.  There is no indication that this is the law review of the school s/he plans to attend. (Indeed, I suspect if it were that school's law review, s/he would have mentioned it.)

[Canuck996]

The easy answer is - yes you publish it. However, now that we established that you will publish it I have a couple of questions.

1. If you are already getting stuff published why/how are you going to a mid-ranked school?
2. Are you really planning to go into academia attending a mid-ranked school? Yes it is possible, no it is not probable.

OP said mid-ranked law review, not mid-ranked school.

yes i would publish it; it's a great opportunity. congrats!

Mid Ranked Law Review = Mid Ranked school. The prestige of law reviews are ties fairly closely to the prestige for law schools. If the OP said mid ranked law journal as opposed to review that would make some difference. However, the law journal at each school is closely tied to law rank. Mid Ranked Law Review = Mid Ranked school.

This is true for the most part, but I still think you're confused.  The OP said that s/he was publishing in a mid-ranked law review.  There is no indication that this is the law review of the school s/he plans to attend. (Indeed, I suspect if it were that school's law review, s/he would have mentioned it.)

Sorry misread OP's original post. When I read it the first time I thought the OP was attending the school the article was being published by. My mistake. Publish it!

[BikePilot]

I'd totally publish it, even those you criticize will view it as a great accomplishment. I've not met a faculty member yet that didn't welcome open, honest criticism.

[Naked Promise]

I agree with everyone else...this is a no brainer. Publishing is one of the big prerequisites for academia. Like you said, it's not like you're attacking the dean personally. I would be willing to bet there are a few faculty members at the dean's own school who disagree with him about the same issue.

Short answer: publish it. Few students get LR articles published before even coming to LS.