Publications Information
General Information
Subscribe to Trial
A subscription to Trial—including 12 print issues and 24 e-newsletters per year—is included with AAJ membership. Nonmembers can subscribe to the 12 print issues per year for:
- 1 Year — $99
- 2 Year — $179
- 3 Year — $249
Contact us at (800) 727-5056 or trial@justice.org to inquire.
Subscribe to Products Liability and/or Professional Negligence Law Reporters
Subscriptions to Products Liability Law Reporter (PLLR) or Professional Negligence Law Reporter (PNLR)—including the 6 print issues and the 12 e-newsletters per year—are included in the price of AAJ section membership. Nonmembers can subscribe to the 6 print issues per year for:
- 1 Year — $150
- 2 Year — $360
- 3 Year — $250
Contact us at (800) 727-5056 or trial@justice.org with inquiries.
Digital Edition
The digital edition of Trial is identical to the print version—complete with graphics, art, and advertising—with several special electronic features, including:
- Live links to URLs and email addresses in ads and editorial text, including article footnotes.
- Digital archive from March 2011.
- Keyword search capability in single issue or across all digital issues in the archive.
- Easy mouse-click navigation.
- AAJ members should login to access digital Trial from their Dashboard.
2021-2022 Trial Themes
2022
January
From Intake to Settlement
Submissions due: 8/6/2021
February
Transportation
Submissions due: 9/7/2021
March
The Business of Law/Running a Firm
Submissions due: 10/4/2021
April
Jury Bias & Damages
Submissions due: 10/29/2021
May
Drugs & Devices
Submissions due: 12/3/2021
June
Professional Negligence (Medical Negligence & Nursing Homes)
Submissions due: 1/5/2022
July
Evidence & Discovery
Submissions due: 2/4/2022
August
Protecting Workers & Children
Submissions due: 3/4/2022
September
Civil Rights
Submissions due: 4/4/2022
October
Technology
Submissions due: 5/6/2022
November
Products Liability
Submissions due: 6/3/2022
December
Holding Corporations Accountable
Submissions due: 7/1/2022
2021
January
AAJ’s 75th Anniversary
Submissions due: 8/3/20
February
Professional Negligence/Medical Negligence
Submissions due: 9/3/20
March
The Agile Lawyer (Business of Law)
Submissions due: 10/5/20
April
Transportation
Submissions due: 10/30/20
May
Drugs & Devices
Submissions due: 12/7/20
June
Discovery & Depositions
Submissions due: 1/5/21
July
Holding Corporations Accountable
Submissions due: 2/4/21
August
Technology
Submissions due: 3/5/21
September
Protecting Workers/Employment
Submissions due: 4/9/21
October
Civil Rights
Submissions due: 5/7/21
November
Products Liability
Submissions due: 6/7/21
December
AAJ's 75th Anniversary
Submissions due: 7/2/21
Permission to Reprint, Post, or Distribute Articles
AAJ holds copyright on articles published in Trial unless otherwise indicated in the author's biography. To obtain permission to reprint, post online, or distribute paper or electronic copies of an AAJ-copyrighted article, call, fax, or write the editorial offices. Provide the article title, author, and date of issue, and explain how you intend to use the article. We will respond in writing with permission and a credit line. If the author holds copyright, we will provide a mailing address on request. If another publisher holds copyright, contact the publisher.
Ordering Copies of Articles and Back Issues
To order copies of articles that have appeared in Trial, call (800)727-5056, and give the issue, article title, and author. You can also make your request by email at trial@justice.org. A limited number of current and past issues are available online to association members.
To order a back issue, call (800)727-5056. Back issues are $30 for each issue. You can also place your back-issues order by email at trial@justice.org.
Contact Information
Mailing Address
Trial and Law Reporters
777 6th St., N.W., Suite 200
Washington, D.C. 20001-3703
Phone/Fax
Phone: (800) 727-5056
Fax: (202) 965-0030
Trial: trial@justice.org
Products Liability Law Reporter: law.reporter@justice.org
Professional Negligence Law Reporter: law.reporter@justice.org
Staff
Jennifer Adams, Editor, ext. 2813, jennifer.adams@justice.org
Alyssa E. Lambert, Managing Editor, Trial, ext. 2836, alyssa.lambert@justice.org
Christine Mollenauer, Managing Editor, Law Reporters, ext. 3509, christine.mollenauer@justice.org
Kate Halloran, Senior Associate Editor, ext. 3504, kate.halloran@justice.org
Maureen Leddy, Associate Editor, ext. 2875, maureen.leddy@justice.org
Christine (Tina) Lorin, Online Content and Data Manager, ext. 3505, christine.lorin@justice.org
Submission Guidelines
Submissions
Trial articles
Published Trial articles must conform to article submission guidelines. Submissions should be sent to the editorial offices for consideration, or email trial@justice.org.
All submissions are acknowledged on receipt. They are reviewed by the editors and then submitted for peer review by attorneys or experts in the relevant field. The review process usually takes three to four weeks. If an article is accepted, it is typically published two to three months later.
Each month, Trial focuses on a specific theme, like products liability, medical negligence, or employment law. The themes and submission dates are listed in our current editorial calendar.
Books
Trial does not accept unsolicited book reviews. Book publishers may send press releases and review copies of new books to Trial’s editorial offices (link to Editorial Offices section above). Please send only books that have been in print less than six months and first editions. Trial does not review books by vanity presses or self-publishers.
Verdicts & Settlements
Verdicts and settlements can be submitted and evaluated for possible inclusion in Products Liability Law Reporter or Professional Negligence Law Reporter, or Trial’s Verdicts & Settlements section. By submitting your case to AAJ, you are certifying that the information provided is not subject to a secrecy order or a confidentiality agreement. Submit your case by emailing law.reporter@justice.org
Writing Style
Articles should be brief and to the point. Emphasize the practical, not the esoteric. As much as possible, keep sentences and paragraphs short and in plain English, avoiding legal, scientific, and technical jargon.
Try to express your ideas conversationally. Write in the active rather than the passive voice; avoid trite metaphors and clichés; and, when possible, write from personal experience. Use subheads where they would help organize subject matter.
Content
Trial has a national readership, and authors should tailor their articles accordingly. When possible, avoid citing authority from just one jurisdiction. Often, this can be done by noting that a legal theory or holding that you are discussing follows the majority or minority rule on a particular legal topic, citing authority from several jurisdictions to support your proposition.
Use gender-neutral language. Use “he or she,” and “his and her” when necessary, but cast sentences in the plural when possible to avoid these somewhat awkward constructions. If a gender-neutral term is available, use it.
Peer Review
All articles submitted to Trial are subject to peer review and must pass peer review to be cleared for editing and publication. The process typically takes between two and four weeks to complete. Neither the article’s author nor the peer reviewers know the other’s identities.
Editing
Trial aims for readability, as well as accuracy. All articles accepted for publication are checked for accuracy and edited for style and clarity. Edited drafts are sent back to authors for their approval before publication.
Length
Articles should range from 1,400 to 2,500 words (from 5 to 9 double-spaced typed pages). Sidebars or symposium pieces are shorter.
Endnotes
Please keep endnotes to a minimum—most Trial articles have around 20 endnotes. They should be compiled at the end of the article, not at the bottom of each page of text. Legal references should follow the ALWD Citation Manual (Fifth Edition), Association of Legal Writing Directors, including using authors’ first names. It is substantially similar to the Bluebook Uniform System of Citation, and more information is available at www.alwd.org. The main exceptions are that Trial does not use all caps for law and other scholarly journals and cites to the West reporters only. Do not include parallel citations to state reporters.
Biographical Sketch
Please submit only your name, occupation/firm position, firm name, city, state, and (if desired) an email address.
Submissions to Other Publications
Please do not submit any article that is under consideration by another publication or has been published previously. Content must be original.
Policy for Authors
Authors must be free from pending disciplinary action in which the public finding of probable cause, or other similar finding, has been made. Articles by authors who have been disciplined will not be selected for publication except for good cause.