Dade Bar Bulletin Guidelines for Authors and Editors

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I.  Structure and Governance

II.  Substance of the DCBA Bulletin

III.  Duties of the Editorial Board

IV.  Article Form

V.  Publication

GUIDELINES FOR AUTHOR AND EDITORS

I.       Structure and Governance

A. The officers and Board of Directors of the Dade County Bar Association (DCBA) retain ultimate authority over the content of the DCBA Bulletin.

B. There will be an Editor-in-Chief of the Bulletin selected by the DCBA President. The Editor-in-Chief shall serve a one year term.

C. The DCBA Bulletin Editorial Board will be selected annually. Members of the Board will be chosen by the DCBA President and shall serve a one year term.

D.  The Editorial Board of the DCBA Bulletin is primarily an advisory and a quality-reviewing entity. The Editorial Board shall have ultimate authority to decide whether to publish any particular article.

E.  Whenever the Officers or Board of Directors of the DCBA considers or makes on any decision on any matter affecting the editorial policy or content of the DCBA Bulletin, the DCBA President shall notify the Editor-in-Chief of that consideration or decision.

F. All business transactions of the DCBA Bulletin (i.e. printing contract, advertising) shall be conducted by a party duly appointed by the DCBA to conduct such business.

II.       Substance of the Bulletin

A. Purpose and General Approach. The primary purpose of the DCBA Bulletin is to publish articles that educate and inform the DCBA membership. Analysis, opinion, and criticism of the present state of the law are also encouraged, but they should be clearly identified as the author’s. Such analysis should be reasonably thorough and accompanied by sufficient legal authority on all sides of an issue to enable the reader to assess the validity of the opinion. When Criticism is voiced, suggestions for reform should also be included. Criticism should be directed to issues rather than against individuals.

B. Quality and Style. The Editorial Board members approve articles for publication in the DCBA Bulletin only if they are of publishable quality. An article possesses “publishable quality” by combining various virtues of good legal writing, such as originality, significance of topic, clarity of discussion, practicality, thoroughness, organization and style. An article need not satisfy any set formula to be of publishable quality, and it is not publishable merely because it exhibits a single mark of excellence (e.g. novelty) in the extreme. Thus, even the form (i.e. the structure and style) of an article may add to or detract from its message; form is content and good style cannot be divorced from substance. Although the members of the Editorial Board recognize that publishable articles ordinarily will undergo some editing, authors should take care to edit and polish their articles before submitting them. Articles requiring substantial editing will be rejected or returned to the authors for revision.  

III.    Duties of Editorial Board

A.  Each Editorial Board member shall be responsible for attending all noticed board meetings.

B.  The DCBA Bulletin committee (Editorial Board) will be divided into subcommittees as follow:

         1. Judicial Profile Subcommittee
         2. DCBA (Senior Bar) Subcommittee
         3. DCBA YLS (Young Lawyers Section) Subcommittee
         4. Substantive Law Articles Subcommittee
         5. Affiliated Bar News and Announcements Subcommittee 
         6. Special Features Subcommittee
 
C.  Each Editorial Board member must comply with target dates for completion of assignments to insure timely publication of the DCBA Bulletin. All actions taken on behalf of the Bulletin by Editorial Board members must be done so with a view toward meeting the deadline schedule established by the DCBA and the Editor-in-Chief.

IV.    Article From

A. Articles and columns shall be typed for printing on letter-sized paper (8 ½” by 11”) and shall be double-spaced with one-inch margins.

B. Articles and columns shall be submitted electronically in Word or Word Perfect format either via E-mail or on CD (Compact Disc).

C. Any photograph submissions shall be provided electronically via E-mail or CD (Compact Disc) in PDF or TIF format.

D. Citations should be consistent with the current edition of a Uniform System of Citation (the “Blue Book”), except as modified in rule 9.800 of the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure.

E. The page limit for DCBA Bulletin Judicial Profiles and lead articles is six pages.

 
V. Publication

A. The DCBA Bulletin shall be published on a monthly basis.

B. The DCBA Bulletin shall be mailed directly to each member of the DCBA.

July 2008