Article I: PURPOSE

The Michigan State Journal of Gender Law (The Journal) is an independent, student-run organization. The Journal's primary mission is to foster exchange and is published twice a year--in November and April. The primary purpose of The Journal is to provide insight into women's issues affecting the legal community through legal analysis and other types of publications such as: articles, personal narratives, and poetry. In furthering this purpose, The Journal accepts submissions written by active members of the legal community, faculty of established law schools, and other members of the legal profession. The Journal also accepts selected submissions from its Editorial Board and associates. The Journal also accepts student-written contributions and other submissions as it sees fit. The Journal anticipates a wide scope of topics on women's and gender issues such as equity in the work force, family and career balance, gender discrimination, laws affecting gender, and any other topic focusing on the intersection of gender and society.

The scope of The Journal is to encourage a medium for exchange of contrasting views regarding a wide spectrum of contemporary gender issues. Deciding on a focus for this particular journal was a difficult but enlightening adventure. Because of an abundance of possible topics potentially encompassed in a women's legal journal, the idea for a Journal as a means of expression and discussion seemed the best way to strengthen a cross roads among the sexes. Specifically, this will be a unique, experimental on-line journal geared toward women in the legal community, but entertain opinions from men as well as women.

This journal is unique because it acts not only as a journal but also as a place of reference for any beginning research on women's legal issues. The site provides links to all other journals of similar interest. In addition, in the future this journal will expand with the needs of its users, and, in time, will take advantage of modern technology and contain on-line discussions, monthly updates, and other sources as the site grows in recognition.

Another goal pertaining to the members of The Journal is to improve each staff member's research, writing, and web design skills, as well as knowledge of women's and gender issues in modern legal society. The Journal completes this objective by assigning all members production work, cite-checking assignments, research assignments, web updating assignments, and the responsibility of soliciting outside authors.

A. General

The Journal will hold a write-on competition in the summer semester of each academic year. The Editorial Board has the discretion to hold additional write-on competitions. To be eligible for the write-on competitions, students must meet the requirements of III(A).

B. Topics

Topics for the write-on competition shall be researched and assembled by the Editorial Board.

1. Competition Orientation:
An orientation meeting will be held in the spring semester for The Journal write-on competition. At this meeting the structure of the competition will be thoroughly explained and the names, student numbers, e-mail addresses, and summer addresses of potential candidates for write-on will be obtained.
2. Distribution of write-on materials:
The names and student numbers of potential candidates will be submitted to the registrar prior to spring exams. Approved candidates will be mailed their write-on packets to their indicated summer addresses. Deadlines, guidelines, and mail-back procedures will be reiterated in the packets. The packet will contain:

a. All materials related to the chosen topic, as chosen by the Editorial Board;
b. Bluebook test
c. Instructions and deadlines for the competition
d. Any other materials the board chooses to include

C. Deadlines and Drafts

The Editorial Board shall set deadlines for submissions. This deadline shall be made known to each student who participates in the competition at the time the student registers for the topic. The final draft will be due by 5:00 PM on the respective due date as indicated in the packet.

D. Content of Write-On Paper

The submission shall be due three weeks after the competition begins, and shall consist only of research provided in the packet. The paper shall consist of at least ten pages but no more than fifteen, double spaced pages, and at least thirty footnotes. All margins must be one inch and all documents must be in Microsoft Word format. Font shall be Times New Roman and 12 point size.

E. Grading Criteria

Each submission shall be evaluated in accordance with certain criteria (see evaluation sheet provided in write-on packet). These are: substance, organization, writing style, grammar, and analysis of research, including the presence of the required footnotes, proper Bluebook form, and proper headings and titles.

F. Publication

Publication will be decided on by the Editorial Board based on the criteria in Article IV-Publication; subsection (1) of this manual.

G. Membership Determinations

The Editorial Board will determine membership based on the write-on competition. All decisions of the Editorial Board are final.

A. Class Status

A student becomes eligible for membership on The Journal upon completion of 29 credit hours, entering his or her third or fourth semester (day student) or fourth or fifth semester (evening student). Students must also have successfully completed RWA I. and II. or their equivalent. The membership shall not be denied on the basis of age, color, disabled status, gender, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, or weight.

B. GPA Requirements

A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 must be maintained by all members. The 2.0 minimum requirement will be verified by the Registrars Office for potential write-on candidates.

C. Participation in Other Organizations

Journal members are not prohibited from participating in any other school activities or organizations except members are prohibited from being a member of another school-sponsored publication.

D. Workshops

Members are required to attend cite checking, production, and web workshops unless an absence is approved by the Editor-in-chief.

E. Write-on Requirements

A student is responsible for submitting the initial write-on competition submission to The Journal. In addition, members may submit additional submissions for consideration of publication.

F. Assignments

Cite-checking assignments will be distributed each semester. Members are required to undertake each assignment in a responsible manner.

• Footnotes shall be checked to conform to proper Bluebook citation; the correlating Bluebook rule must be placed next to each footnote or endnote. Quotations in the submission shall be compared with the language of the original document to ensure that the wording in the submission is exactly as it appears in the original document.
• Photocopy of quotations from the original documents (if available otherwise Westlaw and Lexis printouts are sufficient) must be turned in to the Editorial Board with the assignment and must be highlighted.
• The submission shall be read in its entirety by each member assigned to it to be certain that it contains no grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors. Failure to properly complete a cite- checking assignment by the specified due date will result in disciplinarian measures taken against the member.
• In addition, web assignments will be given where each member will be asked to format submissions and update certain parts of the web site.

G. Participation

All staff members are required to participate in the following:

1. Perform cite-checking assignments and attend cite-checking workshops
2. Perform production assignments and attend production workshops
3. Perform web assignments and attend web workshops
4. Serve on a committee
5. Meet all deadlines promptly
6. Attend staff meetings
7. Attend journal events when applicable

H. Editorial Board Participation

Requirements for Editorial Board Members include those stated above and individual duties set forth in Article XI, Duties of Editorial Board.

I. Committee Service

All members must serve on at least one committee per semester. The Editorial Board will serve as Heads of Committees. All members must either serve as a Head or a Member. Each committee member must complete all assigned duties as requested by the Committee Head. The committees shall meet on a regular basis, which is determined by the bulk of work that needs to be accomplished. Each committee shall report its progress at each regular staff meeting.

A. Evaluation

1. All submissions will be evaluated by the Editorial Board prior to publication. Approval of the submission will be based on substance, organization, writing style, grammar, Bluebook form, and thoroughness of research.
2. The Editorial Board will determine which writings will be published. Writings will be deemed publishable based on the above-mentioned criteria and the recommendations of the Expert Readers.
3. No writings are guaranteed publication, and the Editorial Board reserves the right to remove an submission from publication at any time for failure to comply with the requirements. A submission that is denied publication is not precluded from eligibility for publication in subsequent issues of The Journal.
4. One topic may be published from each write-on competition. The criteria will be based on the Editorial Board's evaluation. The Editorial Board will consider each write-on submission anonymously when making its decision.
   

Article V: COURSE CREDIT

There will be no course credit given at this time for being a member of The Journal. This may be changed in the future.

Article VI: DISCIPLINARY ACTION AND APPEALS

A. Termination of any member for failure to meet deadlines or turning in substandard work.

1. First Warning: If a member misses one writing or production deadline without requesting an extension in a timely manner, or turns in an incomplete assignment pursuant to the assignment guidelines, or fails to meet a committee deadline the Editorial Board shall warn the member (orally and by written notification) of the risk of termination.
2. Second Warning: Any member who misses a second deadline shall be placed on probation for the remainder of the school term, effective immediately, upon receipt of written notice to file. Written warning shall be copied to the Faculty Advisor, Associate Dean of Student Affairs, and the Dean of Students.
3. Termination: A probationary member who misses a deadline or submits an incomplete production assignment shall be terminated from The Journal.

B. Termination for cause

The Editorial Board may, by a majority vote, terminate any member for just cause. This may include, but is not limited to:

1. Failure to meet two deadlines without requesting an extension in a timely matter;
2. Flagrant and irresponsible disregard for writing production or editorial duties;
3. Abuse of journal privileges;
4. Failure to participate in events for which the member has accepted responsibility;
5. Repeated sub-standard work;
6. Excessive tardiness in attending meetings and fulfilling deadlines;
7. Acts which would be construed as violent, hostile, or defamatory.

C. Procedure for removal of a member

1. Any Editorial Board member shall present the written recommendation for termination to the Editorial Board for investigation and vote. Any Board Member who is a party to the action will not be entitled to vote in any proceeding regarding this dispute.
2. A member recommended for termination may, within 7 days of receiving notice of pending termination, submit any relevant information for the Editorial Board's consideration.
3. If majority of the Editorial Board votes for the termination, the member shall be notified and then has 7 days for which to submit a written notice of appeal to the Editorial Board.
4. If appeal is granted, the Editor-in-Chief will schedule a hearing for the member in front of the entire Editorial Board.
5. The decision of the Editorial Board shall be final if no timely appeal is submitted or unless overruled by subsequent hearing.
   

A. Choosing a Faculty Advisor

1. Selection/Removal: The decision to select/remove a particular faculty member as a Faculty Advisor is to be made by the Editorial Board. Once the decision has been made, it shall be presented to all members at the next regular meeting so the majority can vote on it.
2. Eligible persons: The Faculty Advisor must be a tenured or associate member of the faculty of MSU College of Law.
3. Responsibilities: The Faculty Advisor shall act as the final arbiter in any disputes between journal members that cannot be reasonably resolved without the advisor's aid. A meeting shall be scheduled with the advisor to discuss the problem. The attendance of all involved parties is mandatory. The advisor shall be presented with all sides of the issue and shall make a decision accordingly. This decision must be reported to the Editorial Board of The Journal within 1 week of the hearing and must be in writing.

B. Duties of a Faculty Advisor

Duties of Faculty Advisory shall include, but are not limited too:

1. Serving as resource for Journal Members;
2. Attending and participating in the Advisory Board Meeting, which is held annually;

C. Vacancy

1. A Faculty Advisor shall be asked each term if he or she would like to continue as the Faculty Advisor.
2. A Faculty Advisor shall be selected by a majority vote of the entire Editorial Board, should the Faculty Advisor choose not to continue.

Article VIII: CONDUCT OF MEETINGS

A. Board Meeting

Meetings shall be held every other week during the semester.

1. Meetings shall be held bi-weekly throughout the semester.
2. Twenty-four hours prior to a meeting, the Editorial Board is responsible for informing the members as to their progress concerning projects, assignments and other business that the Editor intends to speak about at the meeting. This shall be done through an e-mail to each Board Member.
3. The Editor-In-Chief shall conduct each meeting.
4. Each Board Member is required and expected to conduct him or herself in a professional manner.
5. Attendance is mandatory unless excused by the Editor-in-Chief
6. Notice of all meetings shall be given at least one week in advance.

B. Staff Meetings

1. Meetings shall be conducted at least once a month during the semester.
2. All members are required and expected to conduct themselves professionally.
3. The Editor-in-Chief shall conduct staff Meetings.
4. Staff Meetings are mandatory and attendance will be excused if the Editor-in-Chief consents to the absence.
5. If a member misses two meetings in one semester, the member shall be subjected to disciplinary steps set forth in Article VI.
6. Notice of all meetings shall be given one week in advance via e-mail.

C. Committee Members

1. Each Managing Editor will oversee a committee. The committee is expected to undertake the project as a whole and work as a team to complete the project.
2. Each committee member will receive notice at least one week in advance via e-mail of the committee meetings.

D. Special Meetings

1. A Special Meeting can be called by any Board Member to address an important issue that must be dealt with before the next regularly scheduled meeting.
2. These meetings are mandatory unless excused by the Editor-in-Chief.

E. Conduct of Business at Meetings

Business will be conducted only if a majority of the members are present.

A. Power of Amendment

The Journal of Women in Legal Society shall have the power to amend any Article set forth in its bylaws.

B. Procedure

1. Notice of a Special Meeting, setting forth a proposed Amendment, or a summary of the changes to be affected thereby shall be given to all members via e-mail.
2. At the meeting a vote shall be taken on the proposed Amendment. The proposed Amendment shall be adopted upon receipt of a majority vote.

C. Voting

A vote may be cast either orally or in writing, and each member is entitled to only one vote. The member must be fully advised of the Amendment to vote.

D. Written Votes

1. A member may cast his or her vote in writing prior to the date of the Special Meeting by depositing a sealed envelope with the Editor-in-Chief containing a dated writing indicating assent or dissent to the proposed Amendment.
2. The Editor-in-Chief shall refrain from opening the sealed envelope until the present members are in the process of casting their votes at the Special Meeting.

E. Execution of Amendments

All proposed Amendments that receive a majority of votes at the Special Meeting would become effective immediately upon adjournment of the Special Meeting. Effective Amendments must be added to the bylaws within two weeks following the Special Meeting and revised copies must be made available to the members.

Article X: EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor of Publication, Managing Editor of Outside Submissions, Managing Editor of Business, Managing Editor of Events, Assistant Editor of Publication of Outside Submissions, Assistant Editor of Business and Outside Events

A. Scholarships may be made available to certain positions in the future.
B. Elections:

1. Elections will be held in the month of February.
2. Each member will receive one vote regardless of status.
3. In the event of a tie, the tiebreaker will be determined by a vote of the Editorial Board only.
4. Eligibility/procedure:
   1. A staff member in good standing is eligible to run for an Editorial position.
   2. Any person interested in running for a Board position shall notify the Board of their interest in writing and shall give a speech at the Staff Meeting one month before the election.

C. Term Served

1. Any member may run for any position that is open.
2. All Editorial Board positions are tenured.
3. The term of the incoming Editorial Board will begin on the day after the date of the last final exam of spring semester.

D. Transition

To facilitate a smooth transition between Editorial Boards and to aid newly elected Editorial members, the outgoing Editorial Board shall provide training and orientation during the transition period between the election and the incoming Editorial Board's term.

A. Editor-in-Chief

The position of Editor-in-Chief requires full knowledge and understanding of The Journal's objectives and all of the duties of The Journal's Editorial and Staff members. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for overseeing all Journal activities and maintaining the goals set out in the bylaws. Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

1. Keeping in contact with The Journal's Faculty Advisor, Academic Dean, Assistant Dean, other faculty members and the student body when necessary;
2. Resolving all personnel matters;
3. Implementing The Journal's manual and bylaws;
4. Overseeing the selection of submissions for publication;
5. Verifying the eligibility of incoming Journal members and assisting in the write-on competition;
6. Preparing and delivering the agenda for Staff Meetings;
7. Maintaining a complete file of publication agreements executed by The Journal, along with Managing Editor of Outside Submissions and Publications;
8. Establishing annual budget during each spring semester;
9. Reviewing each set of page proofs and assembling and updating the introductory pages of The Journal;
10. Organizing and overseeing elections;
11. Reading and editing all Editor compilations and page proofs for accuracy;
12. Presenting new ideas for improved quality and efficiency of the production process in all aspects of The Journal; and
13. Selecting and providing research for the write-on competition, along with all members of the Editorial Board.

B. Managing Editor of Publication

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

1. Establishing a production schedule to ensure timely production of The Journal;
2. Ensuring that all submissions meet web standards and requirements
3. Updating website with any new submission voted on by the Board
4. Consistently tracking the progress of The Journal through its stages of publication;
5. Providing feedback to all Journal members to maintain high standards in production and writing assignments;
6. Organize a training session for all new members;
7. Coordinating, distributing, and compiling production assignments;
8. Reading and editing all page proofs of all submissions in each issue to ensure that the issue is free from error;
9. Generating new ideas to promote quality and efficiency of The Journal;
10. Keeping all members informed through memos;
11. Selecting the profiles to be featured in each issues and obtaining updated biographical information on the featured persons;
12. Providing the Managing Editor of outside submissions with each author's first page proofs so that they are sent to the outside author in a timely manner;
13. Preparing instructional packets to be distributed at the initial orientation meeting for new students;
14. Determining the write-on competition time table;
15. Editing first and second drafts after assigned editors are finished, writing brief notes to each author suggesting further research in specific areas;
16. Evaluating the editing of other Editors and providing constructive feedback;
17. Editing and recommending for publication; and
18. Devising a system at the beginning and end of each semester by which two to four members visit first and second semester (day) and third and fourth semester (evening) classes to inform them of The Journal's write-on competition and qualifications.

C. Managing Editor of Outside Submissions

After the Editorial Board decides on topics/issues for publication, this Editor must solicit submissions, book reviews, or other specialized information for the publication. It is the function of this Editor to obtain publishable material by actively soliciting authors to write about practical, current, and worthwhile subject matters. Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

1. Soliciting submissions from professors, lawyers, and other professionals, according to proposed themes, topics, or issues;
2. Approximately 4-6 submissions should be solicited per issue;
3. Submissions should be solicited in time to send them through a three month production cycle;
4. As soon as an agreement is reached with an outside author, a letter of confirmation should be sent; generally, letter of acceptance or rejection for unsolicited submissions, when appropriate, should be sent in a timely manner;
5. Request the appropriate materials from the author (diskette, biographic information, and hard to locate research), send the publication agreement, and send a copy of the author's first page proof;
6. Forwarding all submissions received by the Editor to the Editor-in-Chief with a recommendation of publication;
7. Primarily responsible for compilation of outside submissions and book reviews;
8. Maintaining and updating a file of potential writers;
9. Maintaining a file of all solicited writers and speakers;
10. Maintaining a separate file of the name, address, and telephone number and biographical information of each outside author for each journal issue so that this Editor can send the authors first proofs in a timely manner, and request that they be returned within 7-10 days;
11. Providing the Managing Editor of Publication with author addresses in order to send reprints.
12. Assisting Managing Editor of Publication with preparing submissions for web publication and updating website

D. Managing Editor of Business

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

1. Maintaining and updating statistics of all who visit The Journal's website;
2. Mailing thank-you letters to all participants, including donors;
3. Publicity to all potential subscribers;
4. Distributing production work, editing and compiling production submissions along with all other Editors;
5. Keeping and maintaining a calendar for distribution of all Journal activities;
6. Working closely with Managing Editor of Events to keep track of all event guests, invitees, and donors;
7. Working with Managing Editor of Publication to provide research for write-on competition;
8. Organizing table and workers for Activities Fair at the beginning of the school year;
9. Keeping and updating a copy of The Journal's budget, which will be reworked each year with the Editor-in-Chief; and
10. Keeping an account of The Journal's debits and credits as they pertain to each area in which funds have been allocated.

E. Managing Editor of Events

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

1. Advertising all events and organizing ticket sales of these events
2. Update website frequently as to content other than journal submissions
3. Contacting Alumni Relations Department and the Women's Lawyer's Association of Michigan well in advance in order to generate mailing labels;
4. In charge of printing any invitations to events;
5. Assigning staff members to label items and stamp the invitations;
6. Ensuring that programs for the events are printed;
7. Distributing materials for Board meetings, including the agenda, pens, and paper;
8. Maintaining a current file of potential authors/speakers;
9. Selecting the cases and research materials for the write-on competition with the assistance of the Business Editor

F. Assistant Editor of Publication of Outside Submissions

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

1. Assisting Managing Editor of Publication in distributing, coordinating, and compiling production assignments;
2. Assisting Managing Editor of Publication in entering page proof changes on diskette;
3. Assisting in research and compilation of packets for orientation and write-on competition;
4. Assisting in the production, cite-checking, and research workshops;
5. Maintaining and keeping track of production assignments and the production chart;
6. Making phone calls to Journal members when assignments are handed out; and
7. Assisting the Managing Editor of Outside Submissions with his or her various duties.

G. Assistant Editor of Business and Outside Events

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

1. Assisting Managing Editor of Business in updating and maintaining all Journal statistics pertaining to the website;
2. Assisting Managing Editor of Events with updates to the website;
3. Assisting in establishing and maintaining all business records;
4. Maintaining communication with the Managing Editor of Business;
5. Developing ideas and strategies for solicitation of corporate sponsorship;
6. Assisting Managing Editor of Events with his or her various duties;
7. Selecting the cases and research materials for write-on competition packet, with the assistance of the Business Editor.

H. Note and Comment Editors

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

1. Assisting Editor of Publication in facilitating cite-checking;
2. Organizing cite-checking groups and distributing cite-checking assignments to the staff;
3. Overseeing the proper compilation of the submission before it is submitted to the Publications Editor; and
4. Working with Assistant Editor of Publication and Outside Submissions to assist in troubleshooting.

ADOPTED: 2/19/03 LAST AMENDED: 2/19/03