Memorandum for Authors

Legal Journal Articles: The following applies to articles submitted to the SC Lawyer.  All other parts of the magazine, such as the cover, will be the responsibility of the SC Bar’s Director of Communications.

SC Lawyer strives to present practical and informative material that is of interest to a broad range of South Carolina Bar members. Articles may focus on recent changes in the law; the effects of cases and rulings about which members of the Bar need to be informed; ethical considerations; quality of life issues; and law practice management. Practical "how to" articles are also encouraged.

The Editorial Board will consider one-page features, short satirical pieces and other unique proposals on a case-by-case basis. Additionally, the magazine encourages pro/con articles by two or more authors who take opposing views on important law-related issues. The magazine may also publish on occasion reprints from other periodicals at the discretion of the Editorial Board and the Communications Director of the SC Bar. For consideration of opinion pieces, please see number 5 below. As a general proposition, SC Lawyer does not publish the following, but submissions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

• reviews of books, software or products of any kind;
• poetry or fiction;
• cartoons;
• humorous pieces without a substantive focus;
• speeches, reminiscences or memoirs;
• articles that focus on pending legislation until the legislation has passed; or
• columns on any particular area of the law or ex officio columns. The only exceptions are columns on legal writing (The Scrivener), legal ethics and DEI (Ethics Watch) and evidence and trial procedure (Beyond the Bar), technology (Bar Bytes), and the Lawyers Helping Lawyers and Palmetto Pro Bono columns, which the editors believe are relevant to all lawyers.

All submissions are subject to the approval of the Editorial Board and the Communications Director of the SC Bar, and the Editorial Board reserves the right to edit all articles, and to use or change the title and/or subtitle of all articles; however, when possible, copies of the edited article will be sent to the author(s) for final review.

Any changes in editorial policy will be made at the discretion of the Editorial Board of SC Lawyer, with approval of the SC Bar’s Board of Governors.

If SC Lawyer votes to accept an article, either a member of the Editorial Board member or the Communications Director will let the author(s) know. After voting to accept an article, the Editorial Board then begins the process of "slotting" it into the SC Lawyer’s publication calendar. Voting by the Editorial Board requires a voice or written vote. A simple majority of voting members carries. At least five members must vote, to include the Editor-in-Chief. 

SC Lawyer articles must be written (or at least co-authored) by a South Carolina Bar member or a current law professor. Only one submission from an individual author will be published per year except for authors writing regularly for The Scrivener, Ethics Watch, Beyond the Bar, Bar Bytes, or the Lawyers Helping Lawyers and Palmetto Pro Bono columns.

Articles should be submitted via email in Word format. Word count should not exceed 3,000 words.

Viewpoints or Letters to the Editor, as discussed in 5. Opinion Pieces, should be 600 words or less.

Articles may be submitted to articles@scbar.org or to any of the editors listed in the magazine.

SC Lawyer may publish brief opinion pieces as either Letters to the Editor or “Viewpoints”. The purpose of such a forum is for the expression of ideas on the law, the legal profession, and the administration of justice. The pieces shall contain disclaimer language such as “The statements and opinions expressed are those of the authors, and no endorsement of these views by the SC Bar should be inferred.” In drafting opinion pieces, authors should keep the following guidelines in mind:

• Articles should contribute in a positive way to the profession. When criticism is voiced, suggestions for reform should also be included. When advocating a position, the author should address valid arguments on the other side.
• Articles will be written consistent with civility and as otherwise required by the South Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct and the SC Bar Standards of Professionalism.
• Criticism should be presented with restraint and good taste and should focus on the issues rather than on individuals.
• Analysis, opinion, and criticism of the present state of the law should be supported by sufficient legal authority to enable the reader to assess the validity of the opinion. Citations should be provided where appropriate.

SC Lawyer is mindful of the publication’s role in promoting civility and professionalism and reserves the right to accept or reject any opinion piece just like any other article. Submissions that include personal attacks, contain language that may be deemed defamatory, or are inconsistent with the objectives of the SC Bar will not be published. Further, the magazine will reject articles that are poorly written, denigrate the legal profession, relate to partisan politics, advocate or oppose a particular candidate for a political office or judicial seat, promote a specific business or type of business, or otherwise violate ethical standards. As the SC Lawyer is a publication of the SC Bar, all articles and other pieces should be consistent with the mission, objectives and strategic plan of the SC Bar.

Articles should be written in a straightforward manner and should aim to present practical information in a clear and readable manner. The style should be as non-technical as possible and "legalese" should be avoided. Humor is welcome where appropriate and examples that illustrate a point are usually helpful. Articles should be written for the average lawyer who is looking for usable information that is not difficult or time-consuming to read.

The scope of an article should be narrow for a clear focus. For example, an article on real estate practice management is too broad in scope, while an article on the use of computers in preparing residential sales contracts is well focused. Introductions that advise the reader of the importance and relevance of articles are encouraged. Short paragraphs and sentences are preferred. It is suggested that short subheads be used to break the copy in longer articles. Articles should not be written in outline form, however. Examples and lists can be useful. When an article includes tables, charts or forms, these should not be included within the body of the article but should be submitted on separate sheets.

Except when referring to a specific individual, articles should be gender neutral whenever possible. Articles should also be written in the third person, except when the author is relating a personal experience relevant to the subject of an article.

SC Lawyer uses endnotes with articles. Only citations should be included in the endnotes, which must fit into the 3,000 maximum word count for articles.

All articles are edited by the South Carolina Bar's Communications Division according to the AP Stylebook.

SC Lawyer authors will receive bylines at the beginning of articles and credit lines at the end. The credit line will include the author's name; title; firm, company or school; city; and state if outside South Carolina. No biographical sketches will be included.

When more than one person has written an article, please designate one person who should be contacted about editorial changes.

It is important that each author disclose any relationship he or she may have with the firm, company or person producing any product or providing any service referred to in the article. The author should make full disclosure even when the relevance seems remote. Full disclosure will allow the editors to judge the objectivity of the author, to determine whether a real or apparent conflict of interest exists, and to determine whether disclosure should be made in publishing an article.

It is the policy of SC Lawyer that on all submissions of original articles the author assign their copyright in the work to the South Carolina Bar. Publisher may reprint, or authorize other entities to reprint, the material as deemed appropriate. The publisher has the right to authorize the reproduction, adaptation, public distribution and public display of the article as a contribution to South Carolina Lawyer in electronic media, computerized retrieval systems and similar forms; such authorization includes use of the article anywhere in the world by means of public display, conversion to machine readable form and reproduction and distribution of copies.

The South Carolina Bar is not required to secure the consent of the author before exercising the above named rights. In addition, the Bar has no duty or responsibility to negotiate, collect or distribute any royalties in connection therewith.

Any article published in SC Lawyer must be an original work of the author. By submission of an article to SC Lawyer, the author warrants and represents that he or she has included no material in the article in violation of any rights of any other person or entity and that he or she has disclosed to SC Lawyer all relationships with any person or entity producing any product or providing any service referred to in the article.

If an article is submitted or accepted for publication elsewhere before acceptance by SC Lawyer, the author agrees to notify the appropriate articles editor immediately.

SC Lawyer reserves the right to change the title of any article accepted for publication and to edit the text of the article. Whenever possible, copies of edited articles will be sent to authors for comment. Articles may be sent for review to persons who are not members of the Editorial Board but who are considered experts on the subject matter of the article.

SC Lawyer does not return manuscripts. The author should keep the original and submit the article via email to articles@scbar.org.

SC Lawyer does not usually pay for articles. Each author will be sent five complimentary copies of the issue in which the author's article appears.

Reprint requests, including exact material to be reproduced as well as purpose of reprint, must be received in writing. Contact Communications Director Sarah Justice at sarah.justice@scbar.org with your request. Attribution must be made to SC Lawyer.

No single member of the Editorial Board or the Bar staff has the authority to commit to the publication of any article, even when the article has been specifically solicited by a member of the Board. All publication decisions will be made by the Editorial Board acting as a group. Articles will be scheduled for publication at the discretion of the Managing Editor in consultation with the Editor and the Board. If publication is particularly relevant to a certain date or time frame, the author should inform the editors of this relevance.

By permitting the publication of an article in SC Lawyer, the author agrees to all the terms, provisions and policies stated in this Memorandum for Authors.

Authors may receive two hours MCLE credit for writing a magazine article that is at least 2,000 words. To apply for credit, send a copy of the article with a cover letter stating the word count and whether or not there was a co-author to the Commission on CLE at P.O. Box 2138, Columbia, SC 29201.