Join the UC Davis Business Law Journal

The Business Law Journal is staffed exclusively by University of California-Davis (King Hall) law students. Journal leadership is drawn from returning second- and third-year students, while staff positions are open to students of all levels. The BLJ accepts submissions from scholars and businesspersons around the country.

Practice Areas

The Business Law Journal is organized around Practice Areas. Each Practice Area has one Senior Editor and several Staff Editors. The Senior Editor provides leadership to Staff Editors in order to ensure that relevant and high quality content is produced for that Practice Area. Work within each Practice area includes interviews and article editing. The BLJ currently supports six Practice Areas, and students are invited to contact the Journal’s Editor-in-Chief to propose additional Practice Areas to accommodate evolving areas of legal practice. Students interested in joining a specific Practice Area should contact that Practice Area’s Senior Editor directly. The current Practice Areas include:

• Commercial Law & Bankruptcy
• Employment & Labor
• Finance & Corporate Governance
• Legislative & Regulatory Affairs
• International Law
• Intellectual Property

Roles on the Business Law Journal

Editor-in-Chief

The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for developing the BLJ’s high level strategy and managing the execution of this strategy by working with the Senior Editors (both Practice Area and Functional), BLJ’s Faculty Advisor, and the King Hall administration. The Editor-in-Chief is also charged with maintaining high levels of student involvement and recruiting enthusiastic, motivated, and creative Senior Editors. This position is staffed by a returning student who has at least one year of BLJ experience. Minimum commitment: one academic year in this position.

Practice Area Editors

Practice Area Editors are the drivers of the Journal and have considerable autonomy. They are abreast of the evolving issues, big players, and important law in their Practice Area. They are responsible for visioning, leading, and managing the work of the Staff Editors. They are also involved in promoting the BLJ at practitioner events, bar association meetings, and the like. Practice Area Editors are typically returning students who have at least one year of BLJ experience as a Staff Editor, but enthusiastic new joiners are always welcome. Minimum commitment: one academic year in this position.

Staff Editors

Staff Editors work on a project basis. This means they can move between Practice Areas or do different types of work within a Practice Area as they desire. King Hall students of all levels (1Ls, 2Ls, 3Ls, and LLMs) are invited to join the BLJ as Staff Editors. Staff Editors work within one of the above Practice Areas and can participate in one or more of the following BLJ features:

• Interviews (conduct and edit interview with attorney, judge, professor, or business professional)
• Articles (edit and bluebook submitted articles OR submit an article for publication)
• Roundtable (help organize and conduct Roundtable sessions)
• Marketing (identify publication opportunities, network)
• Technology (maintain journal website, identify new functionality)

Staff Editor time commitments are flexible as the BLJ understands that many students have multiple demands on their time. Students interested in participating with the BLJ should contact either the Senior Editor of the Practice Area in which they are interested OR the Editor-in-Chief if they are unsure of what part of the BLJ would be the best fit for them.

Senior Articles Editors

The Journal also has two Senior Articles Editors that each oversee three of the Practice Areas. Each Senior Articles Editor works with an Articles Editor to ensure cooperation, learning, and consistency between the Practice Areas. Together they develop the best practices for content development and assist the Practice Area Editors in coaching Staff Editors through their work in articles, interviews, and marketing activities. Minimum commitment: one academic year in this position. The Senior Articles editors and Articles editors, with the Editor-in –Chief, comprise the Articles Selection Committee. The Committee reviews incoming articles on a rolling basis throughout the fall and spring semesters with the goal of finding articles for publication that bring to light interesting and edgy developments within the scope of each practice area. To submit an article for consideration in our next publication click here

Interview Editors

Our published interviews are a part of what makes the BLJ unique! The Senior Interview Editor is responsible for coordinating interviews with practitioners and academics by connecting interviewees with students interested in learning about different areas of expertise. The Interview Editor assists the Senior Interview Editor and together they coach staff editors in developing, conducting, and editing interviews for publication. These positions are generally filled by a returning student who participated in the Journal as a Staff Editor the previous year, but enthusiastic new joiners are always welcome. Minimum commitment: one academic year in these positions.

Managing Editors

Marketing Team:

The BLJ is also committed to increasing our involvement within the community and dedicates a separate area to marketing. With a motivated staff our marketing editor maintains relationships with practitioners and academics in the area of business law. The marketing team also heads up our annual business-law roundtable event at King Hall. This event is an amazing opportunity for business professionals, law practitioners and professors of business and law to come together to discuss a current topic affecting the intersection of business and law. This is also an opportunity for the U.C. Davis MBA and Law school to join forces and promote the importance of law and business working together. Our Marketing Team consists of a Marketing Director and a Marketing Editor who work together to bring the roundtable event to completion. These positions are generally filled by a returning student who participated in the Journal as a Staff Editor the previous year, but enthusiastic new joiners are always welcome. Minimum commitment: one academic year in these positions.

Publication Director:

The publication director oversees the publication process and ensures a smooth transition from our final edits to publication in electronic format. The Publication Director works closely with the Technology Editors to ensure transition. The Publications Director is also available to ensure that all articles are sent to both Lexis and Westlaw in a paginated and printable version. This position is filled by a returning student who participated in the Journal the previous year. Minimum commitment: one academic year in these positions.

Membership Director:

Student involvement is integral to the BLJ. Our Membership Director ensures that new and continuing students have the opportunities they need to become involved in meaningful ways with the journal. The Membership Director also coordinates and develops several events throughout the school year to nurture student involvement. These events include: Outlining and Exam Taking Tips Session; On Campus Interviews and Job Searching Panel Discussion; Bluebooking Workshop; and other various meetings and social events. A returning student who participated in the Journal the previous year fills this position. Minimum commitment: one academic year in these positions.

Technology Director:

The Senior Technology Director ensures that the BLJ’s content is delivered and organized in a clear manner and is responsible for identifying new functionality for the journal’s website. This positions are generally filled by a returning student who participated in the Journal as a Staff Editor the previous year, but enthusiastic new joiners are always welcome. Minimum commitment: one academic year in these positions.

Contact BLJ to Join

Please feel free to contact us about our structure, our mission, or with general questions about joining.