James L. Clayton
Center for Entrepreneurial Law

Generally, articles submitted to the journal should be practical discussions of legal business matters applicable to situations that practitioners may expect to face in the practice of transactional law. This is not to discourage theoretically oriented articles on general legal issues, although articles with some practical application are preferred. Articles may be based on recent case or legislative developments, developments in transactional practice, or problem solving through the use of hypotheticals. Include examples to clarify points. When appropriate, include planning and drafting tips and note pitfalls and “traps for the unwary” to avoid. Sample provisions, tables checklists, and annotated forms are especially effective. One possible organizational structure is:

 

1.	Give the situation first. Describe the context in which the development arises and relate it to practice in that field.
2.	Briefly summarize what lawyers have been doing up to now in this context.
3.	Describe the development.
4.	Explain how this will change what lawyers in this field are doing. Be as specific as possible. What is the upshot? Which of the lawyer’s routines or documents should he or she revise because of this development? How?
5.	Avoid mere recitation of what a statute provides or a new case holds. Since much of legal practice is based on cases, statutes, regulations, and rules, you should summarize applicable legal principles when they are appropriate to the discussion. Whenever you state a legal principle, rule of law, or similar treatment, cite authority in support of it. This will lead to precision and will speed up the editorial process. Ethical, social and economic considerations should be addressed when appropriate.

Format:

Articles should generally be between 20 and 25 pages, double-spaced, with one-inch margins all around, although longer or shorter articles will also be considered. Please use citational footnotes, but avoid the use of lengthy textual footnotes on tangential matters. Please include a separate paragraph with biographical data, including author’s name, position in firm or institution, name of institution (firm, school, etc.) law school degree and year. Please use plain English and avoid legal jargon.

Review for publication:

Transactions will not review for publication articles that are under consideration or have been published elsewhere. By seeking consideration for publication, authors are affirmatively representing that their articles are not under consideration by other publications and have not been previously published. Articles submitted will be reviewed for content and style appropriate for Transactions. You will be notified within approximately 30 days of submission if your article has been accepted for publication. If accepted for publication, authors must assign all rights, including copyright, to the article to Transactions.

Editing:

The Transactions staff will edit all articles approved for publication. Transactions will have complete control over the content and form. An editor will contact you regarding any potential editorial changes to seek your comments and approval prior to publication.

Submission procedure:

Articles should be printed on 8 ½” by 11” paper and accompanied by a copy on computer disk. We can accept documents in either Word or WordPerfect format; please note the format on the disk label. Please mail your submission to:

   Tennessee Journal of Business Law
   University of Tennessee College of Law
   1505 W. Cumberland Ave. Room 245
   Knoxville, TN 37996-1810

Articles may also be submitted as an attachment to an e-mail message. In your e-mail message, please note the format used for the article. Our e-mail address is: transact@justice.law.utk.edu.