A Community of Writers, Readers, and Editors

Anniversaries and milestones prompt reflection. This academic year is my twentieth year as a member of the faculty of Mercer University, where I started as a tenure-track assistant professor of law. This year is my fifth year serving as Dean of Mercer University School of Law, and this year also marks five years since I concluded my service as an editorial board member of Legal Writing: The Journal of the Legal Writing Institute. My connection with the Journal predates my ten years of board service. And my connection with the Journal continues to this day.

Teaching, scholarship, and service are intertwined. For me, the Journal offered opportunities that informed and continue to inform my professional journey in both ways I anticipated and ways I did not. My relationship with the Journal started as reader. The Journal, both the current issue and the past issues, provided content and context. I was ready to transition from reader to editor to become more involved with the Journal. I wanted to more directly support the Journal’s work. That is why I became an editor.

I served as an Assistant Editor for volumes 14 through 17, from 2008 to 2011. Performing technical edits as part of a team drew upon my experiences as a member of the law review during my student days. I learned to balance the mechanics of editing with respect for the author’s vision. I applied for and became a member of the Editorial Board in 2012. After several years as a member of the Editorial Board, I sought to expand my service. For volume 19 in 2014 and volume 20 in 2015, I served as Co-Managing Editor. I became Assistant Editor in Chief for volume 21 in 2016. I then served as Editor in Chief for volume 22 in 2018 and Co-Editor in Chief for volume 23 in 2019.

During my service, we celebrated the founding of the Journal. Volume 22 included notes from past Editors in Chief that reflected upon their contributions and accomplishments. The milestone allowed us to reflect on the words of Professor Chris Rideout, the Journal’s first Editor in Chief, in the Issue 1 Foreword. Professor Rideout posed four questions in his Foreword: (1) what is legal writing; (2) how is legal writing read and written; (3) what broader issues exist for legal writing; and (4) how should legal writing be taught.^[1] Whether those exact questions were recited or not, it was those questions prompted the development and expansion of the Journal.

When I first became involved with the Journal, I was not expecting it to have such a lasting impact on my own professional journey. My initial goal was strategic. I strove to gather experiences that would advance my own career as I progressed toward tenure. I wanted to work with meaningful scholarship, inspirational scholars, and thoughtful editors. To do so would enhance my own understanding of my work and identify perspectives on what I might offer my own contributions.

Through my work with the Journal, I benefited more than I thought I would. The benefit was more than one article, one volume, or one role. I vaguely remember the crunch of deadlines, which always seemed to overlap with other pressing demands. But I remember vividly the camaraderie. We were joined in a shared endeavor that would benefit both individuals and the entire discipline. Each article selection and footnote edit would outlast any one individual to form part of the community conversation. The exasperation felt from delays in the editing and publication process is now lost in the laughter from fellow editors. The work also taught me about tolerance for change.

Navigating change is difficult. At the biennial conferences of the Legal Writing Institute, editorial board members would meet to discuss challenges and unexpected opportunities. We discussed managing volunteers, cultivating new authors, and expanding readership. We also discussed a fundamental shift in publishing, as one of those opportunities was conversion to a digital-exclusive publication. I, along with several other editorial board members, participated in a planning retreat at Suffolk Law School in Boston, Massachusetts. The discussions were varied. They included practical considerations about author buy-in, reader engagement, technical support, and board involvement. The discussions drew upon the experience of many and coalesced over the eating of Boston cream pie, which I learned was actually a cake. Navigating the conversion and ensuring the Journal met the needs of readers and authors took more than a trip to Boston by a handful of editorial board members. It required building a consensus by listening to all voices and plotting a transition that would leave no one behind. Those voices included all members of the Editorial Board, the LWI Board, and all members of LWI. It required dedication of time to create memos, host conversations at conferences, and exchange emails. Those discussions helped me understand the distinction between management and leadership. It helped me understand how to embrace change.

Embracing change without losing sight of a mission is important. Drawing upon the expertise of others is vital. Several of those that I served with on the Journal have become my career-long colleagues. I continue to visit with them at conferences, where I delight in learning about their recent publications, career promotions, and personal updates. In fact, a few of them were my references when I applied to become Dean of Mercer University School of Law.

I continue to be strategic with my time. But my Journal experience showed me the importance of being open to serendipity by seeking opportunities to get involved. The people we meet and the experiences we have on our professional journey are more valuable than reaching a particular destination. My experience with the Journal went from reader to editor and back to reader. As I scroll through the most recently published articles, I hear the echoes of conversations on email and discussion posts about how to enrich, enhance, and advance the discipline of legal writing. I think back to those four questions posed by the Journal’s first Editor in Chief. I know that the Journal, its authors, its editors, and its readers are going to continue to advance the discipline of legal writing.