Journal Writing Competition | University of Michigan Law School

Read this page in its entirety. The deadlines listed are firm.

Journals are committed to making the write-on process accessible. The University of Michigan Law journals provide accommodations in accordance with ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. To request an accommodation, please email Jessica Pasquale at hanesjl@umich.edu.

In order to allow sufficient time to review requests, transfer students should submit their requests no later than June 26 and are encouraged to do so as soon as possible. If students have questions about their accommodation request, they should reach out to Jessica.

Decisions to grant reasonable accommodations are made through consultation with the Office of Student Life and SSD. Jessica and the Office of Student Life will ensure that the identity of all entrants is preserved; no student on a journal will receive personal identifying information about any student requesting accommodation. The journals at Michigan strongly encourage all students who need an accommodation to participate in the writing competition and to submit their requests to Jessica. If students with disabilities have any questions about life working on a journal, they are encouraged to reach out to an editor.

Students with unavoidable religious conflicts during the competition should email Jessica Pasquale (hanesjl@umich.edu) to request an accommodation.

Important Dates for Transfer Students

Friday, June 13: Registration opens at 8:00 AM (EDT). Registration information will be collected using a Google From (linked below).
Thursday, June 26: Applications for all Journals open at 8:00 AM (EDT).
Sunday, July 13: Applications for the Michigan Law Review close at 11:59 PM (EDT).
Thursday, July 17: Application for all remaining Journals close at 11:59 PM (EDT).

Go to the Application Site

Transfer Student Registration Form

Journal Informational Packets

Information about specific Journal requirements and member expectations can be found in the linked Google Drive folder:

Journal Info

Creating a PDF Submission

The process will vary based on the application used to generate the PDF. At a minimum, make sure the “Author” field is blank for the specific PDF document. Follow the instructions below to strip the metadata before you convert each of your documents to a PDF format.

By default, Microsoft Word saves certain metadata within your document, including the author’s name. To ensure the confidentiality of your application, it is important that you remove all identifying characteristics from your application materials. Thus, please follow the steps below carefully. Before beginning, please make sure you have a current backup of your files on external media (e.g., a USB thumb drive).

For questions about the application website or materials, contact Jessica Pasquale at hanesjl@umich.edu.

Preparing Your Document

Creating a PDF
To convert a document to PDF

Windows:
1. In Word, click File | Save As…
2. Choose PDF (*.pdf…).
Mac:

DO NOT SAVE YOUR DOCUMENT AS A PDF USING THE WORD “SAVE AS” MENU IN MACOS. Doing so may not remove your personal information completely.
1. In Word, click File | Print…
2. Click the PDF button at the bottom, and choose Save as PDF…
3. Ensure that the “Author” field does not contain your name. If it does, delete it.
4. Click Save.
Once the PDF has been created, open it to check if your personal information has been removed successfully.

Examples:
- (Mac/Win) Acrobat Reader:
  Open the File, then click File | Properties…
- (Mac) Preview:
  Open the File, then click Tools | Show Inspector…
You should not see your name or other personally identifying information listed. If you see your name appear in the location field (in Adobe on a Mac), this is OK since the location changes based on where the file is stored.
Removing Personal Data: (Windows) Microsoft Word 2010
1. Open the Microsoft Word file and click File.
2. Click the Info tab.
3. Under Prepare for Sharing click Check for Issues.
4. Click Inspect Document.
5. In the “Document Inspector” dialog box, select the check boxes to choose the types of hidden content that you want to be inspected. (Document Properties and Personal Information must be selected.)
6. Click Inspect.
7. Click Remove All.
8. Click Reinspect.
9. Click Inspect again to confirm that Word doesn’t find any more personal information in the document.
10. Click Close.
11. Save the document.
Removing Personal Data: (Windows) Microsoft Word 2013 or 2016 (365)
1. Open the Microsoft Word file and click File.
2. Click the Info tab.
3. Next to “Inspect Document,” click Check for Issues.
4. Click Inspect Document.
5. In the “Document Inspector” dialog box, select the check boxes to choose the types of hidden content that you want to be inspected. (Document Properties and Personal Information must be selected.)
6. Click Inspect.
7. Click Remove All.
8. Click Reinspect.
9. Click Inspect again to confirm that Word doesn’t find any more personal information in the document.
10. Click Close.
11. Save the document.
Removing Personal Data: (Mac) Microsoft Word 2011
1. Open the Microsoft Word file and go to the Word menu.
2. Click Preferences.
3. Click on Security.
4. Select Remove personal information from this file on the save and Warn before printing, saving or sending a file that contains tracked changes or comments.
5. Click OK.
6. Save the document.
Removing Personal Data: (Mac) Microsoft Word 2016 (365)
1. In Word, click Tools.
2. Click Protect Document…
3. Under the “Privacy” heading, select Remove personal information from this file on save.
4. Click OK.
5. Click the Word menu, then Preferences…
6. Click Security & Privacy
7. Under the “Document-specific settings” heading, select Warn before printing, closing or sending file with tracked changes or comments.
8. Close this window.
9. Save the document.

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