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MARYLAND BAR JOURNAL STYLE GUIDELINES

• Articles submitted to the Maryland Bar Journal should interest members of the Maryland Bar, providing them with information or ideas that impact their practices. The Journal wants articles about legal issues or the notable activities of other lawyers, business and management practices and, where appropriate, entertaining articles by or about lawyers.

• All writing submitted to The Journal is subject to the approval of the Special Committee on Editorial Advisory and will be edited for accuracy, conciseness, length, English grammar and usage, and conformity to the Guidelines. If, in the judgement of the Special Committee, significant editing is required that may affect the substance of an article, the author will be consulted before publication.

• The Journal seeks original works and will not ordinarily consider publishing an article that has appeared elsewhere. Material published in The Journal may thereafter be reprinted with the Special Committee's approval and appropriate credit. Unsolicited manuscripts are limited to one submission per year per author.

• Articles must be typed, double-spaced, on standard 8 1/2" by 11" paper and submitted to the editor for presentation to the Special Committee on Editorial Advisory. The editor is Patrick Tandy at the Maryland State Bar Association, 520 West Fayette Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201. He can be reached at (410) 685-7878 or (800) 492-1964 or e-mail at ptandy@msba.org

• Articles should not exceed 2,500 words (ten double-spaced letter-size pages unless the editor assigns or agrees in advance to a longer length. The title, author's name and byline information should appear on the first page. Every page of the manuscript should bear the author's name. Textual footnotes are forbidden; authorities worth citing should go in the text. String citations should be avoided. The Harvard Blue Book citation form is suggested.
  
  
• Articles should be emailed, preferably in Word, to the editor at ptandy@msba.org for presentation to the Special Committee on Editorial Advisory. The editor is W. Patrick Tandy at the Maryland State Bar Association and he can be reached at (410) 685-7878, x3025, or (800) 492-1964 or ptandy@msba.org

• Advertising: The Maryland Bar Journal has display advertising opportunities, please contact Network Media Partners at (410)-584-1959, extension 122.

The Maryland Bar Journal favors a plain style of expository writing and urges its authors to write as simply and informally as they can. This does not mean that the publication wants frivolous or cute writing, but that it strives to publish clear and readable material.

• Have a clear understanding of what you want to say before you start writing
• Write it yourself; don't assign it to a subordinate who must guess at what someone else wishes to express.
• Try to catch the reader's attention, create interest and make your main point in the opening sentences.
• Write in plain English. Use short words, strong verbs and simple sentences. Avoid jargon and foreign phrases.
• Be concrete and specific, not abstract and legalistic.
• Write in the active voice. Avoid the passive voice and the conditional ("I would argue") mood.
• Avoid compound or complex sentences. Break them into smaller bites.
• Don't talk down to readers.
• Avoid the outline form