PUBLICATION AGREEMENTS
American Bar Association policy requires that each article and Practice Points author completely fill out and sign a publication agreement prior to online publication. Articles and Practice Points cannot be published until the publication agreements have been received by the ABA. Three types of publication agreements are used for committee content.
Standard Author Agreement. Use for a one-time or an occasional author or contributor whose article is being posted directly to the website.
Regular Columnist Author Agreement. Use for an author who writes a regular column. This agreement covers all work by one author for one committee for the current bar year. Therefore, the author need only sign one agreement annually.
Rider for Previously Published Content. Use for previously published non-Litigation Section content that is being republished on a committee’s webpage. This must accompany one of the above author agreements.
PROCESS FOR PUBLICATION AGREEMENTS
- When filling out the form, complete the top portion of the agreement as indicated before sending it to an author, specifically identifying the committee webpage.
- For regular columnist author agreements, fill in the committee website name and duration of the agreement (e.g., 2024–2025 for a bar year).
- After the author has signed and dated the agreement, scan and send to your staff editor.
- An agreement will not be accepted unless all the fields are properly filled in.
- Blank versions of the most current forms can be found here.