Guidelines for Contributors

The eReport is the quarterly electronic publication of the American Bar Association Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section. It includes practical information for lawyers working in the real property and estate planning fields, together with news on Section activities and upcoming events. The eReport also provides resources for seasoned and young lawyers and law students to succeed in the practice of law.

Frequently Asked Questions by Prospective Authors

What makes eReport different from the other Section publications?

The most important distinction is that eReport is electronic. It is delivered by email only (see below) and consists of links to electronic versions of articles and other items of interest. Since eReport is electronic, it is flexible in many ways. 

How is eReport delivered and to whom? 

eReport is delivered quarterly via email to all Section members with valid email addresses. On the ABA website, go to myABA and then navigate to Email, Lists and Subscriptions. You have the option of receiving eReport. Currently almost 17,000 Section members receive eReport.

What kind of articles are you looking for? 

We are looking for timely articles on almost any topic of interest to real estate or trust and estate lawyers. This covers anything from recent case decisions, whether federal or state, if of general interest, administrative rulings, statutory changes, new techniques with practical tips, etc. The best guide is to look at prior issues. 

How long should my article be? 

Since eReport is electronic and therefore very flexible, we can publish a two page case or ruling summary, and we can publish a 150 page article. eReport is able to do this since the main page consists of links to the underlying article, therefore imposing no page restraints. This is a unique feature of eReport.

How do I submit an article for consideration?

Email either a paragraph on a potential topic or a polished draft – the choice is yours – to the Editor, Robert Steele, at [email protected] , and either our Real Estate Editor, Cheryl Kelly, at [email protected], or our Trust and Estate Editor, Keri Brown, at [email protected]

Do I need to have my topic pre-approved before I write my submission?

Not required, but the choice is yours. We welcome topic suggestions and can give guidance at that stage, or you may submit a detailed outline or even a full draft. You may even submit an article previously published (discussed below) for our consideration.

Do citations need to be in formal Bluebook style?

eReport is the most informal publication of the Section. We do not publish with heavy footnotes and all references are in endnotes. If there are citations, however, whether to the case you are writing about, or in endnotes, they should be in proper Bluebook format to allow the reader to find the material. Certainly, you may include hyperlinks to materials as well.

Can I revise my article after it is accepted for publication?

While we do not encourage last minute changes, it is possible to make changes since we work on Word documents until right before publication when all articles are converted to pdf format for publication.

What is your editing process?

Our Editor and either the Trust and Estate Editor or the Real Estate Editor work together to finalize your article. The article and the style are yours, however, and you are solely responsible for the content and accuracy. We will just help to polish the article, not re-write it. Our authors have a huge variety of styles and we embrace all variety in our publication.

Do I get to provide feedback on any changes that you make to my article?

Yes. We will email a final draft to you unless we have only made very minor typographical or grammatical changes.

Will you accept an article for publication if I previously published it elsewhere?

Yes! This is another unique feature of eReport. We bring almost 17,000 new readers to your material. Therefore, something substantive published on your firm’s or company’s website or elsewhere may be accepted for publication if we believe that our readers will benefit from your analysis and insight. In some cases, articles are updated or refreshed for eReport. In other cases, we re-publish essentially unchanged, but logos and biographical information is either eliminated or moved to the end of the article.

How quickly can you publish my article?

Since we publish quarterly the lead time is rarely more than two months. If you have a submission on a very timely topic, we can publish in under a month and present your insights on a new topic in a matter of weeks.

Where can I get more information about writing for eReport?

See our memorandum for authors.

Contact

For further information on the eReport or to submit an article for publication, please contact Robert Steele (Editor), Cheryl Kelly (Real Property Editor), Keri Brown (Trust and Estate Editor), or RPTE staff members Bryan Lambert or Monica Larys.

We welcome your suggestions and submissions!