Prospective Editors Frequently Asked Questions

What is Probate & Property?

Probate & Property is a bimonthly magazine of the ABA Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law, edited using volunteers from this Section with assistance of ABA Publishing staff, distributed to all Section members as a benefit of Section membership.

What's in each Probate & Property issue?

Every issue is sixty-four pages plus the front and rear cover, and generally contains four articles on trust and estate law topics and four articles on real property law topics; Section News; the Uniform Laws Update, Keeping Current-Property, Keeping Current-Probate and The Last Word columns; and in certain issues other recurring columns such as Technology-Probate, Technology-Property, and Environmental Law Updates.

Is the magazine also available online?

The entire magazine is available online to Section members. Two articles from each issue, one related to real property law and the other to trust and estate law, are available to those who are not Section members.  Section News is also available to the general public, but the columns are not.

What are the editorial positions staffed by Section volunteers?

The magazine has an overall Editor; an Articles Editor, Real Property; an Articles Editor, Trust & Estate; eight Associate Articles Editors (four who edit trust and estate articles and four who edit real property articles); a Departments Editor; an Associate Departments Editor; Editors of the various columns; and Senior Associate Articles Editors (which are emeritus positions).

What do the different editors do?

The Editor is responsible for the overall operations and content of the magazine, provides active supervision and support to the other volunteer editors and staff from ABA Publishing, performs the final edit of the magazine and determines whether or not to accept author page proof comments, and is responsible for the magazine's financial performance and editorial-related issues.  Each of the Articles Editors is responsible for the featured articles in his or her area of law, including reviewing and integrating the edits of the articles performed by the Associate Articles Editors and generating article submissions for the magazine. The Articles Editors are also the point persons for all article submissions and all contact with article authors; are responsible for circulating article submissions to their Associate Articles Editors for review and consideration; and are also responsible for obtaining appropriate publication agreements from article authors, receiving author comments on page proofs, and circulating complimentary advance copies of the magazine to the authors. The Associate Articles Editors are responsible for editing accepted articles and also for generating article submissions.  The Departments Editor and Associate Departments Editor are responsible for reviewing and proofreading columns and for assisting in obtaining contributors to columns.  Column editors are responsible for writing their columns themselves or, in certain situations obtaining columns from guest authors.  

How do you recruit editors?

All editors are appointed by Section leadership. Appointments are for one year and editors are eligible for reappointment annually, with no formal term limits.

What are the qualifications to become an editor?

All editors are lawyers and members of the Section. There are no other formal qualifications, and any persons interested in serving as an editor should contact Editor Ed Brading ([email protected]).   Generally they are experienced writers and often, but not always, have edited other publications in the past such as student law reviews.

How much time commitment does being an editor of the magazine entail? This varies by editorial position and, to a certain extent, the style of the editor.  As a general guideline, these time commitments can range from an average of more than five hours a week for the Editor and the Articles Editors, three to four hours every two weeks for Associate Articles Editors, and four hours every two months for Departments Editors and column editors.

What are the benefits of being an editor?

Being a Probate & Property editor is a great way to keep in touch with cutting-edge issues in the profession, come into contact with legal experts from all parts of the country and Canada, and experience the satisfaction of assisting and mentoring writers and prospective authors. Historically, it has been a good way to keep in touch with other members of the Section and advance in Section leadership activities.

Do the editors need to attend meetings or travel?

Editors are encouraged to attend two RPTE Section leadership meetings each year, but the editors can attend the magazine meetings by telephone if they are unable to travel. The Editor, Articles Editors, and Associate Articles Editors generally participate in a conference call each month lasting no longer than one-half hour.

Are professional editors reimbursed for expenses?

Editors are invited to the Section’s two leadership meetings, and their expenses are reimbursed, subject to the same limitations as others attending the same meetings.