For more information about submitting a note or comment for publication and about the scholarly research and writing process generally, students are encouraged to attend the Get Published! Workshop. The workshop covers the entire process including topic selection, preemption checking, and submission strategies.
The Get Published! workshop is offered at least once each semester--watch for the announcement on the Biddle Law Library's News and Events.
The most common path to publication for journal students is through the journal you're working on. Most journals publish a number of student-authored notes or comments each year and often prioritize selecting these articles from the membership's submissions. Unlike the standard article selection process, selection of student articles often follows a slightly different procedure; if your journal has a writing program and publishes student-authored pieces, you will learn about the process and any additional requirements from your supervising editors.
A less common path to publication is to submit your note or comment to other journals at your school. This is a good option for students who are not on a journal but want to turn a seminar paper into a journal article or for journal students who write a note or comment that thematically might fit better with a different journal's subject matter.
The following links include submission information for Penn's seven law journals:
While many law journals will not publish articles by students from other institutions, some do, though you may be facing steep competition from students at that institution. If you have a question about whether a journal you're interested in writing for will publish a note or comment from a student at another institution, it's often best to look up that journal's submission policies and, if they're not clear, reach out to the provided contact.