Guide for Journal EICs & MEs: Working with Authors

You should run each piece you are considering accepting through a plagiarism checking system such as iThenticate (see below for login information).

If a piece comes back with a high percentage of suspected plagiarism, you should seriously consider NOT extending an offer to publish. Once an author signs the agreement, you will have a much harder time dropping a piece from an issue for suspected plagiarism problems.

Use your best judgment when considering pieces that are flagged by iThenticate.  It is much easier to not accept a piece that has the potential to cause problems than it is to deal with these kinds of problems after an author has signed an agreement.

If you suspect plagiarism after an author has already signed an author agreement, notify the following people immediately: Kincaid Brown and Jessica Pasquale.

Together, you will all work with the Office of the General Counsel to decide how to proceed.

iThenticate Login: https://lawlibacquisitions.turnitin.com/home/

iThenticate accounts are associated with the following email addresses (groups in MCommunity):

• MJGL: gencoor@umich.edu
• MBELR: mbelrsubmissions@umich.edu
• MJEAL: (need updated email)
• MJIL: ithenticate.mjil@umich.edu
• JLR: mjlr@umich.edu
• MJRL: mjrl.format@umich.edu
• MLR: mlr.ithenticate@umich.edu
• MTLR: mttlr@umich.edu

If you change the address associated with this account, please let Jessica Pasquale know so this list can be updated. If you do not know the password, use the password reset link on the login page--just ensure you are a member of the MCommunity group for your Journal first!

1. Download the template author agreement for your Journal from the Shared Google Drive folder.

• You will need to edit the agreement to enter title of the piece and the name(s) of the author(s) for each one you will be sending.
• Be sure to use the correct template depending on the type of piece to be published--articles and online companion pieces use one agreement; blog and opinion pieces use another.
• If a piece has more than one author, add an additional signature, print name, and date line for each co-author to the bottom of the agreement (all co-authors on a piece will sign the same agreement).

2. Once you've saved a copy of the agreement for each piece, send the file to your journal-business email:
   • mlr-business@umich.edu
   • jlr-business@umich.edu
   • mjil-business@umich.edu
   • mjrl-business@umich.edu
   • mjgl-business@umich.edu
   • mtlr-business@umich.edu
   • mjeal-business@umich.edu
   • mbelr-business@umich.edu
3. Go to the Author Agreement Collection & Lineups Sheet and fill in the requested information for each agreement (use one line for pieces with multiple authors, separating each name/email with a comma).
4. The Library will send the agreements for electronic signature using SignNow and CC you so you will be notified when the agreement has been signed by all authors.
   • NOTE: Authors will receive an email with the subject line "Michigan Journal of Race & Law: Signature Request" (for example). You will be CC'd on the request, but the email you receive about it will have the subject line "cswindle@umich.edu invited email@berkeley.edu to sign MJGL XX.X Author Name."   Some authors have reported the email going to their spam folders, so please warn them ahead of time to check there for the email if they report they didn't receive it.
5. Update the Author Agreement Collection & Lineups sheet with the Volume and Issue number once this information has been assigned.

We must have a signed agreement for every piece before an issue is published.

The Library will retain a copy of every signed agreement on file, so there is no need for you to do so (but you can if you wish).

Authors can order print copies of their individual article / note (called offprints) directly from the publisher at this site. 

When you assign a piece to an issue, please update this sheet. The Library uses this information to ensure we have all agreements on file before you finalize an issue.

Please be careful to only update the tab for your Journal!

Michigan Law journals that publish blogs or other online opinion pieces must ensure that they adhere to the following policy and minimum standards for opinion postings on their blogs:

• The opening page of the blog must include a brief explanation of the purpose of the blog and include the following disclaimer language:  “This blog contains opinion pieces by members of the Journal's editorial staff or others on issues germane to the Journal's area of focus.  The views expressed in an individual post represent the views of the post's author only.”
• Each individual blog post must likewise contain a disclaimer as follows: “The views expressed in this post represent the views of the post's author only.”
• Blog post authors must sign an abbreviated author agreement with warranties relating to the lack of plagiarism, defamation, and the like. See Blog Author Agreement.
• Each journal must establish and implement standards for the review, selection, editing, and cite-checking of blog posts.  Those standards must, at minimum, include the following:
  • All blog posts must be reviewed, cite checked, and edited by journal editorial staff before publication.
  • Review and editing by journal editorial staff must ensure that blog posts conform to standards for legal citation, with accurate citations to sources formatted according to established citation rules.

(Last revised March 2021)