Legal Publications Editor; FTE

Overview

The School of Law has an outstanding opportunity for a Legal Publications Editor (0.5 FTE) to join their team.

Under general direction of the Scholarship Discovery Law Librarian, the Legal Publications Editor provides advanced, professional-level editorial and publication support for the scholarly and practice-oriented work of University of Washington School of Law faculty. This position serves as a principal editorial consultant to faculty authors, exercising a high degree of independent judgment and legal subject-matter expertise in the evaluation, development, editing, and preparation of complex legal manuscripts and court-bound documents.

The Legal Publications Editor works closely with faculty on law review articles, peer-reviewed journal articles, books and book chapters, policy reports, and amicus briefs filed with state and federal courts. Responsibilities include substantive editing for legal analysis, argument structure, accuracy and use of authority, and compliance with jurisdiction-specific court rules, as well as advanced citation review and formatting. This position requires deep familiarity with legal doctrine, judicial conventions, and scholarly publishing standards, and routinely involves engagement with sophisticated legal arguments intended for academic and judicial audiences.

Work is performed with considerable autonomy and discretion and has a direct impact on the clarity, accuracy, persuasiveness, and professional reputation of UW Law faculty scholarship and advocacy.

• Scholarly Publication and Legal Editing and Preparation = 60%
• Collaborates with faculty authors on manuscript and brief development, revisions, and refinement of legal arguments for intended academic or judicial audiences.
• Independently edits complex and highly specialized legal materials, including law review and journal articles, books and book chapters, policy reports, and briefs.
• Performs substantive editing to improve legal analysis, organization, coherence, clarity, tone, and persuasive effectiveness, in addition to copyediting and proofreading.
• Prepares manuscripts and briefs for submission by incorporating publisher-, journal-, or court-specific formatting and style requirements.
• Prepares or coordinates indices for faculty-authored books, monographs, and other long-form publications, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and alignment with publisher standards.
• May draft, revise, or substantially edit original supporting materials, including abstracts, summaries, or explanatory content related to publications or briefs.
• Advises faculty on submission processes, editorial feedback, revision cycles, and publication norms, as appropriate.

• Legal Citation and Authority Management = 30%
• Provides expert-level citation creation, verification, and correction using the Bluebook, Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities, Cambridge Reference Styles, court-specific rules, and publisher guidelines.
• Conducts complex cite-checking and source validation, including verification of primary and secondary legal authorities across multiple jurisdictions.
• Ensures accuracy, completeness, and consistency of citations and references in scholarly manuscripts and legal briefs.
• Advises faculty on evolving citation practices, digital source permanence, and scholarly attribution standards.

• Data Management and Institutional Reporting = 5%
• Maintains and updates UW Law’s faculty publications database in support of ABA accreditation, institutional reporting, and public-facing dissemination of scholarship.
• Ensures accuracy and consistency of publication records used for internal, accreditation, and external reporting purposes.

• Training, Coordination, and Program Support = 5%
• Provides functional guidance and oversight to interns and student employees engaged in editorial or publication-related projects.
• Trains UW Law journal editors and student editorial staff on advanced legal editing, citation standards, and best practices, as assigned.

• Other Duties
• Performs other duties as assigned, consistent with the scope and professional level of the position.

• Required Competencies
  • Demonstrated ability to independently evaluate and edit complex scholarly and legal texts with a high degree of accuracy and judgment.
  • Exceptional attention to detail coupled with the ability to manage multiple high-stakes projects simultaneously.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to identify substantive and structural issues in legal writing.
  • Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with faculty, librarians, and students.
  • Strong service orientation and professional discretion when working with faculty-authored research.
  • Commitment to continuous learning in legal scholarship, publishing standards, and scholarly communications.

• Minimum Qualifications
  • A Juris Doctor degree (or equivalent law degree) AND
  • Two years of progressively responsible experience…