Guide to ExpressO for Students

The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law underwrites support for students who wish to use ExpressO to submit a paper for publication. 

Students interested in using ExpressO should:

1. Submit a recommendation (an email is sufficient) from a faculty member certifying that the paper is appropriate for publication
2. Contact Sue McCarty in the Law Library so that the student's name and email address can be added to the list of authorized ExpressO users.
3. After validation as an authorized user, create an account in ExpressO using the name and email address that was authorized. See http://law.bepress.com/expresso/ to become familiar with ExpressO. The website has a detailed FAQ as well as other information that is helpful in expediting the submission process
4. More than 700 journals are listed in ExpressO so it is highly advisable to review the titles in advance and make a preliminary list of publications to be targeted for submission. Some journals have restrictions or only accept submissions at specific times during the year, so previewing the titles will expedite the submission process.
5. Before submitting a paper, make sure you have the following ready to be uploaded:
   • A generic cover letter
   • A CV
   • An abstract and a few key words describing the paper
   • A WORD version of the paper in .doc format.  Note:  .docx format tends to cause problems when uploading

In legal publishing circles it is common, indeed accepted, procedure, to submit an article to multiple journals simultaneously.  Although ExpressO does not impose any limits on the number of journals an author may select for submission, we recommend that you limit your initial submission to 10 journals.  It is always possible to update a submission and select more titles, if a publication offer is not received. 

When you receive an offer of publication, we recommend that you review the publication agreement carefully and make sure that you retain rights to your work. The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) drafted a Model Author Agreement. That agreement and other information about copyright and author's rights may be found at http://commons.umlaw.net/index.php?title=Model_copyright_agreements. 

You may also wish to review the information on copyright and license agreements at Creative Commons (http://creativecommons.org/) and familiarize yourself with the various options with regard to copyright. 

If you have any questions about using ExpressO, please contact Sue McCarty.

 

UM