The Legal Educator
AAfPE's double-blind peer-reviewed professional journal, published one to two times a year, bringing attention to issues that affect paralegal and legal studies education.
The Legal Educator reaches thousands of paralegal and legal studies educators, paralegals, attorneys, publishers, and other legal professionals nationwide. Each issue contains scholarly articles designed to educate and inform professionals in the paralegal and legal studies field, keeping them up to date on the latest industry topics.
Become an AAfPE Legal Educator Journal Author
Ethical Requirements
It is important for all authors publishing with the AAfPE Legal Educator Journal to understand our definition of authorship, citation practices, data reporting standards, and ethical guidelines required in scholarly publishing.
Definition of Authorship
The AAfPE Legal Educator Journal considers individuals who meet all of the following criteria to be authors:
- Made a significant intellectual contribution to the theoretical development, system or experimental design, prototype development, and/or the analysis and interpretation of data associated with the work contained in the article.
- Contributed to drafting the article or reviewing and/or revising it for intellectual content.
- Approved the final version of the article as accepted for publication, including references.
Contributors who do not meet all of the above criteria may be included in the Acknowledgment section of the article.
Authorship for Articles with Multiple Authors
The corresponding author is the single point of contact between co-authors and the publication. They also ensure all co-authors approve the final version and stay informed throughout the review process.
Cite Sources Appropriately
Always cite sources when you quote directly, paraphrase, or reuse data, graphics, or tables. When in doubt, cite.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism—using another’s ideas or words without acknowledgment—is unacceptable. All submissions are screened for plagiarism.
Inappropriate Use of Citations
Citing irrelevant sources to inflate citation metrics is unethical. Only cite sources that legitimately contribute to your article.
Report Your Data Accurately
Avoid fabrication, falsification, and image manipulation. Present the full and accurate picture of your findings.
Publish Original Research
Submissions must be original and not under review elsewhere. We allow further development of conference presentations, provided the new article contains substantially more detail and cites the conference work.
Journal Article Sharing and Posting Policy
Preprint: Authors may post preprints on personal/employer websites or servers like SSRN, with a notice that it’s submitted for publication. Update the link with a full citation upon acceptance.
Submitted/Accepted Article: May be shared on personal/employer sites, repositories, and classroom networks. Once accepted, replace older versions with the accepted version and DOI.
Final Published Article (non-open access): May not be posted publicly. Authors can share copies for personal or classroom use with permission from AAfPE. Third-party reuse requires permission.
Open Access (CC BY or CC BY-NC-ND): Authors and third parties may share or post final articles under the respective Creative Commons license, respecting commercial or derivative restrictions.
Publishing Guidelines and Principles
The AAfPE Legal Educator Journal upholds academic integrity through a rigorous peer review, referencing standards, and strong ethical guidelines. Refer to our Operations Manual for comprehensive details.
Principles of Scholarly Publishing
- Integrity: Upholding the highest standards in research and review.
- Transparency: Clear communication of methods, findings, and conflicts of interest.
- Quality: Rigorous editorial and peer review processes.
- Inclusivity: Encouraging diverse scholarly contributions.
- Accessibility: Providing open access options and digital platforms.
Appropriate Use of Bibliometrics
We condemn manipulating citation metrics. Multiple indicators and peer review provide a balanced assessment of quality.
Ethical Standards
- Originality, Citation, Data Integrity, Authorship criteria, and Conflict of Interest must be adhered to.
Peer Review Policies
AAfPE Submission Policies
- Multiple Submissions and Prior Publication: Original work only, with disclosure of related submissions.
- Plagiarism: Investigated by an independent committee if alleged.
- Electronic Posting: Include appropriate copyright notices, update preprints with citations upon acceptance.
- Research on Human/Animal Subjects: Must have IRB approval or equivalent and note consent status.
- AI-Generated Text: Disclose AI usage in acknowledgments.
- Text Recycling: Must comply with copyright, clearly indicate previously published material.
AAfPE Peer Review Policies
- Editor Responsibilities: Timely decisions, unbiased reviews, confidentiality, and no citation manipulation.
- Conflict of Interest: Reviewers/editors must recuse themselves if a conflict exists.
- Compliance With Sanction Laws: Authors ensure submissions do not violate sanction regulations.
Post-Publication Policies
Once published, articles follow specific policies for sharing, correcting metadata, possible removal, text/data mining, preservation, and interlibrary loan.
Posting Your Journal Article
- Preprint: Must be updated with full citation upon acceptance.
- Author-Submitted: Replace older versions with final citation once accepted.
- Accepted Article: May be posted with appropriate copyright notice.
- Final Published Article: Non-open access articles cannot be posted publicly without permission.
Correcting Metadata, Removing Access, Text and Data Mining
Contact the editorial team for metadata corrections. Articles may be removed if fraudulent. Non-commercial text/data mining of open access articles is permitted.
Preservation and Archiving
The AAfPE Legal Educator Journal partners with digital archiving services to maintain accessibility.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
Sharing through ILL is allowed for non-commercial, academic purposes under copyright compliance.
Data Privacy
Advertising in AAfPE Legal Educator Journal
- Relevance and Usefulness: Ads should serve legal education interests.
- Editorial Context: Ads must be consistent with the journal’s brand and clearly separate from content.
- Editorial Independence: Advertisers cannot influence editorial decisions.
- Disclaimer: Paid ads do not imply endorsement by AAfPE.
- Use of AAfPE Logo: Prohibited without written approval.
- Authorization: Ads that diminish the journal’s value or harm the brand are not allowed.
Accessibility Statement
We adhere to WCAG 2.1 Level AA. For accessibility issues, email info@aafpe.org with details about the issue and your assistive technology.
Data Privacy
- Collection: We collect personal info to enhance user experience and deliver content.
- Use: Data is used to personalize services and communicate updates.
- Protection: Robust security measures prevent unauthorized access.
- User Rights: Contact info@aafpe.org to access, modify, or delete personal data.
- Third-Party Sharing: No sharing without explicit consent unless legally required or integral to services.