Federal Circuit Symposium

AULR is the only law review in the country to publish an issue exclusively dedicated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Law Review proudly dedicates this issue to publishing insightful and relevant articles from esteemed scholars, practitioners, legislators, and members of the judiciary that highlight and analyze critical developments in patent law, trademark law, government contract law, international trade law, and veterans’ law. In addition to the issue, since 1985, the Law Review has hosted an annual Federal Circuit Symposium to discuss these burgeoning and important topics.

American University Law Review’s 2023 Federal Circuit Symposium

Each year, AULR proudly hosts a Federal Circuit Symposium composed of various panels to discuss developing legal issues exclusive to the Federal Circuit. This year, the Symposium will be held in Claudio Grossman Hall on Friday, October 20th from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm EST. We hope to see you there!

Registration is required: Register Here

Download Program Here!

Volume 73 Federal Circuit Symposium Subject Area Memorandums

Want to learn more about the important legal issues that will be discussed at the 2023 Federal Circuit Symposium? Check out these background memorandums.

Call for Papers: American University Law Review’s 2023 Federal Circuit Symposium

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The American University Law Review is placing a call for submissions of original legal articles and scholarly commentaries for its forthcoming issue dedicated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Specifically, the Law Review seeks submissions analyzing developing areas of patent and trademark law that are of particular interest to the Federal Circuit. Additionally, the Law Review seeks submissions analyzing developing areas of international trade, veterans’ law, and government contracts to be published along with the Law Review’s reputable area summaries. One submission for patent law, one submission for trademark law, and at least one international trade, veterans’ law, or government contracts piece will be selected, with a publication date slated for early 2024.

The American University Law Review is the nation’s only journal to publish an annual issue dedicated to the Federal Circuit. This issue accompanies the Law Review’s annual Federal Circuit Symposium, which will take place on Friday, October 20, 2023. This symposium will explore and engage with burgeoning legal issues in areas of law common to the Federal Circuit. The symposium will feature panels on each field within the Federal Circuit’s jurisprudence, convening judges, scholars, and practitioners to discuss cutting-edge legal topics with vigorous audience engagement. Selected authors will have the opportunity to present their work as a panelist at this year’s symposium series; however, participation is not a requirement for consideration.

How to Submit

Please submit manuscripts to the Law Review through Scholastica by November 3, 2023. Authors should include a brief abstract and a curriculum vitae (cv) with their manuscript. For more information about Scholastica submissions, see the “Submissions” page.

Submission Guidelines

Length: The Law Review values succinct arguments. We strongly prefer manuscripts less than 25,000 words in length, including footnotes. Manuscripts that exceed 30,000 words will be considered only in exceptional circumstances.

Format: Text and citations should preferably conform to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (21st ed. 2020). Submissions conforming to the 20th edition of the Bluebook are acceptable; however, the Law Review will edit such citations accordingly. Manuscripts should use footnotes, as opposed to endnotes.

Authorship: The Law Review seeks to publish authors from diverse backgrounds. The Law Review welcomes submissions from professors, judges, and practicing lawyers. We will not consider submissions from students outside the journal’s own membership.

About the American University Law Review

Founded in 1952, the American University Law Review is the oldest and largest student-run publication at the American University Washington College of Law (WCL) and publishes six issues each year. As WCL’s flagship legal publication, the Law Review is ranked among the top law journals in the United States, according to the Washington and Lee University Law Library.

The Law Review receives approximately 1,500 submissions annually and publishes a wide range of legal scholarship from professors, judges, practicing lawyers, and renowned legal thinkers. The Law Review has published articles or commentary by Supreme Court Chief Justices Warren Burger, William Rehnquist, and Earl Warren, as well as Associate Justices Hugo Black, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Arthur Goldberg. The Law Review has also published articles or commentary by prominent legal figures such as Stephen Bright, Paul Butler, Erwin Chemerinsky, Tom Goldstein, Paul Kamenar, Judge Paul Michel, Judge Stephen Reinhardt, Nadine Strossen, and Laurence Tribe.

In addition to serving as an academic forum for legal scholarship and a research tool for professors and practitioners, the Law Review is committed to developing the writing and research skills of its staff. The Law Review showcases student-written pieces by publishing Notes and Comments, unrestricted in terms of subject or area of the law, in each issue. In support of the staff, the Law Review has an esteemed faculty advisory board, including Professors Ira P. Robbins, Elizabeth Beske, Walter Effross, Christine Haight Farley, Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, Paul Figley, Angi Porter, and Stephen Wermiel.

A member of the National Conference of International Law Journals, the Law Review is indexed in LexisNexis, Westlaw, HeinOnline, the Index to Legal Periodicals, and the Resource Index/Current Law Index. Each edition of the Law Review is distributed nationally and abroad to law school libraries, private law firms, public legal organizations, and individual subscribers.

With more than seventy years of publications, the Law Review has a strong national and international alumni network, including judges and practitioners in every field.

The Law Review also houses an online companion publication called the Forum. The Forum serves as a platform to generate timely discussion of scholarship published in the Law Review’s print issues. It enables the academic discourse within the Law Review’s print issues to continue after publication. The Forum also creates more opportunity to advance student-written scholarship by publishing Notes and Comments written by Law Review staff members. Like the print publication, the Forum is available on HeinOnline, Westlaw, and LexisNexis, as well as through the Law Review’s website.

SURVEYS OF FEDERAL CIRCUIT CASES

The annual Federal Circuit issue includes area summaries surveying cases within the court’s five major areas of jurisdiction. Those surveys are linked below:

Patent Law
Decisions

Government Contract Decisions

International Trade Decisions

Trademark Law Decisions

Veterans Law Decisions