Letter from the Editor
Welcome to the San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law’s homepage!
The San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law (JCEL) is the University of San Diego School of Law’s third and newest student-run legal publication, officially founded and faculty-approved in April 2008. Our goal for the 2008-2009 school year is to successfully launch JCEL and build up the foundation for our nation’s first law periodical focused exclusively on the legal aspects of the world’s transition to a climate-safe economy.
The San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law will contain articles, comments and casenotes addressing major issues and topics in climate change and energy law. Published articles will be written by professors, practitioners, judges and University of San Diego School of Law students. JCEL will begin publishing one issue each year. The majority of the first issue’s articles will come from the first-annual climate change and energy law symposium which will be hosted each spring at USD. The journal will also include several pieces written by students. In subsequent years, JCEL hopes to add one or more issues into its publication cycle.
JCEL has commenced operations and is as dedicated to innovation in its publication process as it is to advancing the legal thinking in climate and energy law. JCEL’s first innovation is setting up its office to run “paperless.” For instance, JCEL’s use of scanners and PDF files to perform cite-checking functions will save approximately six boxes of office paper per year. While not the most significant part of JCEL members’ training, employing technological advances in its operations is designed to prepare its members for the “law firm of tomorrow.”
Membership on JCEL is an honor conferred as a result of excellence in legal writing coupled with scholastic achievement. Demonstrated interest and involvement in environmental, energy, and leadership activities are also considered favorably during the write-on competition; however, these qualifications are only used as a tiebreaker for equally qualified candidates.
During the first fall semester of the student’s JCEL membership, each member is required to write a student article, comment or casenote on an issue or topic in climate or energy law. The topic chosen must be written in conjunction with a law school course that meets or exceeds the standard set by the ABA-established Juris Doctor writing requirement, i.e. a “W” class. The following semester is dedicated to a peer-editing process aimed at preparing student work for publication in either JCEL or another journal. Members may also choose to write again in their third or fourth year of law school.
Thank you for visiting this page. Please enjoy exploring our web content and learning more about JCEL and its work. And of course, feel free to contact us with any comments, questions or concerns at jcel@sandiego.edu.
Sincerely,
Thomas R. Del Monte
Founding Editor-in-Chief, Volume 1
JCEL.Editor.in.Chief@gmail.com
