Welcome to the Harvard Journal of Law & Technology ("JOLT")! We are a student-run journal and law & technology community made up of over 150 students annually. This page is meant to help you navigate our organization and learn how to get involved. If you have any questions, or want to get in touch with someone from HLS, you can reach out to the Editors-in-Chief (jolt@mail.law.harvard.edu). We'd love to talk with you and answer any of your questions!

1L Students

The paired Subcite and Digest experience is the best way for 1Ls to get involved with JOLT. Subciters attend 4 hours of our mass subcite weekend, where they perform substantive, grammar, and Bluebook edits against the text and footnotes of our forthcoming Issue. Digest contributors either write or edit a short online piece about a recent issue in tech law to be featured on this site. For more information, please reach out to the Operations Editor (jolt.ops.editor@gmail.com) or the Digest Executive Editor (joltdigest@mail.law.harvard.edu).

Subciters are eligible to apply to become a Production Editor, or join the Submissions Committee later in the Fall. Production Editors manage the print formatting for JOLT Articles. The position involves following a formatting guide and formatting one article during two different sessions per semester. Submissions Committee members read, conduct preemption check, and evaluate Articles for inclusion in JOLT. For more information about post-subcite positions, please reach out to the Operations Editor (jolt.ops.editor@gmail.com) or the Submissions Editor (jolt.exec.editor@gmail.com) respectively.

Transfer Students

As an incoming transfer student, you can choose to either participate in the paired Subcite and Digest experience, or apply to be a Line Editor. Line Editors manage a team of subciters to edit a portion of an article, pull the cited sources, and participate in additional rounds of editing with the article team. If you are interested in applying to the Line Editor position as a transfer student, please reach out to the Operations Editor (jolt.ops.editor@gmail.com).

LLM Students

As an incoming LLM, you can choose to either participate in the paired Subcite and Digest experience or apply to the Submissions Committee. Submissions Committee members read and review scholarship that is submitted to JOLT and help us select articles for publication. If you are interested in applying to the Submissions Committee, please reach out to the Submissions Editor (jolt.submissions@gmail.com).

Staying in Touch

Sign up for our newsletter to learn about JOLT’s numerous events, including panel discussions with students and outside speakers who discuss law and tech topics. You can also join our mentorship program, where you'll be paired with other law students of all years with similar interests to learn more about this school, the legal profession, and JOLT. Additionally, you can join our Slack to stay up-to-date on the latest tech law news and campus chatter. We have channels for class advice, job searching, law and tech news, and more!

Elections

At the beginning of each semester, Line Editors (non-masthead) and Article Editors are appointed for each Article and Note. JOLT Digest fills Digest positions throughout the year.

In addition, JOLT selects appointed and elected masthead members each spring for the following year. Position applications are announced in the JOLT newsletter. Masthead members help run JOLT's editorial and community projects; members have substantial responsibility and must have deep engagement with JOLT's community.

For more information about the election process, please click here. For more information about elected positions, please click here.

Attached is a rough model of JOLT's organizational structure.

(You can view a larger version here.)

The green roles are open to everyone, and are the best way to start getting involved with the journal. Blue roles are roles are also open to everyone, but most require a semester of subciting experience first. Orange roles are normally held by 3Ls, and purple roles by 2Ls.