Law students: If you're a symposium editor for a student-edited law review, here are some ideas for how to put together a successful symposium issue. (Thread) 1/
Avoid a general topic that has been written about tons already. ("Privacy in the Digital Age"; "The Meaning of Due Process"; etc.) It may be an important topic, but if there's tons written on it, authors are less likely to have something new & may recycle old ideas. Boring. 2/
One strategy is to pick a specific topic related to big issue that fewer are writing on. For ex, in '04, the @GWLawReview did a symposium on statutory privacy laws, Authors had to write on statutes, not the Const. It became the law review's most cited issue, I've been told. 3/
Whatever topic you choose, consider having a Call for Papers where some of the contributions are picked by faculty advisor & student editors. It advertises your symposium, opens it to outside voices;, and often leads to some of the best pieces. 4/
Another successful strategy is to have a symposium on a particularly prominent faculty member's work. You get that professor invested, and that professor will push/cajole others in the field to come. Can be memorable for participants and produce unusually good essays. 5/
Finally, don't be afraid to impose limits on authors at the outset that you later enforce. For example, word limits can be very useful to keep authors in check; important due dates for drafts, etc. Make those clear in the invitation, and stick to them (or bend, don't break) 6/
