ACTEC Law Journal

The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) publishes a peer-reviewed journal, the ACTEC Law Journal, three times a year. The ACTEC Law Journal is a unique, high-level academic journal that not only explores tax, trust, and estate topics in depth, but deals with the practical consequences and applications of the rapidly changing rules in these areas of law. The Journal is supported by the work of the Student Editorial Board at the Maurice A. Dean School of Law at Hofstra University.

As part of its mission, The ACTEC Foundation supports educational activities in the area of trusts and estates. Together with ACTEC, The ACTEC Foundation has been sustaining the Student Editorial Board at Hofstra School of Law financially since 2010. The ACTEC Foundation provides grant funding of $10,000 annually to finance the Student Editorial Board.

The Student Editorial Board provides law students with an opportunity to review articles for publication. Students are appointed by the Academic Editor in consultation with the Editor. The number of students appointed annually varies. Students receive academic credit for their work on the Student Editorial Board. The amount of credit awarded, and grading of the work done, is at the discretion of Hofstra University, but the work is recognized as academic creditworthy.

The process for articles offered for publication in the ACTEC Law Journal is as follows: Articles are submitted to the Editor, who forwards submitted articles to the other Professional Editors and the Academic Editor for their review and comment. The Editor considers the comments of all other editors; however, the decision to accept or reject an offered article is at the sole discretion of the Editor after consultation with the Academic Editor. An accepted article is then assigned by the Academic Editor to members of the Student Editorial Board for review and editing. Thus, the Student Editorial Board is an integral part of the process, and law students are provided with an opportunity for hands-on learning.

This is real-world, practical training that helps law students as they prepare to graduate and seek employment. They build leadership skills, learn valuable consensus-building, and sharpen critical document preparation and review skills. Serving on a student editorial board is a recognized skill that law firms value.

Now in its third decade, the Student Editorial Board is a concrete demonstration of The ACTEC Foundation’s mission to support education in trust and estates. It builds law students’ interest in the trusts and estates profession, which may lead more law students to seek a career in the field. Together with ACTEC, it is helping to build the future of the trust and estate profession.