LiveLaw publishes original, timely and rigorous legal analysis that offers clear value to practitioners, academics, students and litigants. Owing to the volume of submissions, articles are assessed against the following editorial standards.
I. Submission Categories
a) General Articles
Legal developments, legislation, policy and other areas of law.
b) Law Firm Articles
Contributions by law firm partners, associates, general counsel and other legal professionals.
c) Law School Articles
Contributions by law students.
II. Editorial Standards
a) Original human authorship: Submissions containing AI-generated or AI-rewritten text will be rejected. LiveLaw expects an authentic authorial voice and original legal reasoning.
b) A clear and contemporary thesis: We do not accept basic explainers, long introductions, law-school-style summaries, generic literature reviews or articles that merely restate settled law. Each article must address a specific, current legal issue and advance a distinct argument or insight in simple English, not convoluted language.
c) Constructive and independent criticism: Critical examination of the judiciary, government and public institutions is welcome, provided it is constructive, legally sound and intellectually honest. Submissions driven by personal or partisan agendas will not be accepted.
d) Grounded research: Priority is given to articles supported by primary materials, deep legal research and, where relevant, engagement with practitioners, experts or people directly affected by the issue. Avoid search-engine-led aggregation.
e) No counsel-authored commentary on argued cases: LiveLaw does not accept an article about a case from a lawyer who appeared or argued in that matter.
f) No advocacy in private disputes: Articles that seek to advance a party's position in an inter-party private dispute will not be accepted.
g) Public-interest orientation: LiveLaw particularly welcomes work concerning constitutional values, legal aid, access to justice, human rights and practical proposals to strengthen the justice system.
III. Submission Requirements
Length and format: 1,200-1,500 words, submitted only as a Word document.
Links and authorities: Use hyperlinks selectively. Do not link routine facts or every sentence. When referring to judgments, orders or pending cases, authors may link to LiveLaw's case reports instead of third-party databases.
Author biography: Include a professional biography of no more than two sentences.
References: Authors must include a References section at the end of the article listing all sources relied upon. Do not use footnotes in the Word document.
Email: Send submissions to columns@livelaw.in with the subject line “Article Submission”.
Editorial response: Articles are checked by experienced legal professionals. Only shortlisted authors will be contacted. Please avoid repeated follow-ups if no response is received or a submission is declined.
What we are looking for Precise, reliable and original legal insight, supported by rigorous research and, where relevant, firsthand perspectives, not generic or over-referenced academic writing.