Producing four issues of the Law & Society Review each year is a team effort. As we look back over our time as co-editors, we are cognizant of the tremendous contributions made by all members of the larger journal team. We want to use this forward to thank three particular groups central to the success of this journal over the last three and a half years. We are saving our thanks for Danielle McClellan, our Managing Editor, to the next issue, as her contributions deserve a note of their own; the journal simply wouldn't happen without her.
In this forward, then, we begin by recognizing the work that has been done by our large and diligent collection of peer reviewers. It is time-consuming to line up the requisite number of reviewers for all stages and versions that manuscripts go through en route to publication. But, almost universally, the scholars who commit to this review work have been conscientious and generous in the substantive assistance their reviews provide authors. Thank you to these hundreds of colleagues, around the world, who have been, and continue to be, at the core of the integrity and quality of the Law & Society Review.
We want also to thank our Associate Editors and Editorial Advisory Board members. These individuals rose to the task of “quick-turn-around reviews” and critical policy advice when situations called for collaborative and consultative decision-making. The first page of this issue lists their names. To all of them, the out-going co-editors extend gratitude for support graciously given and jobs well-done.
Finally, the work of co-editing could not have been done without the behind the scenes work of the editorial assistants at our three universities. The sheer number of submissions our journal is so fortunate to receive make these editorial assistants essential to getting manuscripts into the system and out for review. Margot Young is grateful for the support of the Lew Fund of the University of British Columbia's Allard School of Law for the hiring of editorial assistance. She was fortunate to have had two exemplary graduate student assistants across the three years. Her first assistant, Siobhan Yorgun, saw us through the growing pains of new editorship and brought a crisp intellectual eye to manuscript processing tasks. Christina Treleaven took over from Siobhan and guided the UBC portion of the journal through the last two years. The journal benefited from Christina's intellect, diligence at administrative tasks, and enthusiasm for law and society studies. Jeannine Bell similarly had superb editorial assistance, funded in her case by the Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law. Jeannine had the able assistance of Anne Groggel throughout the full co-editorship; Anne was a key member of the team. Emily Flores was Susan Sterett's first assistant and provided cheerful and smart assistance as our co-editorship warmed up. Emily set up the Law & Society Review Blog and was central to the processing of all incoming manuscripts. (Here is the link if you haven't yet subscribed to our Blog: http://lawandsocietyreview.blogspot.com/.) Rebecca Postowski followed and excelled at collaborative work with the other assistants and kept a steady eye on the general flow of journal business across all three schools. As our co-editing term comes to a close, the three of us wish to say a very big “thank you” to Siobhan, Christina, Emily, Rebecca, and Anne.
You will see in this issue that the work of the Review's “team” has yet again ensured that our journal continues to represent the best of law and society scholarship. The articles in this issue showcase the range, diversity, and novelty of this scholarship. We hope you enjoy the selection.
