Format and Style Manual

Franchise Lawyer

FORMAT
Point of view	The FLJ welcomes pieces taking controversial stances. Remember that cases celebrated by some factions will be criticized by others. Unless the piece is part of a point-counterpoint debate, your presentation should be even-handed. Avoid harsh, highly politicized commentary.
Bias	To preserve professional objectively, it is assumed that, absent appropriated disclosure: (a) authors are not involved in litigation or similar matters that would impair objective treatment of the subject, and (b) authors have not received compensation of any type for the articles.
First paragraph of article	Be certain to orient a general reader to the issue addressed in the article. Do not assume familiarity with the general context of the issue you are addressing.
Original Works	The FLJ publishes only articles not previously published submitted for publication elsewhere.
Editing	The FLJ reserves the right to edit any submitted piece as it deems appropriate.
Outline format	Not allowed. Do not submit articles in outline form. Do not use word processing outline codes.
Justification	Left justification only, not full justification of margins.
End notes only	Absolutely no footnotes. Use embedded endnotes only, using the "insert" function of word processing system. Do not create a separate document for endnotes.
National scope	The FLJ is a national publication. Do not limit citations to one state and do not limit your analysis to a single state.
Level of inquiry	In writing an article, you should read all pertinent case law and read significant law review articles on the topic. Law review articles are an excellent source for out-of-state case law.
STYLE MANUAL
"a" and "the"	"the" is used when referring to a specific franchise, court, etc. "a" refers to franchisors in general.
antitrust	No dash. No capital T.
BFG cites	Proper citation format is Bus. Franchise Guide (CCH) ¶ 5638. Page references should say Scheck at 16,231.
block capital letters	Never used.
case citations	In italics; not underlined. All citation information other than case name appears in the endnotes only. Citations in endnotes are not underlined or italized except to reference a previously cited case. E.g., Scheck, supra, 117 F.2d at 211.
dashes between words	Two dashes should be used, with no space between the dash and the word used.
ellipses	Periods are separated by spaces. Four periods where the sentence ends.
"franchisor" not franchiser,	Not capitalized and precede by "the" where appropriate.
"had"	The past perfect tense. Where described action took place at different times, the earlier action is differentiated by the word "had." The single most overlooked error.
"in order to"	Omit.
"In this case, the court . . ." or "this case held that . . . "	Avoid. Sounds like an elementary school book report.
lists	Please avoid numbered or lettered lists. Don't number the five elements of a fraud claim--just separate them by commas or semicolons.
"names of judges"	Unless referring to a nationally recognized judge, judges are not named.
per se	Not italicized or underlined
plaintiff	The plaintiff, not "Plaintiff alleged. . . . " Not capitalized.
pronouns	"I," "we," and "our" should never be used.
quote marks	Go outside of periods.
Shepardizing	All citations are to be shepardized to the time of submission.
"since"	Use "because" unless referring to passage of time.
underlining	No word is underlined in the FLJ.