How to Contribute to Law. Simple.

What can you contribute?

Anything related to Philippine law and jurisprudence. It can be an explanation or discussion of a case or a law (these are preferred). It can be an opinion — with legal basis, of course — on bills, acts of government officials, or even Supreme Court rulings. Anything law-related, really.

The only guidelines are:

1. It has to be your own work. The piece doesn’t have to be unpublished before. Just make sure that the platform where you initially published your work allows you to publish in another publication.
2. It has to be related to Philippine law.
3. Cite your legal basis or other sources, especially when citing laws, decisions, and authors of commentaries. Also, credit the owners of photos used, if any.
4. Make it simple. Let’s make law simple for everyone. The law shouldn’t be for lawyers only. Your submission can be a long piece, but make it simple. Let’s stop the old practice of unnecessarily long sentences filled with unnecessary legal jargon (when there are simple alternatives) or ancient words found in a thesaurus.

How can you contribute?

Two options: the first involves making an account on Medium; the second doesn’t.

Option 1:

1. Make an account on Medium as a writer. (Note: This one’s a lot better than the second option, since revenue from the piece goes to you; since the Philippines isn’t supported by Stripe, I used TransferWise to make a US bank account, then I use it to send money to my Philippine bank account.)
2. Send an email to quarterscontact@gmail.com containing (1) your Medium username; (2) what you want to contribute (the title, topic, or a first draft).
3. Wait for the acceptance email.
4. If you are accepted, write your piece on Medium. When finished, press the three dots on the upper right of the Medium page (the one to the right of the Publish button), press the Add to Publication button, and click Law. Simple.
5. Your piece will be published in the Law. Simple. publication. You can repost your piece anywhere you want.

Option 2:

1. Send an email to quarterscontact@gmail.com containing (1) your name (or the name you want the piece to be credited to); (2) what you want to contribute (the title, topic, or a first draft).
2. Wait for the acceptance email.
3. If accepted, send your full piece to quarterscontact@gmail.com
4. Your piece will be published in the Law. Simple. publication. It will be published under the name of Quarters, but your name will be indicated as the author of the work. You can repost your piece anywhere you want.

By sending your work, you agree to any editing that may be performed on your work. Mostly grammar and citation, if needed.