Individual skill
ylj-topic-selection
Use when deciding whether a legal-scholarship idea is a fit for The Yale Law Journal (YLJ) and which track it belongs in. It tests generalist significance, timeliness, and novelty potential; it does not draft the thesis or run the formal preemption search.
Yale-Law-Journal-Skills/skills/ylj-topic-selection/SKILL.md
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# Topic Selection & Fit (ylj-topic-selection)
YLJ is the **generalist flagship** of American legal scholarship — read across the whole discipline by
academics, judges, and practitioners. A topic earns a slot only if its claim matters **beyond a single
doctrinal niche**. This skill screens the idea before you invest in a full draft; it does not yet build
the claim (`ylj-thesis-and-contribution`) or prove novelty (`ylj-preemption-check`).
## When to trigger
- You have an idea and want to know if YLJ is the right home (vs. a specialty review)
- Several candidate angles exist and you must pick the one with the widest reach
- Deciding Article vs. Essay vs. Feature vs. (for Yale students) Note/Comment
- A timely development (new statute, circuit split, landmark opinion) might justify the Forum
