Editorial change at psychiatry, psychology and law: We stand on the shoulders of a giant

Since April 2020, four new editors have commenced work on Psychiatry, Psychology and Law for an initial period of three years. We will handle manuscripts submitted to the journal, publish accepted articles first online and then curate them into each new issue of the journal. Joining our continuing Editorial Assistant, Ms Nina Hudson, and still under the expert and experienced eye of mentor and Editor-at-Large, Professor Ian Freckelton, QC, are the following new hands: Professor Mark Nolan (Editor-in-Chief), Professor Kate Diesfeld (Associate Editor), Professor Alfred Allan (Associate Editor) and Associate Professor Christopher Ryan (Associate Editor).

As we muddle along in these early days in the job, it is not lost on any of us that we truly do stand on the shoulder of a giant, Professor Ian Freckelton, QC, who has demonstrated an enormous capacity for management, scholarship, output, delivery and innovation at the helm of this journal for 27 years, with the quality of his own scholarship and the standards of the journal impressing many for so long. As an Honorary Life Member of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law (ANZAPPL) and a former President of ANZAPPL, Ian has, for more than three decades, been instrumental in publishing work of ANZAPPL members and others in our professional association’s publications, editing Psychiatry, Psychology and Law for all of its 27 years, single-handedly. That history and contribution are documented so well in Ian’s Editorial written for issue 27(3). 1 The thanks we owe as an entire professional association to that effort is obvious and considerable, especially now, as we spread the volume of that effort across an editorial team of four humans – plus Nina as Editorial Assistant – not just one humans. That we four still seem to be scrambling a little sometimes, as the demand to handle manuscripts is pleasingly high, and we are able sustain six issues of the journal per year, speaks volumes (and literally 27 and a half volumes of issues published) about Ian’s expertise and commitment.

Nina has been instrumental in teaching us new editorial folks, and relatively old dogs, new tricks, and we thank her for her time and patience and good humour as she organises us and supervises our editorial work at a crucial time in her own research doctorate journey and other personal commitments. With immense thanks to Nina, we can confidently say that our evolving ScholarOne knowledge (knowledge of the system that handles submitted manuscripts and all related decision-making correspondence) is now reaching an acceptable level. Thanks for the patience already displayed by submitting authors as we navigate the various stages of the editorial process together as new editors for the first time. Together with production staff from Taylor and Francis, we are proud to bring you this first issue of the journal under our complete control, with the wind behind us somewhat, as a new editorial team. The balance of this COVID-affected year will be a rather heady experience as we hit our stride and fill and publish the next issues, 27(5) and 27(6) as soon as possible.