Writing Competitions Available (details listed below)

Competition Details

Notre Dame Law School presents
the Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition

Entries should concern any issue within the general category of legal ethics.
Entries must be original, unpublished work.
Entries must not exceed 50 pages, including notes.
Coauthored essays may be submitted.
Submissions will be judged by a panel of faculty of the Notre Dame Law School.

A prize of $2,500 will be awarded for one winning entry
All entries must be received before 5 p.m., Friday, April 25, 2008.

All entries should be submitted to:

Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition
Notre Dame Law School
Notre Dame, Indiana  46556
(574) 631-6749

National Association of Women Lawyers Second Annual Selma Moidel Smith Law Student Writing Competition

Entrants should submit a paper on an issue concerning women's rights or the status of women in the law.  Essays must be typed on 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper, double-spaced in 12-point font.  All margins must be at least one inch.  Entries must not exceed fifteen pages of text, with footnotes placed as endnotes.  Citation style should conform to the eighteenth edition of The Bluebook - A uniform System of Citation.  Essays that exceed 15 pages will not be read. 

Questions regarding this competition should be addressed to the chair of the Writing Competition, Professor Jennifer Martin at jmartin@law.wnec.edu

First Place: $500 and will be published in the NAWL Women Lawyers Journal in Summer 2007

Entries must be submitted in two formats:  (1) email an electronic version ( in Microsoft Word of PDF format) to StrongS@nawl.org; and (2) mail, with a postmark dated by April 30, 2007 four paper copies of the essay to:
Selma Moidel Smith Law Student Writing Competition
National Association of Women Lawyers
American Bar Center, MS 15.2
321 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60610

For more information, visit http://www.abanet.org/nawl/docs/Flyer_for_2007-08l.pdf.

Visit http://www.pva.org/site/DocServer/writing_contest_rules06-07.pdf?docID=1581 for more details.

The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel presents
The Mary Moers Wenig 2008 Student Writing Competition

Trusts and Estates Writing Competition for Law Students

Submissions must meet the following criteria:

Student Written Scholarly works that address one or more legal issues in the area of trusts and estates and related taxation.

Rules, entry forms and more information are available at http://www.actec.org/private/freeform/page.asp?PageID=403

The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, Inc.
Writing Contest for Law Students

TOPIC: The scope of permissible topics is broad, i.e., any aspect of public or private labor or employment law.  Students are encouraged to present a public policy issue, a critique of a leading case or doctrine, a comment on a statute or the need for a statutory modification, or a comment on a common law doctrine.

For more information, visit: http://www.laborandemploymentcollege.org/Writing_Contest/writing_contest.html

2008 Brown Award for Excellence in Legal Writing

The Judge John R. Brown Scholarship Foundation is pleased to announce the fifteenth annual Brown Award to recognize Excellence in Legal Writing in the United States.  The stipend for the winner is $10,000.

All entries must be sponsored by a faculty member or legal professional and must be post-marked no later than May 16, 2008.

For more information, please visit http://www.brownsims.com/judgebrownaward.htm.

2008 International Association of Defense Counsel Writing Competition

All J.D. candidates currently enrolled in accredited law schools are eligible to participate in the IADC Legal Writing Contest. Entrants must write on subjects in the fields of tort law, insurance law, civil procedure, evidence or other areas of the law of practical concern to lawyers engaged in the defense or management of the defense of civil litigation. The contest is judged by a committee of the IADC.

First Prize is $2,000 with Second and Third place prizes of $1,000 and $500, respectively.

For more information, please visit http://www.iadclaw.org/contest.cfm.

Pacific Legal Foundation presents
The Ninth Annual Program for Judicial Awareness Writing Competition

The Program for Judicial Awareness will award up to three cash prizes for publishable student essays that address one of the following topics. Multiple prizes may be awarded for each topic should entries warrant. Entries should thoroughly address pertinent case law and applicable academic literature.

 TOPIC I

In recent years, the Supreme Court has reiterated that its primary test for violations of the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment is the multi-factored analysis of Penn Central Transportation Co. v. City of New York, 438 U.S. 104 (1978). Using the criteria set out in that case, what sort(s) of land-use regulations do you think are most likely to be struck down as regulatory takings over the coming decade, and why?

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin. Should this ban be understood to mandate special accommodations (e.g., free translation services) for non-English speakers? Why or why not?

Traditionally, courts found that government regulators violated the substantive due process rights of property owners if their actions were found to be arbitrary and capricious. However, some jurisdictions have ruled that such violations are only triggered by government action that "shocks the conscience." See, e.g., Mongeau v. City of Marlborough, 2007 WL 1793137 (1^st Cir. 2007^). Explain why the "shocks the conscience" standard is inappropriate to gauge substantive violations of the Due Process Clause in cases involving property rights.

For more details, visit http://www.pacificlegal.org/?mvcTask=writingCompetition

To submit electronically e-mail clt@pacificlegal.org.
First Class Mail:
Judicial Awareness Writing Competition
Pacific Legal Foundation
3900 Lennane Drive, Suite 200
Sacramento, CA 95834
First Place: $5,000
First Runner-Up: $3,000
Second Runner-Up: $1,500
Questions: e-mail Cindy Turpin at clt@pacificlegal.org

THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF EMPLOYEE BENEFITS COUNSEL presents
The FOURTH ANNUAL EMPLOYEE BENEFITS WRITING COMPETITION

1. Eligibility/topics. Papers written by full or part-time law school students, undergraduate (J.D.) or graduate (L.L.M. or S.J.D.), on any legal topic involving employee benefits are eligible for the Competition. Topics might include issues related to health benefits, pension benefits, 401(k) plans, severance, executive compensation, claims and appeals, spousal and domestic partner benefits, division of benefits in divorce, collectively-bargained benefits, impact of bankruptcy on benefits, benefits litigation and ERISA remedies, fiduciary obligations, taxation of benefits and benefit plans or deductibility of contributions.

a. Papers submitted should not exceed 40 pages (double-spaced, in 12 point type, with an inch margin on each side), not including footnotes. Footnotes should be single spaced starting on a separate page at the end of the document.

b. The text of the paper should not include information identifying the author or law school in the paper.

c. Submissions may include papers prepared for class assignments, law journals or other purposes, as well as those written especially for the Competition.

d. Student papers submitted for publication in law reviews or other law school journals or periodicals but not yet published are eligible for the Competition, provided that (i) the version submitted for the Competition does not reflect any changes made to the paper after submission of the manuscript to any publication and (ii) the College receives any consents necessary to publish.

2. Selection of winners. Winning papers will be selected by the Writing Competition Selection Committee based on, among other factors: (i) depth and creativity of legal analysis; (ii) thoroughness of legal research; (iii) organization and writing style; (iv) difficulty of subject matter; and (v) consideration of labor, tax or other employee benefits policy implications. The determination of the judges’ panel is final. Competition winners will be notified by August 15, 2008.

3. Publication of winning article(s). The College will use its best efforts to arrange for publication of the winning papers in the BNA Pension and Benefits Reporter, the BNA Tax Management Compensation Planning Journal or other professional publications, subject to receiving any necessary consents from the author and any other journal. In addition, the winning papers will be distributed to the Fellows of the College.

4. Prizes. Cash prizes ($1,500 each?) will be awarded for up to two winning paper, based on the worthiness of the submissions. The expectation is that there will be one award for the best JD paper and one for the best graduate paper. The College may, in its discretion, decide to split prizes, to award additional prizes or to award fewer than two awards.

5. Deadline. Papers must be submitted by pdf attachment to an email addressed to peter.kelly@bcbsa. The email should identify the applicant and his or her school and must be received by May 31, 2008.

Questions concerning the Competition should be directed to Peter Kelly, Chair of the ACEBC Writing Competition at peter.kelly@bcbsa.com.

The ABA Section of Science & Technology Law Student Writing Contest

The theme for the 2008 contest is as follows:
The Internet has taken social networking to a whole new level, not only for adults but also for children and teens. Some sites, such as MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube, have a sweeping range of participants. Others are narrowly focused, such as blogs geared to patient interest groups, including those at http://www.patientadvocare.blogspot.com/ and http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/index_cwd.htm. With this seemingly limitless opportunity for networking and sharing personal information have come questions about privacy. What are the privacy issues presented by these new technologies? Can current privacy laws and regimes adequately address the issues of this continually evolving new world?

The winner will receive a trip to the ABA Annual Meeting in New York City and may have his or her submission published in The SciTech Lawyer. All submissions are due March 1, 2008 and the winner will be notified by June 1, 2008.

Full contest rules and submission criteria can be found on the Section’s website at www.abanet.org/scitech/studentwriting.html

American Judges Association/American Judges Foundation Presents:
The Eighteenth Annual Law Student Essay Competition

The competition is open to all currently enrolled full-time law students.

First Prize: $3,000 and the possibility of being published in the American Judges Association Journal, Court Review.
Second Prize: $1,500
Third Prize: $1,000

Essays must be under the category of "Search and Seizure Arising from Motor Vehicle Stops."

For more information, please visit http://aja.ncsc.dni.us/htdocs/essaycontest.htm

Attorney - CPA Foundation 2006-2007 Essay Contest

Papers discuss the restrictions and prohibitions which the professional legal and accounting ethical standard setters place on the simultaneous multidisciplinary  practice of law and accounting by an attorney - CPA holding active licenses issued by both the state Bar Association and Accountancy Board in their jurisdiction.  The approximate length of the essay is 20 pages, typed and double spaced. 
Grand Prize: $2,500
Runner up:  $1,500
Third & Fourth, each:  $500
4 Regional Prizes, each:  $250
Send essays to:  Essay Contest
                          Attorney - CPA Foundation
                          3921 Old Lee Highway, Suite 71A
                          Fairfax, VA 22030
Website: www.attorneycpa.com

The American Planning Association Presents:
The 25th Annual Smith-Babcock-Williams Award Student Writing Competition

Entries should demonstrate original thought on a question of significance in either planning or areas of law germane to planning (e.g., land use, local government or environmental law) and will be evaluated based on: (1) originality; (2) contribution to the understanding or development of the fields of planning and law; (3) quality of scholarship; and (4) quality and organization of writing.

The winning entry in the competition will be awarded a prize of $2,500 and will be submitted for publication in The Urban Lawyer, the law journal of the American Bar Association's Section of State & Local Government Law. In addition to the first prize, the Competition will award a second prize of $1,000 and up to two Honorable Mention prizes of $250.

Click here to download the rules.

The Federal Circuit Bar Association presents
The George Hutchinson Writing Competition

Papers must deal with a topic that lies within the substance, procedure, or scope of the specialized jurisdiction of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.  Papers are typically about 20 pages in length.  Papers shall not exceed 50 pages, including footnotes.  They must be typed and double spaced.  The entrants name and school should not appear on either the original or copies of the paper.  A separate cover letter listing the name, address, telephone number, law school, and graduation year must be submitted with each entry.

Submissions should be mailed to:
Alexandra Manolas
Administrative Coordinator
George Hutchinson Writing Competition
Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione
NBC Tower - Suite 3600
Chicago, Illinois 60611-5599
amanolas@brinkshofer.com

First Place: $3,000

Website: www.fedcirbar.com 

The Marc Lalonde Prize for Excellence in
International Commercial and Investment Arbitration

The prize is offered to Canadian citizens or residents and must focus on an issue arising in international commercial or investment arbitration.

For further information, please visit http://www.canadianarbitrationcongress.com/

Tannenwald Writing Competition

Essays must cover any federal or state tax topic.

First Prize:     $3,500
Second Prize: $2,500
Third Prize:     $1,500

For competition rules, visit www.tannenwald.org

Association of Securities and Exchange Commission Alumni, Inc. Securities Writing Competition

The writing competition awards program is available to students registered at an accredited degree-granting law school in the United States. Both undergraduate and graduate law students are eligible. The topic may be any subject in the field of securities law.

Three cash prizes are awarded each year at the ASECA annual dinner. First prize is $5,000; second prize is $3,000; and third prize is $2,000.

Two copies of all submissions should be sent to the address below and must be received no later than November 15, 2007. Unpublished papers or papers published or to be published in any law journal or other publication during the calendar year ending December 31, 2007 are eligible for submission. Co-authored papers are not eligible. Papers will be screened by a panel of judges consisting of securities practitioners and law professors. The best papers will be submitted to the Board of Directors of ASECA, who will choose the award winners.

Award winners will be invited to attend the ASECA annual dinner, which will be held in Washington, D.C. on Friday, February 8, 2008. Travel and lodging for the first place winner will be reimbursed by ASECA up to $1,000 in actual expenses.

Submissions for the writing competition should be sent to:

ASECA
P. O. Box 5767
Washington, DC 20016

Submissions in hard copy must be received by November 15, 2007. E-mail submissions will not be accepted. All submissions must include the author's name and contact information, including street address, telephone number, e-mail address, law school, and year of anticipated graduation.

For information or questions, contact:

ASECA Executive Director
info@secalumni.org
202-462-1211

For more information, visit http://www.secalumni.org/content.asp?contentid=4

Dr. Emanuel Stein Memorial Law Student Writing Competition

To recognize excellence among law school students writing in the area of labor and employment law; and to cultivate the relationship between the Section and future labor and employment practitioners.

Articles must be original from the applicant. Submissions should focus on any timely, compelling aspect of labor and employment law. Only one submission per student.

1st place: $1,000 and publication in Section newsletter. 2nd place: $500. 3rd place: $300.

For more information, visit http://www.nysba.org/Template.cfm?Section=Awards3&Template=/Admin/Award/AwardDisplay.cfm&code=MS_STEIN

Email questions to Linda Castilla at lcastilla@nysba.org.

ABA Health Law Section Annual Writing Competition

he Health Law Section is pleased to announce the 6th Annual Law Student Writing Competition. The winner will be introduced at the Section's Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law conference February 20-22, 2008 in San Diego. The award will include publication in The Health Lawyer; a $500 honorarium, and airfare (at ABA rates), hotel for two nights and a $50 per diem for two days to attend the Emerging Issues conference. A second place winner may be named if deemed appropriate.

The second place winner will also be published in The Health Lawyer. No cash or travel award will be presented to the second place winner.

The format should be in the Harvard "Blue Book" style. Papers should be a minimum of 25 pages double spaced and a maximum of 50 pages. It needs to be an original work with no third party(ies) to substantially edit or collaborate in the writing of the paper.

For more information, please visit http://www.abanet.org/health/06_membership/LawStudents/WritingCompetition/ 2008/WritingCompetition_Guidelines08.pdf

The Third Annual $10,000 Swope Antitrust Writing Prize Announced - Law Students, Judicial Clerks, Young Lawyers Eligible

The international law firm Jones Day announced that entries for the Third Annual $10,000 William E. Swope Antitrust Writing Prize will be accepted until December 31, 2007.

The competition, which honors former Antitrust Division official and Jones Day partner Bill Swope's pioneering ability to clarify abstract and complex issues, is open to students currently enrolled in full- or part-time juris doctorate or more advance degree programs at U.S. law schools accredited by AALS and non-U.S. schools of equivalent standing. Current judicial clerks who have graduated from such programs and practicing lawyers who graduated from such degree programs in May 2002 or later are also invited to participate.

One $10,000 prize and two $1,500 honorable mention prizes will be awarded. Winners will attend the 2008 Spring Meeting of the American Bar Association Antitrust Section in Washington as guests of Jones Day and be guests of honor at a Firm reception.

For more information, visit http://www.jonesday.com/swope/

American College of Legal Medicine Presents:

The Hoffman Bioethics Student Writing Competition and

The Student Writing Competition in Legal Medicine

All authors must have previously achieved a baccalaureate degree or equivalent from an accredited institution and must be currently enrolled in an accredited law, medical, podiatric, nursing, dental, health science, or health care administration program in the United States or Canada. Authors can submit their papers to only one of ACLM's student writing competitions (Bioethics or Legal Medicine).

Papers must contain original work done exclusively by a single author and must be between 3,000 and 5,000 words in length (text), excluding citations, and presented in essay form. Papers may relate to research done by the author, and may be submitted to fulfill a course requirement in the author's program of study. No paper that has been previously published in any form will be considered; however, papers written for scholarly classes will be allowed as long as they have not been published.

All papers submitted will receive consideration for publication in the Journal of Legal Medicine or other medical legal publications. By submitting a paper, the applicant waives copyright or any other claim to the paper and all papers submitted shall become the permanent property of the ACLM.

For more information, visit http://www.aclm.org/resources/swc/Default.aspx

Louis Jackson National Student Writing Competition
in Employment and Labor Law
co-sponsored by Jackson Lewis LLP and the Institute for Law and the Workplace

$5,000 in awards Judges will consider papers on any topic relating to the law governing the workplace, such as employment law, labor law, employee benefits, or employment discrimination.  Only the first two submissions from each school will be accepted!

For more information, visit http://www.kentlaw.edu/academics/plel/LouisJacksonNWC.html

American Indian Law Review Writing Competition

First Place - $1,000 and recognition in the American Indian Law Review.

The competition is open to all current law school students.

Papers will be judged on the basis of originality and timeliness of topic, knowledge and use of applicable legal principles, proper and articulate analysis of the issues, use of authorities and extent of research, logic and reasoning in analysis, ingenuity and ability to argue by analogy, clarity and organization, correctness of format and citations, grammar and writing style, and strength and logic of conclusions.

For more information, visit http://adams.law.ou.edu/ailr/competition.cfm

Richmond Journal of Law and Technology presents:
THE FOURTH BIENNIAL WRITING COMPETITION

Along with LexisNexis, Westlaw and FairWinds Partners LLC, we are proud to announce the fourth Richmond Journal of Law & Technology Biennial Writing Competition. The topic for this year’s writing competition is: "The Endless Frontier: Emerging Issues in Law and Technology”. This national competition is open to all full-time law students and will provide a forum for exploring cutting-edge issues applicable to areas in which technology and the law intersect. Students may write on any law and technology topic, including, but not limited to, biotechnology, intellectual property, patent and trademark, and the Internet.

The grand prize winner will receive a $1,200 cash award and will be published in a 2008 issue of JOLT. The second place winner will receive a $600 cash award and 2,000 WestlawRewards points. The third place winner will receive a $100 cash award and 2500 LexisNexis points. Additionally, every entrant will receive 150 LexisNexis points!

For more information, please visit http://law.richmond.edu/jolt/submit.asp

The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy is pleased to announce:
The 2008 Richard D. Cudahy Writing Competition On Regulatory and Administrative Law

Judge Richard D. Cudahy's work in the areas of regulatory and administrative law has combined a keen grasp of legal doctrine, deep insight into the institutional forces that determine how doctrine is implemented, and an appreciation of the public impact of doctrinal and institutional choices, including the consequences for fundamental values such as fairness, participation, and transparency. This competition seeks to encourage and reward these qualities in the scholarship of others.

Overview: The Richard D. Cudahy Writing Competition on Regulatory and Administrative Law is open to a wide array of participants. Practicing lawyers, policymakers, academics, and law students all are encouraged to take part. The author of the winning paper will receive a cash prize of $3,000. Up to three top papers will receive special recognition at the ACS National Convention, on the ACS website, and potentially through other means agreed upon by the authors and ACS.  We encourage participants to view this topic broadly and welcome submissions on a variety of substantive areas.

For more information, please visit http://www.acslaw.org/node/5373

Berkeley Technology Law Journal
2008 Writing Competition

First prize:  $2,000 and Publication in the Fall 2008 Issue of the BTLJ
Second Prize: $750
Third Prize: $500

For more information, please visit: http://www.btlj.org/submissions/competition.php

Embryo Donation and Adoption Campaign presents:
The 2008 Law Student Essay Competition

Challenge: Write a scholarly position paper in response to a problem
presented regarding embryo donation / adoption.

$5,000 in Total Cash Awards

1st Place Essay will be presented by the winning student at the
Emerging Issues in Embryo Donation and Adoption
National Conference in Arlington, Virginia
May 29-31, 2008

For more information, visit www.embryolaw.org

UCLA Journal of Law and Technology Presents:
The Spring 2008 Writing Contest

First Prize is $1,000

JOLT seeks to publish scholarly and scientific articles relating to law and technology. We are also interested in material of a more practical nature aimed at doctors, business people, legislators, government employees, engineers, students, and members of the general public.

For more information, please visit http://www.lawtechjournal.com/home/?p=68#more-68

The Houston Journal of International Law presents:
the James Baker Hughes Prize

The prize is awarded to the best unpublished student-written manuscript on the subject of international economic law.  This $500 cash award is funded by a grant from Judge and Mrs. Lynn N. Hughes, and the winning submission will be published as the "James Baker Hughes Prize" article in an upcoming issue of the Houston Journal of International Law.

(1) All articles must be submitted in the following format:
  (a) Typewritten
  (b) Double-spaced
  (c) On 8.5 x 11 inch paper
  (d) No longer than 25 pages in length, exclusive of footnotes
  (e) Types in 12-point Times New Roman font

(2) All articles must be received by the Houston Journal of International Law no later than Friday, March 7, 2008.  Articles received after that date will not be considered.  Please send all submissions to:

Lauren Grau
Head Casenotes & Comments Editor
Houston Journal of International Law
University of Houston Law Center
100 Law Center
Houston, Texas  77204-6060 USA

(3) All Articles must be on the subject of international economic law.  "International economic law" is a broad term that can include all legal aspects of economic relations, from private business matters to international trade conflicts.  The article must be an unpublished student-written manuscript.

(4) Any article submitted to the Houston Journal of International Law in this competition shall become the property of the Houston Journal of International Law.  No article so submitted may be published in any journal or periodical other than the Houston Journal of International Law until after announcement of the winner of this competition.  After such announcement, any non-winning article submitted for consideration in this competition may be published in any other journal or periodical.

(5) The winning paper will be published in the Houston Journal of International Law and the author will receive $500.

National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys Student Journal Essay Contest

The topic addressed should relate to the intersection of law and aging, elder, or disability planning. Entries should not exceed 35 pages in length, including footnotes, and be set at 12-point Times New Roman font with double spacing and one - inch margins.  Articles should be submitted electronically in Word or Word - Perfect to editor@naela.org.  You must include the following information with your submission; title of work, date submitted, name, law school, mailing addresses, telephone number, and e-mail address.  

First Place: $1,500
Second Place: $1,000
Third Place: $500

For more information, please contact Jonathan Boyle
(520) 881 - 4005 or visit www.naela.org