Writing Competitions
*These competitions are presented in summary format. Always check official rules.
American Judges Association:
Topic:
Essays submitted must be under the category of “Search and Seizure Arising from Motor Vehicle Stops.”
Rules:
The competition is open to any student regularly enrolled in and attending classes at an accredited law school. All papers shall be original, unpublished work of an individual student, but may have been prepared as a course assignment. Papers should be typed, double-spaced, on standard sized paper. Extensive footnoting or end noting is discouraged and is included in the paper’s length. All citations must conform to the 18th Edition of The Bluebook.
Prizes and Deadline:
First prize is $3,000, second prize in $1,500, and third prize is $1,000. Entries must be postmarked no later than June 2, 2008.
More Information:
An electronic version of the competition announcement and rules is available at http://www.americanjudgesassociation.us/.
Embryo Donation and Adoption Awareness Campaign:
Topic:
Write a position paper in response to a problem presented regarding embryo donation/adoption.
Rules:
The competition is open to all students of ABA accredited law schools who have completed one year of legal studies. The essay must be an original, unpublished work. It may be prepared as part of a course as long as there has not been substantial editorial input. Entries should be presented in law review style. Essays must not exceed twenty-five pages, including titles, citations, and any footnotes. The text of the essay must be double-spaced, and use twelve-point font with one-inch margins. Citations must be embedded in text or in footnote form; essays with endnotes will be disqualified. Cites must conform to the 18th Edition of The Bluebook.
Prizes and Deadline:
The first place recipient will receive $2500 in cash and an opportunity to present his/her essay at the May 2008 Emerging Issues in Embryo Donation and Adoption Convention. Second place will receive a $1,500 cash award and third will receive $1,000 cash award. The deadline for entries is midnight PST, March 2, 2008.
More Information:
An electronic version of the competition announcement and rules is available at www.embryolaw.org.
James William Moore Federal Practice Award:
Topic:
The principal subject of the submitted paper must be federal civil practice and procedure, including jurisdiction and venue rules of the federal courts. Submissions on the topics of federal courts management, federal appellate procedure, and alternative dispute resolution will also be acceptable.
Rules:
The Editor’s in Chief of each law review or journal at the school will determine the procedures by which papers are to be chosen by the law review for submissions to LexisNexis. Each Law Review may submit up to three papers. All papers should be a minimum of 20 pages, double spaced, on standard sized paper, and in 12 point Times New Roman font. Citations must be in footnote form and conform to the 18th Edition of The Bluebook.
Prizes and Deadline:
The winning entrant will receive $1,000 and the CD-ROM version of the Civil and Appellate volumes of Moore’s Federal Practice, including one year of updates. Additionally, the law review or journal that submits the winning article will receive $1,000. The deadline for submission is June 2, 2008.
More information:
An electronic version of the competition announcement and the official rules is available at www.lexisnexis.com/lawschool/partnership/moorefpa.asp
Mary Moers Wenig Student Writing Competition:
Topic:
One or more legal issues in the area of trusts and estates and related taxation.
Rules:
This competition is open to any law student in good standing who is currently enrolled the United States. Only papers that have not been previously published or accepted for publication are eligible. Papers prepared for law school credit are eligible provided they are the entrant’s original work. A co-authored paper by no more than two individuals is acceptable. The paper must be between twenty and thirty double-spaced pages in length, in 12 point Times New Roman or Times Roman font, and must be on standard sized paper, with one-inch margins. In addition, endnotes, not to exceed an additional five single- spaced pages in length, must be used. Endnote style must conform to the current edition of The Bluebook.
Prizes and Deadline:
First prize is $5,000, second prize is $3,000, and thirst Prize is $1,000. Additionally, there is an honorable mention prize of a variable amount based on the number of papers awarded “honorable mention.” The deadline for submission is May 1, 2008.
More Information:
An electronic version of the competition announcement and the official rules is available at http://www.actec.org/private/freeform/page.asp?PageID=318.
Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition:
Topic:
Any aspect of Copyright Law.
Rules:
The competition is open to third-year law students. However, in the discretion of the Dean, second-year students may also compete. Papers must strictly comply with the specific condition provided at the link below. These conditions include a manuscript not exceeding 50 pages that has properly formatted footnotes and endnotes along with a table of contents. All manuscripts must be typewritten, double-spaced, and on standard sized paper with 1 inch margins.
Prizes and Deadline:
There is a local and national prize. Locally, prize will be awarded to the eligible students who shall, in the sole judgment of the Dean or a committee as the Dean may designate, prepare the two best papers. However, the Dean may also withhold awards if sufficiently worthy papers are not submitted. The local prizes are a first prize of $600 and a second prize of $250. Nationally, first place local winners will be eligible for a first prize of $3,000, a second prize of $2,000, and a discretionary third prize of $1,000. These entries will be judged by a panel selected by the Copyright Society of the USA. The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2008.
More Information:
An electronic version of the competition announcement and rules is available http://ascap.com/musicbiz/burkan/.
Paralyzed Veterans of America:
Topic:
Should Congress maintain, modify, or completely redesign the Department of Veterans Affairs Benefits Adjudication Process, and how would the resulting benefit system be different from or better than the current system?
Rules:
The competition is open to law students and law school graduates. Co-authors are permitted. Papers should be a minimum of 15 pages in length and shall not exceed 30 pages, including footnote. They must be typed, double-spaced with one-inch margins, preferably in 12-point font. All citations and footnotes should conform to the current edition of The Bluebook. For complete rules, follow the link below.
Prizes and Deadline:
A First Prize of $3,000 and a Second Prize of $1,500 will be awarded by the judges and PVA will assist the winning entrants with having their work published is an appropriate professional journal. The deadline for submitting entries is April 30, 2008.
More Information:
An electronic version of the competition announcement and rules is available under “Legal Issues” at www.pva.org.
Richmond Journal of Law & Technology Writing Competition:
Topic:
The theme of this year’s competition is “The Endless Frontier: Emerging Issues in Law and Technology.” Students may write on any law and technology topic, including, but not limited to, biotechnology, intellectual property, patent and trademark, and the Internet.
Rules:
The competition is open to full-time law students. Entries must be electronically submitted to joltwritingcomp@richmond.edu. All entries must be between 20 and 35 pages in length, double spaced with 1 inch margins, and use 12 point Times New Roman Font. Additionally, submissions must be an original, unpublished academic work.
Prizes and Deadline:
The grand prize is $1,200 cash award and publication 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 $200 cash award and 2,500 LexisNexis points. Also, every entrant will receive 150 LexisNexis points. All entries must be received by 5:00p.m. EST, on February 8, 2008.
More Information:
An electronic version of the competition announcement and complete competition rules is available at www.law.richmond.edu/jolt.
Roscoe Hogan Environmental Law Essay Contest:
Topic:
Global Warming: How Can Litigation Make A Difference? Possible areas to explore include: standing to bring state or federal claims, the “best” theories of liability against specific defendants, and types of relief that are available.
Rules:
The competition is open to any student currently enrolled in an accredited American law school. Essays can only be written during the academic year covered by the competition and may not be prepared as part of paid legal work outside of school. All entrants must fill-out and submit the “intent-to-enter” form provided at the link below by January, 31, 2008. Essays must not exceed 50 pages of standard sized paper, double spaced, excluding footnotes. Additionally, an abstract must be included and co-authors are not permitted.
Prizes and Deadline:
A cash prize of $5000 will be awarded to the author of the winning essay. Additionally, the winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2008 Public Justice Annual Meeting in Philadelphia to receive an award. The deadline for entries is March 31, 2008.
More Information:
An electronic version of the competition announcement and complete competition rules is available www.publicjustice.net.
Tannenwald Writing Competition:
Topic:
Papers on any federal or state tax related topics may be submitted. Submitted papers must focus primarily on technical or policy-orientated tax issues relating to any type of existing or proposed U.S. federal or state tax or taxation system. Additionally, topics may relate to tax practice ethical and professional responsibility matters.
Rules:
The competition is open to all full-time or part-time law school students. Papers shall be 25- 50 double-spaced typewritten pages. Same-page footnotes are preferred and proper citation form must be used. Each submitted paper must be sponsored by a law school professor. Additionally, co-authored papers are not allowed.
Prizes and Deadline:
Cash prizes will be awarded for the winning paper ($3,500), first runner-up ($2,500), and second runner-up ($1,500). Provided that the paper has not already been published, the Foundation will use its best efforts to facilitate publication in The Tax Lawyer. All paper must be received by the Foundation by 9:00p.m. EST, July 1, 2008.
More Information:
An electronic version of the competition announcement is available at www.tannenwald.org.
