Islamic Jurisprudence, May 7, 2008 deadline for student publication 1/1/06-1/31/08

Ibrahim Shihata Prize

For outstanding student writing on Islamic law and related legal developments in the Muslim World

Competition Guidelines
Ì Eligibility for 2008 WFLS Shihata Prize
¨ The WFLS Shihata Prize is awarded through an open competition.
¨ Each author candidate may submit one article or note addressing a topic of Islamic jurisprudence or related legal development in the Muslim World.
¨ The work submitted must have been authored by a student and published in English in an academic journal in the United States or Canada during the 25-month period between January 1, 2006 and January 31, 2008. (Proof of publication required.)
¨ Journals may enter submissions on behalf of individual author candidates whose work they have published.
Ì Submission Deadline
¨ May 7, 2008
Ì Procedures
¨ Electronic submissions (preferred) may be sent to postmaster@wfls.org. (To help avoid the risk of capacity-based e-mail rejections by our internet service provider, journals are encouraged to avoid making last minute electronic submissions.)
¨ Contact information for submitting journal should be included in text of e-mail transmission and not attached file.
¨ Mail-in submissions: Cover letter from submitting journal and 5 copies of submission may be mailed not later than submission deadline to WFLS, Shihata Competition, PO Box 66542, Washington Square, Washington, DC 20035.
¨ Submissions (electronic or hard copy) must be in publication format, i.e. submissions should be formatted in a manner similar to that appearing in the published journal, with the exception that references to the name of the journal, author, or other potential identifier information be removed.
¨ Proof of publication may consist of availability on Lexis or Westlaw (provide cite), a hard copy of journal cover and table of contents, or other sufficient proof.


For Further Information or Questions Contact: WFLS/Shihata Competition at 703 994 0666.
http://www.wfls.org/version02/html/previous_shihata.html

http://www.wfls.org/version02/html/awards.html

***

Image source: wikipedia; found in article on Islamic Turkish, Iranian, and Indian Empires (1030-1918). Nine hundred years, three cultures, all in four paragraphs ... hmmm. For more scholarly treatment, see e.g., the Journal of Islamic Law and Culture (Arkansas) (formerly at Depaul as Journal of Islamic Law and Culture).

Law and Society -- $500 for travel expenses to Denver; nomination procedure

The approach to Law and Society writing contest recognition is through a nomination process. Students memberships to this organization are offered at a reduced rate. Scholarly papers that meet the criteria for this organizations eight prizes and awards are nominated by members of the society.

The Law and Society web site contains an array of information, highlights that pertain to writing awards for undergraduate and graduate students are highlighted below. Additional Law and Society awards are designed for experienced scholars; all are discussed at the Law and Society web site.

As for the writing awards that pertain to law students, highlights for the Society web site information include:

Association Prizes

The Law and Society Association offers eight prizes and awards for scholarship in the field of law and society. They are the Harry J. Kalven, Jr. Prize for Outstanding Scholarship in Law and Society: the J. Willard Hurst Prize for the Best Work in Sociolegal Legal History; the Herbert Jacob Book Prize; the Law and Society Association Article Prize; the Law and Society Association International Prize; the Stanton Wheeler Mentorship Prize, and three student prizes -- an undergraduate paper prize, a graduate student paper prize, and a dissertation prize.

Calls for Nominations for 2009 prizes will be issued on this website and the LSA Newsletter this Fall, with due dates in late 2008 - early 2009. Prizes will be awarded at the annual meeting in May in Denver.

Sampling of winning student titles (more appear on the Law and Society web site, under the student writing awards category):

Regulating the ‘Social Mix:’ How and Why Do France and the U.S. Desegregate Housing (2008)

Myth‑making and the Collision of Rights in Sudan (2008)

It's Just Black, White or Hispanic": An Ethno- graphic Examination of Racializing Moves in California's Segregated Prison Reception Centers (2007)

From Institutional Change to Customer Service: The Development of the Practical Meaning of Title VI (2006)

Inside Out and Upside Down in Indian Country: Law's Colonization of the Native Nations (2005)

How Green Was My Valley? An Examination of Tournament Theory as a Governance Mechanism in Silicon Valley Law Firms (2004)

***
Image link: wikipedia; Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh

Affordable Housing/Community Development $1,000 and trip to D.C. in May 2009; March 2, 2009 deadline

Affordable Housing/Community Development $1,000 and trip to D.C. in May 2009; March 2, 2009 deadline

Eligibility:
Open to all students currently enrolled in an ABA Accredited Law School.

Topic:
Papers should address any legal issue regarding affordable housing and/or community development law.

Submission Requirements:
Entries must be original, unpublished work. Articles should be between 25-50 double-spaced pages and should include endnotes rather than footnotes. The page limit includes the endnotes. However, if an entry extends slightly beyond 50 pages, it will not be categorically rejected. The definition of "slightly" is left to one’s discretion--compliance with the page limit requirement is an evaluation factor whose weight will vary depending upon the evaluator.

There is no entry form of any kind. A title page should be attached and must contain the title of the submission, the student's name, and the student's contact information including street address, phone number(s), and email address.

Award:
Submissions will be blindly evaluated by a committee of Forum members. The best paper as judged by the selection committee will be awarded a prize of $1,000 and a trip to attend the 18th Forum's Annual Conference, May 20-22, 2009, in Washington, D.C., airfare and lodging included*.

The winning essay may also be published in the Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Development Law.

Date:
All entries must be postmarked by March 2, 2009.

Send entries to:
SCOTT L. CUMMINGS
Univ. of California, Los Angeles
Box 951476
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1476
310-794-5495
cummings@law.ucla.edu

*Coach airfare, 21-day advance purchase and lodging at the conference hotel for 2 nights.

Anti-trust law; $10,000; $1,500 -- December 31, 2008 deadline

This competition just came to my attention, when I was browsing the writing competition site maintained at the University of Oregon.

The deadline is December 31, 2008 for this year's Swope anti-trust competition which features a generous first place prize of $10,000. As a practical matter, blog readers who already have completed an article covering an anti-trust issue are the only blog readers who are still in the running for this year's competition. For other readers, consider next year! Also, remember to check the writing competition sites in the side bar to this blog, to identify competitions that may not have come to my attention yet.

***

William E. Swope Antitrust Writing Prize
Washington - The international law firm Jones Day announced that entries for the $10,000 William E. Swope Antitrust Writing Prize will be accepted until December 31, 2008.

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 advanced degree programs at U.S. law schools accredited by AALS and non-U.S. schools of equivalent standing, to current judicial clerks who have graduated from such programs, and to practicing lawyers who graduated from such degree programs in May 2003 or later.

One $10,000 prize and two $1,500 honorable mention prizes will be awarded. Winners will attend the 2009 Spring Meeting of the American Bar Association Antitrust Section in Washington as guests of Jones Day and will be guests of honor at a Firm reception.

Judges will be looking for work that demonstrates the application of practical analysis to antitrust problems. Eligible papers will also be judged on quality of research, writing, and scholarship; originality; practicality; and relevance to the understanding and application of antitrust law and policy.

Papers must be the product of a single author's original thought and scholarship. Their length should be appropriate to the subject matter being addressed and must not exceed 15,000 words, including footnotes. Papers used for academic credit or submitted to law reviews or other journals are permitted, but they must have been submitted or published no earlier than than one year prior to the December 31, 2008 deadline. An individual may submit only one entry.

The first page of each submission should include the paper's title, the author's full contact information, and an abstract of approximately 100 words. If the paper or a version of the paper was previously published, submitted for publication, or written for a course, details should be provided.

Papers should be submitted electronically to SwopePrize@jonesday.com. Entrants should attach the paper in Word, Word-Perfect, or PDF format and include full contact information in the body of the e-mail as well as on the attachment's title page. Receipt will be acknowledged by return e-mail. Winners will be notified on March 2, 2009.

For more information, click: here.

***

Image: Queen Elizabeth I, from Wikipedia. For Elizabeth I's approach to anti-trust law in a global economy, see the wiki article: Antitrust, Renaissance Developments.

Land Use Law -- $2,500; $1,000; $250 - Watch for 2009 competition (deadline in June)

Watch for the 2009 competition announcement: here.

Historical competition information:

The Planning & Law Division of the American Planning Association announces its Twenty-fifth Annual Smith-Babcock-Williams Student Writing Competition. The Competition, which honors the memory of three leading figures in American city planning law — R. Marlin Smith, Richard Babcock, and Norman Williams — is open to law students and planning students, writing on a question of significance in planning, planning law, land use law, local government law or environmental law.

The winning entry 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 offer a second place prize of $1,000 and up to two Honorable Mentions of $250. The deadline for submission of entries is June 9, 2008 and the winners will be announced by September 15, 2008. Please refer to the official rules for further details.

Image: wikipedia; land use forecasting (Penn-Jersey Model)

Health Law $4,000; $2,000; $500 -- January 23, 2009

Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., a national firm engaged in the practice of health care and life sciences law, is pleased to announce its Eleventh Annual Health Care and Life Sciences Law Writing Competition. The competition is designed to encourage the preparation of scholarly papers on current topics of interest relating to health law. Cash prizes will be awarded as follows for the three best papers:

• First Place: $4,000
• Second Place: $2,000
• Third Place: $500

Students should take advantage of the fact that health law is a very broad and diverse field, encompassing aspects of almost every area of law. Papers may address any traditional area of the law as applied to health care (e.g., antitrust, tax, corporate), or areas of law unique to health care (e.g., fraud and abuse, managed care, Medicare/Medicaid, clinical trials). Entries in the top twenty percent will be considered for publication in the Annals of Health Law published by the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Rule highlights:

Entries will be evaluated based on the following criteria: (1) originality of thought, (2) clarity of presentation, (3) technical excellence, (4) relevance to current health law issues, (5) timeliness of topic, and (6) depth of research.

Papers authored by two or more eligible students are permitted in the Competition. All work submitted must be the product of the author or authors, without substantial assistance from others.

Papers prepared for law school credit are eligible for entry in the Competition provided that the work is original, and the editing and citation work has been done by the author(s).

Authors may submit more than one entry to the Competition. Please submit each entry separately.

Entries are due by January 23, 2009. No late entries will be accepted.

Entries should be submitted via the Competition website at www.ebglaw.com/competition.

More information: here.

image: Wikipedia (Wilson Bentley snowflake)

Attorney-CPA $2,500; $1,500; $500; $250 -- 02/27/09

Attorney-CPA $2,500; $1,500; $500; $250 -- 02/27/09

The Attorney-CPA Foundation invites you to submit an essay in the law student or accounting student division of the 2008 essay contest.

LAW STUDENT DIVISION
If you are a law student, your topic is:

Compare and contrast the client privileges with respect to communications with an attorney and with a CPA:
(a) under federal tax law;
(b) in your state; and
(c) in one other state from among NY, FL, CA or Texas.

The approximate length of your essay is 20 pages (including footnotes or endnotes), typed, double-spaced.....

EACH DIVISION
Each division will be judged separately, and each will have its own winners. In each division:

Prizes: Grand Prize $2,500
Runner up $1,500
Third & Fourth, each $500
4 Regional Prizes, each $250

DUE DATE: Essays must be received by February 27, 2009.

Send essays to: Essay Contest
Attorney-CPA Foundation
3921 Old Lee Highway, Suite 71A
Fairfax, VA 22030

Entry forms and rules: The rules and application may be downloaded from our website or call 888-ATTY-CPA to have a set sent to you.

**For additional information or questions, you are invited to call Nicole M. Emard, CMP, Executive Director of the American Association of Attorney-Certified Public Accountants, at 888-ATTY-CPA or FAX, 888-272-2889.

This announcement is only a summary of the rules. The rules and on-line submission forms are uploaded: here.

Image source: Wikipedia on Luca Pacioli and Accountancy

Labor Law - $3,000, $1,000 - reminder of 01/20/09 deadline

A reminder has just been distributed for entries for the Louis Jackson Memorial National Law Student Writing Competition in Employment and Labor Law.

Entries are due on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. The competition is sponsored and funded by Jackson Lewis in memory of Louis Jackson, a founding partner of the firm, and is administered by the Institute for Law and the Workplace at Chicago-Kent College of Law. Entries are blind judged by a national panel of five labor/employment law professors. Neither Chicago-Kent nor Jackson Lewis have any say in evaluating the entries or selecting the winners. The author of the winning entry receives $3,000 and the two second place finishers receive $1,000 each.

Additional information is available here http://www.kentlaw.edu/academics/plel/flyer%202008-09.pdf

Image source: Wikipedia, Labour (economics)

Art & Cultural Property -- $1,000, $500 -- 06/12/09

The Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation announces its 2008-2009 Student Writing Competition in Cultural Heritage Law. The prize amounts awarded annually are $1,000 for first place and $500 for second place. The Annual Competition is sponsored by Andrews Kurth LLP.

Competition Details:

• The deadline for 2009 submissions is June 12.
• Suitable papers may address any aspect of cultural heritage law including cultural property, art law, historic preservation, indigenous cultures and intangible heritage (but not intellectual property except as it relates to intangible indigenous heritage).
• Selection criteria focus on the ability of the author to present critical analyses of a current issue in cultural heritage law and to propose solutions.
• Each submitted paper must be supported by a law school faculty member.
• Papers should follow law review article style and formatting and must be submitted electronically by the deadline of June 12, 2009
• Two prizes will be awarded: a first-place prize of $1000 and a second-place prize of $500. The first-place paper will be offered publication in the LCCHP-sponsored 2010 Yearbook of Cultural Property Law. The second-place paper will be offered publication on the LCCHP web site.
• The winning papers may be offered publication in the Yearbook of Cultural Property Law or on the LCCHP web site.

For more information, visit The Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation.
Image: wikipedia

American Indian Law, $500, $300, $200 -- 03/30/08

Chief Justice John B. Doolin Writing Competition

In conjunction with Sovereignty Symposium XXI, which will be held June 4 and June 5, 2008 at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a scholarly collection of legal and historical writings will be presented to all participants. Legal libraries all over the United States regularly solicit copies of the publications for their collections. The subject matter of the paper may be on any area of the law relating to Native Americans or other indigenous peoples. First, second, and third prizes in the amounts of $500.00; $300.00; and $200.00 will be awarded. The winning entry will also be published in the 2008 Symposium compendium of materials. Second and third place entries will be published if space permits. Entries must be received no later than March 30, 2008. Publication releases will be required prior to payment of prize money.

For more details, as well as two other scholarship opportunities, click: here.

Image link: wikipedia on Tribal Sovereignty

Energy Environment -- $500, $250, possible invitation to speak at March conference ------ January 16, 2009 deadline

Energy Environment -- $500, $250, possibile invitation to speak at March conference sponsored by Hofstra University, Wright Risk Management, and Congdon, Flaherty,O’Callaghan, Reid, Donlon, Travis & Fishlinger, Long Island, New York and -- January 16, 2009 deadline

Entries will be accepted on all topics addressing the intersection between energy and environmental policy, although topics which focus on the power of consumers to influence the
energy/environment equation are especially encouraged. Articles should concentrate on a current legal or policy issue and must have a strong foundation in legal research.

Entries will be judged on the quality of legal analysis, relevance to ongoing policy debates, originality, depth of research, timeliness, creativity, and format. A panel of Hofstra Law
faculty and administrators will coordinate the review and evaluation of all articles.

First Prize
• $500 cash prize courtesy of Hofstra Law School, Wright Risk Management and Congdon, Flaherty, O’Callaghan, Reid, Donlon,Travis & Fishlinger
• Possible invitation to speak at the “Energy and the Environment: Empowering Consumers” conference
• Certificate of Recognition as First Prize Winner
• Letter of publication support to scholarly journals and reviews in the field
• Letter to the Dean of the student’s law school

Honorable Mention (up to 2)
• $250 cash prize courtesy of Hofstra Law School, Wright Risk Management and Congdon, Flaherty, O’Callaghan, Reid, Donlon,Travis & Fishlinger
• Certificate of Recognition as Honorable Mention Winner
• Letter to the Dean of the student’s law school

Competition brochure: pdf
Conference (March 20-21, 2009) and competition homepage: html

Image: West Texas Pumpjack, Wikipedia Commons

You Tube Video or Short Essay on Gender Diversity - Open to Young Lawyers (broadly defined) and Law Students -- 12/31/08, $500

(this contest was posted previously on this blog, at this link).

The contest is open to
(a) law students – all law students attending an ABA-accredited law school; and
(b) young lawyers – lawyers under 36 years old or admitted to practice for less than 5 years.

Prizes

1. There will be one YouTube video winner and one essay winner in each category of law students and young lawyers.

2. Each winner will be presented with a $500 honorarium.

Videos: YouTube video entries are limited to three (3) minutes in length and must be uploaded to the YouTube contest submission site at www.youtube.com/group/GenderDiversity. Nothing in the videos shall identify the entrant. In addition to uploading the video to YouTube, the entrant must submit the online entry form below. A copy of the video also must be sent to: ABA Commission on Women in the Profession - YouTube; 321 N. Clark Street - 18th Floor; Chicago, IL 60654. Burn the video file onto a CD or DVD in WMV or RealMedia format. If you have any problem with the format, contact Barbara Leff at leffb@staff.abanet.org. Incomplete entries are void.

Essays: Essay entries must be submitted online as a Microsoft Word document no more than 600 words (actual text) or six (6) pages in length, double spaced, Times New Roman font, 12 point, with 1-inch top, bottom, and side margins. Footnotes are prohibited. Essays must be uploaded below. In addition to uploading the essay, the entrant must submit the online entry form below. Incomplete entries are void.

Deadline (on-line submissions): Entries must be submitted by 12:00 p.m. Central Time on December 31, 2008. Entries submitted after that time will not be accepted.

Image: wikipedia commons, Rosie the Riveter

Paralyzed Veterans’ Competition - Student and Professional Divisions - $3,000 - May 15, 2009

Paralyzed Veterans’ Competition - Student and Professional Divisions - $3,000 - May 15, 2009

The nationwide contest is designed to encourage debate within the current and next generation of the legal profession on public policy issues affecting today’s veterans.

The competition is open to all law students enrolled in American Bar Association-accredited law schools for entry in the law student division, and to law school graduates and law professors for entry in the professional division. Prizes of $3,000 each will be awarded in the two divisions. Winners will also receive assistance from Paralyzed Veterans in publishing the paper in appropriate professional publications and/or presenting the paper at appropriate professional association gatherings.

The topic of this year’s competition is “After Two Decades of Judicial Review, has the Veterans Benefits Adjudication System Improved?”

**

Image: Van Gogh, wikipedia

Featured Writing Competition Website: Sturm College of Law, University of Denver

Take a look at this writing competition site: Sturm College of Law, University of Denver

One of the features I like about it is the box in the upper right hand corner of the page that highlights competition deadlines. Its clean web design makes it very straightforward and useful.

Image: 1898 Denver, Colorado

Acknowledging Sources [Avoiding Plagiarism]

It's a slow news period for writing competitions. I will continue with a discussion of approaches to polishing the article your plan to submit to a writing competition, or to another venue.

A google search for tips on how to quote and paraphrase is:

quoting paraphrasing plagiarism

Today, the top result from that search is an excellent power point presentation, from a public high school in New Jersey.

I've included a reference to that search, together with other materials, on a short slide show that I've uploaded to SSRN: Acknowledging Sources: Attribution and Perspectives on Originality

Image: Samuel Taylor Coleridge (from Wikipedia Commons)

Polishing that Article

For those of you who are planning on spending a good bit of the holiday polishing up an article for submission to one of these competitions, I have a few words of advice, related to acknowledging your sources.

For this morning, I will share a link to an article in the SSRN database which demonstrates how to talk about someone else's scholarship and then say something additional that is unique to you. In this example, several articles on baseline topics in litigation practice that touch on insurance law are summarized, with attention to who the author was and what the author said. After the summaries, new research and analysis is provided, with a focus on the law of our state (Arkansas).

The article is useful to show how to incorporate the background research into your own scholarly discussion. It is uploaded and freely available, here

Image: Computer Mouse, Wikipedia Commons

International Economic Law $500 and publication; March 9, 2009

James Baker Hughes Prize on the subject of international economic law. $500 cash award from Judge and Mrs. Lynn N. Hughes. The winning submission will be published as the "James Baker Hughes Prize" article in an upcoming issue of the Houston Journal of International Law.

Deadline for submissions is March 9, 2009. Details appear on photographs that accompany this blog.


Image: Moon over Fayetteville, Arkansas 12/12/08.
About that moon: here's a story about the fact that seeing it last night was seeing a 15 year wonder: A full moon spectacular (because it is at its perigee)
Anticipating the moon, the media sent out some plan-ahead signals, and I missed all of them. Lucky me to be driving east as the moon was rising last night!

A Finals Post.

A Finals Post.

1. You are where you are, and the people near you are part of that location. The people who are in your location, who are family, will be there when you come up for air. Be good to them.

2. Within your available time, make the most of it. If you share space with other people, they will affect the amount of your available time. Accept that, and move forward with that insight.

3. Be good to you: a) Sleep; b) Eat; c) Exercise.

4. Move forward: a) Name the impediment that stops you from moving forward; b) live in the moment – your purpose in life through December 18 is clarified; c) give yourself at least one full minute to begin a task; that minute should inspire you to be fully engaged, and you're off.

5. To keep you moving forward, a) consider clocking yourself with a kitchen timer, to help you use at least 6 hours of concentrated effort each day, in increments of 20, 30, 45 minutes -- whatever works for you; b) keep a bag of sunflower seeds handy for bits of good nourishment and a source for letting off steam while keeping the focus on the study; c) drink plenty of water -- to keep oxygen flowing to your brain and other things afloat.

***

Search terms that lead to helpful web sites:

eat sleep exercise finals
happy food

Some helpful web sites:

Healthy ways to stay alert during finals

Happy Food (a good title for your Christmas wish list)

Top Ten Happy Foods

Finals Coming Up: Your Body Needs Good Nutrition

LawCare's Worksheet (for the office job, but can be adapted to a finals study schedule).

Nonsmokers' Rights, Rolling Deadline to May 1, 2009, 33 Cash Prizes w/ $5,000 first place

Nonsmokers' Rights Legal Research and Advocacy Competition writing contest
Sponsored by the SIXTH WORLD CONFERENCE ON NONSMOKERS RIGHTS,
National Center for Nonsmokers' Rights and Law Professor John Banzhaf
of the George Washington University Law School and Action on Smoking and Health


■ You enter by submitting only a 1000-word summary of your idea. No additional writing of any kind is required.
■ Thirty-three (33) cash prizes will be awarded, including $5,000 for First Place, $3,000 for Second Place, and $1,000 for Third Place.
■ In addition, thirty (30) law students will receive $1000 travel grants to come to Washington DC for the World Conference.
■ The DEADLINE is May 1, 2009. While submissions may be made up until then, many $1000 grants to attend the world conference will be made before then on a rolling-admission first-come first-served basis. SO SUBMIT ASAP!

For more information, click: here।

Image: Wikipedia -- Native American Tobacco Flower

Pharmacy, Food and Drug Law, January 30, 2009 - honorarium plus travel support to San Antonio, Texas

Pharmacy, Food and Drug Law, January 30, 2009 - honorarium plus travel support to San Antonio, Texas

Larry M. Simonsmeier Award

The American Society for Pharmacy Law (ASPL) is a national organization of attorneys, pharmacists, and others interested in pharmacy law. ASPL recognizes outstanding scholarship related to pharmacy law with the Simonsmeier Award sponsored by Pharmacists Mutual Insurance. The 2009 Award will provide an honorarium plus support for travel to the ASPL Annual Meeting, held in conjunction with the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) in San Antonio, TX, April 3 - 6, 2009.

The Award, named in honor of Larry Simonsmeier, former editor of Rx Ipsa Loquitur, the ASPL’s official publication, recognizes an outstanding paper relating to the interests of the Society published during the prior two years.
Eligibility

Papers related to pharmacy law, food and drug law, drug policy, or related areas, published in or accepted for publication in any English-language peer-reviewed journal (including law reviews) during the period from January 2007 through December 2008 are eligible. Interested parties are invited to nominate published papers written by themselves or other authors. Authors may submit manuscripts that are in press.
Submission of Nominations

Nominations should provide the name, address, daytime telephone number, and e-mail address of the nominator, a reprint of the full paper, and a complete journal citation for the paper being nominated. If an author is submitting a manuscript that is in press, the copy of the manuscript should be accompanied by documentation from the journal editor of the status of the paper, and should include contact information for the journal editor. The deadline for submission of nominations for the Larry M. Simonsmeier Award is January 30, 2009.

Nominations should be addressed to:

Scholarship Committee,
American Society for Pharmacy Law
3085 Stevenson Drive, Suite 200,
Springfield, IL 62703

Questions may be directed to ASPL at:
Phone: 217-529-6948
E-Mail: administration@aspl.org

For more information, click: here.


Image from USDA Image Archive.

Tax Writing Contest - $1,500 + travel to D.C. - January 15, 2009 deadline

Tax Writing Contest - $1,500 + travel to D.C. - January 15, 2009 deadline

The Federal Bar Association Section of Taxation hosts an annual writing competition and invites law school students to participate. All full-time law students currently seeking a juris doctor at an accredited law school are eligible to enter the competition. In addition, all full-time law students currently seeking an LLM at an accredited law school are eligible. Students may submit any original, unpublished, paper concerning federal income taxation. Please share this opportunity with interested persons.

Papers must be no longer than twenty pages (double spaced, twelve point font, and one inch margins) and must be postmarked by January 15, 2009 or e-mailed by 11:59 p.m. on January 15, 2009. Additionally, each student must sign and return the attached warranty (a .pdf copy by e-mail is acceptable). If mailing submissions, please use the following address: Federal Bar Association, Section of Taxation Attn: Writing Competition, 1220 N. Fillmore Street, Suite 444, Arlington, VA 22201.

If e-mailing submissions, please e-mail to Adrienne Woolley at awoolley@fedbar.org, with the subject line “Writing Competition.” Two winning papers will be selected by the Officers of the Federal Bar Association Section of Taxation.

The author of the First Prize paper will receive:
(i) A $1,500 cash prize;
(ii) A trip to the FBA’s Annual Tax Law Conference in Washington, DC on March 6, 2009 (value not to exceed $700), where the First Prize winner will be presented with a Commemorative Plaque; and
(iii) The First Prize paper may be published in the Tax Section quarterly newsletter.

The author of the Second Prize paper will receive:
(i) A $750 cash prize;
(ii) A Commemorative Plaque;
(iii) The Second Place article may be published in the Tax Section quarterly newsletter.

We welcome wide participation in this writing competition. If you have any questions please contact us at the phone numbers or e-mails listed below.

Teresa Dondlinger Trissell
(202) 622-3777
teresa.d.trissell@irscounsel.treas.gov

Edward L. Froelich
(202) 778-1646
efroelich@mofo.com

For more information, click: here.
http://www.fedbar.org/taxlaw_section.html

Image of Washington D.C., November 2008, by Jessica Slavin, Marquette University School of Law. Visit the Marquette legal news blog at: http://law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/

Political Advice to President-Elect Obama - $5,000 and publication in the ABA Journal

Ross Essay Contest
After a divisive election with an historic result, most folks woke up Wednesday morning and headed in to work, business as usual. But president-elect Barack Obama has made clear that there is change ahead when he becomes the nation's 44th president.

This made us wonder...

If you could advise Obama in his first days in office, what would you suggest he do first?

If you're an ABA member, you can expand your answer for a chance to win $5,000 in the ABA Journal's Ross Essay Contest. This year's essay topic is as follows: Write an open letter to the new president and Congress describing the most important priority for improving the U.S. justice system.

Political Advice to President-Elect Obama - $5,000 and publication in the ABA Journal

The winning entry from 2008: Why?

Several of the runners up were also published in the journal.

Official announcements for the 2008 Ross Essay Contest appeared in the ABA Journal appeared the first week or so of January, 2008.

The rules for the 2009 contest are not yet posted, but the 2008 deadline for entries was March 3.

Image: wikipedia

Legal History $500 plus $1000 travel expenses - April 15, 2009

Legal History $500 plus $1000 travel expenses - April 15, 2009

The Legal History and Rare Books Special Interest Section of the American Association of Law Libraries announces the first annual Morris L. Cohen Student Essay Competition.

Papers may be on any topic related to legal history, rare law books, or legal archives. The subject should be explored in depth with appropriate reference to sources.

Winners of a co-authored paper will share the $500 prize and will share the award for travel expenses to attend the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Law Libraries. Students may submit more than one paper.

Each submission must be accompanied by a short abstract, a completed Application Form, and evidence of enrollment in graduate school. Submit the paper and supporting materials to the Secretary/Treasurer of the Legal History and Rare Books Special Interest Section of the American Association of Law Libraries.
Send material to:
Daniel Blackaby at dblackaby@wsulaw.edu
Western State Univ. College of Law
1111 North State College Blvd.
Fullerton, CA 92831
Papers and all supporting documentation must be emailed or postmarked by April 15, 2009. The winner will be announced by May 15.

For general questions of style, follow The Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed. 2003) or The Bluebook (18th ed. 2005). Footnotes should follow the form of the AALL Universal Citation Guide (2004), The Bluebook (18th ed. 2005), or The Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed. 2003).
Winning papers that are accepted for publication in Law Library Journal will be required to follow the guidelines set forth in AALL’s “Law Library Journal Author’s Guide,” available at:
http://www.aallnet.org/products/llj_authors_guide.asp

The winner will receive from Gale Cengage Learning a $500 prize. In addition, the winner will receive up to $1000 to be applied towards travel, lodging, food and other expenses associated with attendance at the Annual Meeting. (Gale Cengage and the Legal History and Rare Books SIS will each contribute to the travel expenses.).

For full pdf flyer, click: here.


For examples of legal history scholarship, click: here।


Morris L. Cohen, Researching Legal History in the Digital Age, 99 Law Libr. J. 377 (2007).


Legal History and Rare Books SIS, American Association of Libraries: web site (with links to legal history websites)।

Image from Wikipedia: King Hammurabi is revealed the code of laws by Shamash, god of justice.

Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa 2&3Ls $500 (one prize) February 13, 2009

February 13, 2009 submission deadline
March 20, 2009 Notification of Acceptance (by e-mail)
April 17, 2009 symposium for accepted papers

For more information, click: 2009 Law Student Symposium

International Insolvency Studies -- $2,000; $1,500; $1,000; $500 (up to 6) March 15, 2009

Prize in International Insolvency Studies, 2009

The International Insolvency Institute is pleased to announce its 2009 Prize in International Insolvency Studies. The Prize in International Insolvency Studies comprises a Gold Medal Prize for the winning submission from a civil law jurisdiction, a Gold Medal Prize for the winning submission from a common law jurisdiction, a Silver Medal prize, a Bronze Medal prize, and several Finalist Prizes. The Prizes are accompanied by a honorarium for the medal winners.

The III Prize is awarded for original research, commentary or analysis on topics of international insolvency and restructuring significance and on comparative international analysis of domestic insolvency and restructuring issues and developments. The Prize competition is open to full and part-time undergraduate and graduate students and to practitioners in practice for less than seven years. Entries must not have been published prior to October 2008 and must be available to be posted on the International Insolvency Institute website at www.iiiglobal.org. Medal-winning entries will be considered for publication in the Norton Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice (West), the Norton Annual Review of International Insolvency (West) and for inclusion in the Westlaw electronic database.

Entries will be judged by a distinguished panel of leading international insolvency academics and practitioners. The Jury will consist of Professor Bob Wessels, Leiden University, Leiden and St. John’s University, New York, Chair; Professor Jay L. Westbrook, University of Texas, Austin, Vice-Chair, Hon. Samuel L. Bufford, United States Bankruptcy Court, Los Angeles; Professor Junichi Matsushita, University of Tokyo, Tokyo; Professor Christoph Paulus, Humboldt University, Berlin; Hon. Adolfo Rouillon, Senior Counsel, Legal Department, World Bank, Washington, D.C., and Professor Jingxia (Josie) Shi, China University of International Business & Economics, Beijing. Entries may be of any length but a limit of 50,000 words is preferred. Entries must be received by March 15, 2009. Medal Winners and Finalists may attend the III Ninth Annual International Insolvency Conference in New York on June 18-19, 2009 and will have all conference registration fees waived. For further details and the terms of the III Prize in International Insolvency Studies, please contact the Executive Director of the International Insolvency Institute, Shari Bedker, at the III’s offices in Washington, D.C. at (telephone) (703) 273-6165, (fax) (703) 830-0610 or (email) info@iiiglobal.org

Prize in International Insolvency Studies
Summary of Terms and Conditions
The International Insolvency Institute (www.iiiglobal.org) will award its 2009 Prize in International Insolvency Studies, for outstanding writing, research or analysis in the insolvency field. The terms of the 2009 Prize Competition are as follows:

1. Candidates must be full or part-time undergraduate or graduate students, researchers or practitioners in practice for less than seven years.
2. The article or research must be on an international or comparative insolvency topic and must be submitted in English.
3. Articles or research in preparation for publication or already published are eligible, provided they were not published before October, 2008.
4. Candidates may submit only one contribution.
5. The Jury may decide not to award the Prize if, in its opinion, no contribution of sufficient quality has been submitted.
6. Entries must be eligible to be posted on the III website and published in the Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice or the Annual Review of International Insolvency (West and Westlaw)..
7. Articles must be submitted before March 15, 2009.
8. Candidates will be informed of the final decision of the jury on or before April 30, 2008.
9. All contributions should be sent to the III c/o Shari Bedker at info@iiiglobal.org and must be marked as submissions for the III Prize in International Insolvency Studies 2008. 10. The Gold Medal Prizes will be US $2,000; the Silver Medal Prize will be US $1,500; the Bronze Medal Prize will be US $1,000; and up to 6 Finalist Prizes of US $500 may be awarded.
11। The Gold Medal Winners will be invited to attend the III’s Ninth Annual Conference in New York in June, 2009 to present their work and the III will cover his/her reasonable travel expenses. All Medal Winners and Finalist Prize recipients may attend the 2009 Annual Conference and their Conference registration fees will be waived.

For more information, click: here।

Image source: wikipedia

Legal Ethics, Civility, Professionalism $5,000 and publication

Legal Ethics, Civility, Professionalism $5,000 and publication


The Warren E. Burger Writing Competition is designed to encourage outstanding scholarship that “promotes the ideals of excellence, civility, ethics and professionalism within the legal profession,” the core mission of the American Inns of Court. The American Inns of Court invites judges, lawyers, professors, students, scholars and other authors to participate in the competition by submitting an original, unpublished essay of 10,000 to 25,000 words on a topic of their choice addressing issues of legal excellence, civility, ethics and professionalism.

The judges for the competition are Professor Stephen Gillers, Chair, Emily Kempin Professor of Law at the New York University School of Law; Professor Geoffrey C. Hazard, Jr., Trustee Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School; Professor Nancy J. Moore, Boston University School of Law; and, Professor Robert M. Wilcox, Director of the Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough Center on Professionalism at the University of South Carolina School of Law.

The author of the winning submission will receive a cash prize of $5,000 and the winning essay will be published in the South Carolina Law Review. The Warren E. Burger Prize will be presented to the author at the American Inns of Court annual Celebration of Excellence at the United States Supreme Court October 17, 2009.

The 2009 Burger Competition Rules will be posted to the Web shortly. When it is available just fill in the PDF form and save on your computer, print and include the completed form with your materials by June 15, 2009.

For more information, click: here.

Business Law -- 01/09/09 - $2,500 plus travel to Vancouver, BC -- Mendes Hershman Student Writing Contest

2009 Mendes Hershman Student Writing Contest

The ABA Section of Business Law is sponsoring its 23rd Annual Mendes Hershman Student Writing Contest to encourage and reward law student writings on a business law subject of general and current interest.

Awards
- First Place: $2,500
- Second Place: $1,000
- Third Place: $500

All winners will be invited and subsidized to attend the Section Spring Meeting, April 16-18, 2009, in Vancouver, BC to receive their award.

Papers will be judged on research and analysis, choice of topic, writing style, originality, and contribution to the literature available on the topic. Papers submitted are normally 20-30 pages long, but should not exceed 100 pages of double-spaced typed text, including footnotes. Students need not be members of the Section of Business Law to participate.

All entries must be submitted electronically on or before January 9, 2009. Click here to download a cover form to be included with your entry. For more information click here।


Image from wikipedia

Bankruptcy Law - April 30, 2009 -- publication, prize, and free registration to Boston Conference

Bankruptcy Law - April 30, 2009 -- publication, prize, and free registration to Boston Conference


Enter the first annual Law Student Writing Competition, sponsored by the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees.

Topics, Eligibility, Format, and Submission Criteria appear on the imaging accompanying this notice.

The 15-page limit and focus on an issue concerning Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code makes this competition a very time-efficient undertaking. Moreover, the winning entrant will set the standard for future competitions in this inaugural year.

Estate and Fiduciary Law -- June 1, 2009 -- $5,000, $3,000, $1,000

Estate and Fiduciary Law -- June 1, 2009 -- $5,000, $3,000, $1,000

The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) is a professional association consisting of approximately 2,700 lawyers from throughout the United States, Canada and other parts of the world who are elected as Fellows of the College. Fellows are selected on the basis of professional reputation and ability in the fields of trusts and estates and on the basis of having made substantial contributions to these fields through lecturing, writing, teaching and bar activities.

Consistent with ACTEC’s purposes, the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Mary Moers Wenig Student Writing Competition was created to encourage and reward scholarly works in the area of trusts and estates. ACTEC’s purposes are to maintain an association of lawyers, international in scope, skilled and experienced in the preparation of wills and trusts; estate planning; probate procedure and administration of trusts and estates of decedents, minors and incompetents; to improve and reform probate, trust and tax laws, procedures, and professional responsibility, to bring together qualified lawyers whose character and ability will contribute to the achievement of the purposes of the College; and to cooperate with bar associations and other organizations with similar purposes. The funding for the competition will be provided by the ACTEC Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity that supports educational projects relating to trust and estate law.

Eligibility: This competition is open to any law student in good standing (full-time or part-time) who is currently enrolled as a J.D. or LL.M. candidate in an ABA-accredited law school within the United States or its possessions.
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. Unless a work is co-authored, each entry shall be the original work of a single individual. A co-authored paper by no more than two individuals is acceptable provided the paper submitted is the original work of the co-authors.
Area and Topics: The paper must relate to the area of trusts and estates, broadly defined. Any one or more of the following topics are appropriate for discussion:

Business Planning
Charitable Planning
Elder Law
Employee Benefits
Fiduciary Administration
Fiduciary Income Taxation
Fiduciary Litigation
Estate Planning and Drafting
Professional Responsibility
Substantive Laws for the Gratuitous Transmission of Property
Wealth Transfer Taxation (Estate, Gift and GST Tax)

Deadline for submission: The submission must be postmarked on or before May 1, 2009। An otherwise eligible submission will be considered as part of any 2010 writing competition if it is postmarked after May 1, 2009 and before May 2, 2010 by a law student who was in good standing at an ABA-accredited law school within the United States or its possessions law at the time the paper was submitted.

Acceptance of paper for publication after its submission to this competition: If a paper submitted to this competition is accepted for publication after having been submitted to this competition, the individual (or co-authors) must immediately notify ACTEC’s office of this fact at the address listed under Submission Rules। The paper’s acceptance for publication elsewhere may, but will not necessarily, preclude its continued consideration.

For more information, click: here.

Pregnancy, Law, Civil Rights -- May 31, '09; $1,000 first prize

Deadline: May 31, 2009
NAPW Law Student Writing Competition 2008-2009 Academic School Year. $1,000 first prize

The first contest asks for a critical analysis of the absence of birthing rights issues from gender discrimination and feminist jurisprudence textbooks and curricula (in fact, none of the top three casebooks used in law school courses dedicated to gender and the law address the issue of childbirth or midwifery). The second contest asks students to develop legal theories that can be used to challenge policies banning pregnant women from having a vaginal birth after a prior caesarean section (VBAC). This topic will encourage students to address a growing problem that has received very little attention from the feminist legal community both in academia and within the leading women's rights legal advocacy organizations.

More information: 1) Contest Flyer

2) National Advocates for Pregnant Women web site


(Blog entry image from: USDA Image Library)

Criminal Law -- April 24, 2009 -- $2,000 plus travel

2009 William W. Greenhalgh Student Writing Competition Rules

ELIGIBILITY: The contest is open to all students who are members of the American Bar Association and who, at the date the entry is submitted, attend and are in good standing at an ABA-accredited law school within the United States and its possessions. Membership in the Criminal Justice Section is not a requirement for eligibility.

TOPIC: Any timely and important issue of American criminal constitutional procedure of interest to practitioners of criminal law.

JUDGING: A winning entry will contain an original discussion of the issue chosen, will be substantively accurate, will be supported by citations, and will be grammatically correct, concise, and clearly written. The Section reserves the right not to award a prize if, in the judgment of the editorial board of the magazine, no entry meets these conditions. The decision of the editorial board will be final.

PRIZE: The winner will receive a $2,000 cash prize and free airfare and accommodations to attend a Section meeting at which the award will be presented. In addition, the winner’s law school will receive a plaque from the ABA’s Criminal Justice Section. At the discretion of the editorial board, the winning entry may be selected for publication in Criminal Justice magazine, subject to editing.

ALL ENTRANTS: Receive one year’s free full membership in the Criminal Justice Section.

For more information, click: here

Religious Freedom -- April 15, 2009 -- $2,500

12th Annual William Pew Religious Freedom Scholarship

April 15, 2009 -- $2,500

The Alliance Defense Fund announces a writing competition open to law students subject to the following rules:

1. Eligibility: Law students of any faith currently enrolled and in good standing in a J.D., LL.M., or S.J.D. program at an American law school or its international equivalent are eligible to enter. Students,
who already have a J.D. or its equivalent, and are currently enrolled in a Master's or Ph.D. program are also eligible to enter. Submission of a paper and 6 copies with a cover page, as described below, constitutes entry. Students may enter more than one paper.

2. Writing Topic: This year’s writing topic is a semi-open topic. Any paper submitted that otherwise complies with the rules will be considered if it meets the following topical criteria:
Scholarly material of publishable quality that advocates a legal position consistent with ADF’s perspectives and mission as set forth on its web site at www.telladf.org and that addresses one or more issues in the areas of religious liberty, sanctity of life, and/or family values.

For more details and rules, click: here।

Image, St. Mary's church at Altus, Arkansas. For a superior image, click here for: St. Marys Church at Altus by Dorothy Imhauser

“Endangered Environmental Laws” April 4, 2009 deadline -- $2,000 cash prize

Fourth Annual “Endangered Environmental Laws” Student Writing Competition (2008-09)

Co-sponsored by The Environmental Law Institute
The American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources
The National Association of Environmental Law Societies


(Washington, DC) — The Constitution has long been interpreted by the courts and understood by most Americans to support comprehensive environmental protections. However, arguments targeting the constitutional legitimacy of environmental laws continue to gain traction in the federal courts. To inform the debate, we invite law students to submit papers exploring current issues of constitutional environmental law.

AWARD: $2000 cash prize and an offer of publication in the Environmental Law Reporter.

TOPIC: Any topic addressing recent developments or trends in U.S. environmental law that have a significant constitutional or “federalism” component. (See sample topics below.)

ELIGIBILITY: Students currently enrolled in law school (in the U.S. or abroad) are eligible, including students who will graduate in the spring or summer of 2009. Any relevant article, case comment, note, or essay may be submitted, including writing submitted for academic credit. Jointly authored pieces are eligible only if all authors are students and consent to submit. Previously published pieces, or pieces that are already slated for publication, are ineligible.

DEADLINE: Entries must be received no later than 5:00 PM ET on April 6, 2009. Email essays (and questions) to Lisa Goldman at goldman@eli.org. You will receive a confirmation by email.

For submission requirements and more details, click here: Fourth Annual “Endangered Environmental Laws” Student Writing Competition (2008-09)

Reproductive Justice -- 03/02/09 -- $750/$250

Reproductive Justice -- 03/02/09 -- $750/$250

Sarah Weddington Writing Prize Call for Submissions

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

WIN MONEY AND GET PUBLISHED


LSRJ is accepting submissions for its 4th annual Writing Prize.

The theme this year is “Seeking Reproductive Justice in All Places for All People.”

Law Students for Reproductive Justice is looking for fresh student scholarship that a) focuses on marginalized individuals or communities, such as people of color, immigrants, minors, poor people, prisoners, and those who identify as LGBTQQI, and b) applies a reproductive justice lens in its analysis . For a clear understanding of reproductive justice, please refer to the resources listed on this site under About Us - Action - Reproductive Justice.

Papers may have a domestic or international scope. Authors are encouraged to focus their research on issues or occasions of reproductive coercion or oppression: the political, social, legal, and economic forces that limit or control the reproductive options of individuals and communities. A wide range of topics will be accepted, including but not limited to a particular community’s unique struggle against reproductive oppression; environmental conditions causing reproductive harms; coercive or forced contraception, sterilization, or birthing conditions; the shackling of pregnant prisoners during labor and delivery; discrimination against non-traditional family formation; the impact of pharmacist refusals or abortion provider shortages in geographically isolated communities; or access to the HPV vaccine.

Papers must be at least 20 pages in length, not including footnotes, double-spaced 12-point Times New Roman font. Papers submitted for publication elsewhere will be accepted; however papers previously published will not be allowed. An outside panel of attorney judges will select the winners.

Send your submission as a pdf or Word attachment to info@lsrj.org by March 2nd!

Winning authors will receive $750 (1st place) or $250 (2nd place), get published on LSRJ’s website, and perhaps be invited to present their papers at conferences।

For more details, click here.

Labor and Employment -- 05/15/09 -- $1,500; $1,000, $500

Submissions are now being accepted for the 2009 College of Labor and Employment Lawyers Law Student Writing Competition.

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,
• critique of a leading case or doctrine,
• comment on a statute or the need for a statutory modification,
• comment on a common law doctrine.

ELIGIBILITY: All currently enrolled undergraduate law students attending accredited law schools in the United States.

PRIZES: First prize - $1,500.00
Second prize - $1,000.00
Third prize - $500.00

In addition to a monetary award, the winner will have his/her article published in a future issue of the College newsletter and posted on the College's website. The Labor Lawyer, a journal of ideas and developments in labor and employment law, published by the American Bar Association and the Section of Labor and Employment Law, has indicated a strong desire to publish the winning entry, if it meets their publication standards। Winners will also be invited guests at the Annual Induction Dinner of the College where they will be recognized and honored during the evening program.

For more information: click here.

Academic Legal Writing: Law Review Articles, Student Notes, Seminar Papers, and Getting on Law Review, Second Edition (University Casebook Series)

Here's another publication (that I know about) that gives scholarly writing in law school settings a focused treatment.

Academic Legal Writing: Law Review Articles, Student Notes, Seminar Papers, and Getting on Law Review, Second Edition (University Casebook Series) (University Casebook Series) (Paperback)
by Eugene Volokh (Author)