UMichigan J. of Law Reform, call for manuscripts

From the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reforms web site:

The Journal of Law Reform seeks to improve the law and its administration by providing a forum for discussion that:

• Identifies contemporary issues for reform efforts,
• Proposes concrete means to accomplish change, and
• Evaluates the impact of law reform.

In short, the Journal prefers a submission that not only describes an area of the law that warrants reform, but prescribes a means of accomplishing that reform. The Journal also welcomes multidisciplinary and empirical work as contributions to this discussion.

Types of Submissions

The Journal encourages the submission of unsolicited manuscripts for publication. While the Journal primarily looks for unsolicited articles written by law professors, judges, practitioners, and academics from other disciplines, it also welcomes submissions of unsolicited manuscripts from law students and recent law school graduates whose pieces stem from their academic work as law students. However, the Journal only accepts unsolicited student writing on a limited basis and will do so when such work is deemed to be of exceptional quality. The Journal classifies the work of students and nonprofessional recent graduates as signed "notes," rather than "articles," and accords the student author's full biographical information.

Submission Requirements

Each manuscript should be typed, double-spaced and generally conform to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (18th ed. 2005) and The Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed. 2003). Each manuscript should be accompanied by a cover letter giving a brief overview of the manuscript and providing author contact information including name, e-mail address, phone number, and mailing address. Enclosing a résumé, a list of previous publications, and/or a vita with the submission, while not necessary, can also be helpful for the Journal's reviewers.

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
University of Michigan Law School
Attn: Article Editors (if an article) or Attn: Executive Note Editor (if a student note)
625 S. State Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1215

More information: here

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image; Wikipedia, University of Michigan Law Library interior

New England Law Review - Invitation for Unsolicited Manuscripts

From the invitation to authors, New England Law Review

Article Submissions
A Message to Authors

The Editors and Staff of the New England Law Review are committed to providing authors with courteous and timely service. We strive to make the experience of publishing with us the best you will find at any journal.

The New England Law Review also encourages novice authors to submit their articles for publication. The New England Law Review is committed to publishing not only highly qualified authors but authors who present new ideas to the legal community. All authors must be graduates of an ABA-accredited law school or foreign equivalent.

We understand that the article is your work and bears your name. Our goal is to assist you in publishing an article that meets the highest academic standards.

Article Submissions

The New England Law Review invites the submission of unsolicited manuscripts, preferably electronically, but also through postal mail at the address listed below. We request that contributing authors disclose any economic interests and affiliations that may influence the views expressed in their submissions. The best times to send submissions are between late March and early November.

Electronically: Manuscripts may be sent by e-mail to lawreview@nesl.edu. Articles must be submitted in Microsoft Word format. Also, please attach a cover letter describing the article and indicating why it should be published by the New England Law Review and an updated curriculum vitae.

By mail: Manuscripts should be sent to the attention of the Articles Editors. Manuscripts submitted via postal mail cannot be returned unless a self-addressed, postage-paid envelope is enclosed with the manuscript. Our address is:

New England Law Review
New England Law | Boston
46 Church Street
Boston, MA 02116

NESL.EDU

Image: file photo

Proactive, Organized, Upbeat -- for Start-ups and Follow-throughs

I found a wonderful set of ideas, designed for a new attorney who is building a practice. However, many of the daily rhythm points make sense in other contexts, including a big writing context.

Here's a piece of the day, up through noon. Follow this link for more.

Proposed Time Sheet Approach For Surviving as a New Lawyer.

This approach is presented as follows: "time what why"

6:00 a.m. to 7:15 a.m.

Arise. Engage in stretching exercises for 15 minutes. Engage in aerobic exercise (walking, running, etc.) for 15 to 20 minutes. Engage in the ritual of your choice for 15 to 20 minutes followed by 15 to 20 minutes of journalizing. Eat breakfast at a fixed time.

A practice that has been shown to help in combating depression is regular, fixed times for getting up in the morning and regular aerobic exercise. The least expensive remedies for stress are fixed sleep periods, aerobic exercise and stretching.

Overall mental health and job search successes are tightly linked to honest observance of religious ritual (statistically the honesty and sincerity is the controlling factor for the benefit) and journalizing (not time/date/note entries but reflective and expressive writing about one's life).

It is important to maintain mental health and to reduce stress and depression. It is also important to succeed.

8:30 a.m.

Leave home and go to a professionally related activity with people. Participate in a free legal services clinic for the poor or AIDS victims or minorities or immigrants or the families of criminals or death row appeals or ... just so long as it is a professional activity and you are leaving by 8:30 a.m. (or earlier) and starting by 9:00 a.m.

This keeps you on an organized schedule. It provides you with useful experience that can be added to your resume, provides you with some training. It keeps you from becoming isolated and from wasting or losing time (which often happens if you habitually go to the library to read papers and look for job openings or some similar endeavor).

Noon

Eat a regular meal. Try to join a "brown bag" group that includes attorneys.

Eating with, and listening to (which is why you are eating with others) attorneys in similar situations to yourself is an excellent way to gain insight and to reconsider ideas you have. It also helps you build appropriate professional contacts and is the beginning of a network.

If you have a secondary skill (e.g. accounting, insurance, stock brokering, etc.) it is good to also find a group in that area (or those areas) to have lunch with from time to time.

Some attorneys have as many as three lunch groups. (E.g. Mon Wed Fri with attorneys, Tues with insurance adjusters, Thurs with chiropractors). More is stretching it and most people should start with one.

More here>>

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Photographer:	Will Simpson
Times Viewed:	1255
Keywords:	fog

Quarterly Publication Opportunities -- The Journal of Affordable Housing & Community Development Law

The Journal of Affordable Housing & Community Development Law, the legal publication of the American Bar Association’s Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law,[seeks] submissions from students, professors, and practitioners. The Journal publishes full-length articles, book reviews, and shorter commentaries on a wide range of affordable housing and community and economic development issues. The last deadline was June 15, 2009, for an issue focused on "“Housing and Community Development in the Economic Crisis.”
The journal is published quarterly. Keep you eye out for the September topic.

Hat tip: Poverty Law Prof Blog

Access to prior journals is available to members of the American Bar Association Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law. This forum also sponsors a student law competition, with last year's deadline in March.

INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS

The mission of The Journal of Affordable Housing & Community Development Law, the official quarterly publication of the Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law of the American Bar Association, is to provide information on programs related to affordable housing and community development law, facilitate communication among housing lawyers, and provide a clearinghouse for the exchange of ideas and solutions in the field.

Article Length. Feature articles traditionally are between 5,000 and 7,500 words, or 20 - to - 25 double-spaced pages in length. The Journal of Affordable Housing & Community Development Law also accepts some shorter articles.

Style. The writing should be brisk and straightforward. Authors should use a style that is readable and more informal than a law review article. To that end, authors should

• Use gender-neutral language
• Avoid long quotations
• Avoid excess verbiage
• Avoid using a long word when a short one will do
• Avoid using a foreign phrase, scientific word, or jargon if you can think of a more common English equivalent
• Avoid overworked figures of speech
• Avoid excessive capitalization
• Avoid excessive use of commas
  

Footnotes. Use endnotes rather than footnotes. Include footnotes at the end of your article. The Journal of Affordable Housing & Community Development Law follows the citation style of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, Eighteenth Edition.

Author Biography. Please include a one-sentence description of your current professional affiliation.

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Image: Community Emergency Outreach building; Fayetteville, Arkansas -- distributes food and emergency funding, M-F, from 1-3 p.m. The CEO is a consortium of 17 churches in Northwest Arkansas that pool their resources to coordinate relief efforts.

July 31, 2009 Nominations due for Morris Dees Justice Award

Nomination Criteria: Nominees should be lawyers who have devoted their careers to serving the public interest and pursuing justice, and whose work has brought about positive change in the community, state, or nation.

Nominations should highlight these qualities:

- Courage Under Fire: Maintains a dedication to service even when challenged or threatened by individuals or groups
- Champions the Cause: Pursues service with energy and compassion.
- Leader of Change: Creates new or innovative approaches to resolving social problems.
- Career of Service: Has spent the majority of his or her legal career in service to public interests.
- Embodies the Highest Standard of Excellence: Exhibits legal and ethical excellence.

For more information, or to nominate someone online, go to: http://www.MorrisDeesAward.com

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wikipedia entry:

Morris Dees Justice Award

In 2006, the law firm of Skadden Arps Meagher & Flom partnered with the University of Alabama School of Law to create the Morris Dees Justice Award in honor of Dees, an Alabama graduate, for his lifelong dedication to public service. The award is given annually to a lawyer who has "devoted his or her career to serving the public interest and pursuing justice, and whose work has brought positive change in the community, state or nation,"^[18] as illustrated by the lives of the following recipients.

The first recipient of the award was U. S. District Judge William Wayne Justice, of the Eastern District of Texas, who received it November 16, 2006 at a ceremony in Skadden offices in New York City.^[19] Judge Justice was recognized for his lifelong efforts to protect civil rights and safeguard constitutional rights during more than 30 years as a federal district judge, hearing notable cases dealing with integration, prisoners' rights (Ruiz v. Estelle, 1972), procedural due process, equal access to education (United States v. Texas, 1970), free public education for children of illegal immigrants (Plyer v. Doe, 1982), dilution of voting rights, and care for the mentally challenged.^[20]

In 2007, the award was presented to Arthur N. Read, general counsel for Friends of Farmworkers, Inc., a legal services provider in Philadelphia, for dedicating his career and life to providing a voice for the disadvantaged and advocating on behalf of the underprivileged.^[21] In Vlasic Farms, Inc. v. Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (2001), he won for workers in Pennsylvania's mushroom industry the right to organize, and in El Concilia v. DER (1984), Read won a class-action lawsuit arguing that Pennsylvania had failed to inspect migrant camp housing for workers, bringing such housing largely into compliance with state and federal law.

In 2008, the award went to immigrant rights advocate Cheryl Little, Executive Director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, a non-profit legal assistance organization in Miami, for her dedication to protecting the rights of immigrants, especially Haitian refugees, throughout her professional career.^[22] Little is considered one of the country’s leading experts on immigration law.^[23]

July 29-30, 2009 Law Student Division, ABA Annual Meeting Preliminary Schedule

American Bar Association
Law Student Division
2009 Annual Meeting Preliminary Schedule
As of 6/5/09

Resume Review: July 29-30, 2009

ABA Career Fair: July 30, 2009

Law Student Division Activities: July 29 – August 2, 2009

ABA Annual Meeting Activities: July 29-August 4, 2009

Law Student Division Activities: Marriott Hotel Downtown
ABA Headquarters Hotel: Chicago Hyatt Hotel and Towers

For additional details regarding ABA Law Student Division activities during the ABA Annual Meeting visit http://www.abanet.org/lsd/annual/2009/preprogram.pdf.

For questions regarding the Annual Meeting, email the ABA Law Student Division at abalsd@staff.abanet.org. For registration and housing information, visit http://www.abanet.org/annual/default.aspx.

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Image: Chicago Thomas Paine Wikipedia Montage

April 15, 2010; $2,500; William Pew Religious Freedom Scholarship

The Alliance Defense Fund has released the new rules for the 2009-2010 William Pew Religious Freedom Scholarship writing competition. Nothing but the dates have changed from your post last year. $2,500 cash prize; papers must be submitted by April 15, 2010.

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.

PDF of the rules is here: http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/userdocs/2010_Pew_Rules.pdf

Scholarship info is here: http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/whatwedo/funding/Scholarships.aspx

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Image: scenic view from Arkansas Hwy 270, near Hot Springs; June 10, 2009

$2,000; Intellectual Property; June 30, 2009

Robert C. Watson Award

To be presented on October 16, 2009 at the 2009 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, the Watson Award of $2,000 is awarded to the author of best article on a subject relating to the protection of intellectual property written or published between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009.

RULES:

To be eligible for consideration, the article must have been written solely by a student or students either in full time attendance at a law school (day or evening) or prepared in connection with a law school course. The article must be submitted to the American Intellectual Property Law Association on or before June 30, 2009. Papers should be approximately the equivalent of 10 law review pages including footnotes (30-40 pages typed copy). Submission of 20 copies is required. Submissions must include the submitter’s name, current address, current telephone number, and employment information, if applicable.

Judges will consider the merit of the article as a contribution to the knowledge respecting intellectual property and the extent to which it displays original and creative thought or information not previously written or published by the author prior to July 1, 2008.

Reasonable expenses will be reimbursed to the author of the winning paper to travel to Washington, DC to receive the Watson Award on October 16, 2009. Send articles to:

American Intellectual Property Law Association
Watson Award Competition
241 18th Street South, Suite 700
Arlington, VA 22202
Telephone: 703-415-0780

More details: here

October 2, 2009; Air and Space Law; $3,000; $2,000

The ABA Forum on Air and Space Law has announced its writing competition, sponsored by Rolls-Royce. While suggested topics are projected, they are not yet available on the forum web site.

From the competition pdf flyer:

Students are free to select a topic relevant to the aerospace industry, write the article after April 1, 20009, and not have published the article in any other medium or law school publication. [blog editor's note: Interested writers might find some topical ideas at the Institute of Air and Space Law, at McGill University.]

4,000 word limit, electronic submissions allowed.


Open to law students in good standing who are, or become members of, the ABA student division.

1st place prize - $3,000 (plus travel and accommodations, and potential publicaiton int he fall issue of The Air and Space Lawyer) at the Update Conference.
2nd Place Prize - $2,000

More information: Dawn R. Holiday at holidayd@staff.abanet.org

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Photographer:	Will Simpson
Times Viewed:	1663
Keywords:	clouds, storm

July 20, 2009; Gaming law; $2,500 (two awards)

Gaming Law, $2,500 (two awards); 2008-09 Law Course and July 20, 2009 deadline
(first posted on this blog on March 5).

The following details are from the Shannon Bybee Scholarship website:

The International Association of Gaming Advisors (IAGA) created the Shannon Bybee Scholarship program to honor the memory of Shannon Bybee, one of the IAGA founders, who had a distinguished career as a gaming attorney, state gaming regulator, gaming industry executive and pioneering educator in casino operations and gaming law.

The awards are made possible by a grant from International Game Technology, the world's largest gaming device manufacturer, through the assistance of David Johnson, Executive Vice President and General Council.

Full entrant information appears here (pdf).

Recipients of the 2008 Shannon Bybee Scholarship were:

Nathan L Mendenhall, Student, University of Tulsa School of Law, "Tracking 25 U.S.C. Section 2719: IGRA Exceptions to Indian Gaming on Newly Acquired Lands."

Adam Hosmer-Henner, Student, Harvard Law School, "Preventing Gaming-Fixing: Sports Books as Information Markets".

These papers are available for downloading at the scholarship site.

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Image: Monte Carlo casino at night (wikipedia)

June 26, 2009; $3,000; 2009 George Hutchinson Writing Competition

Patent, Veterans, International Trade Commission, Gov't Contracts, Merit Systems (Federal Circuit) June 26, 2009 -- $3,000

THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT BAR ASSOCIATION (FCBA)
2009 GEORGE HUTCHINSON WRITING COMPETITION

The Federal Circuit Bar Association is pleased to announce the 2009 George Hutchinson Writing Competition, named in honor of the First Chief Clerk of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

FCBA is comprised of more than 2,500 nationwide members, who practice law in the areas that lie within the specialized jurisdiction of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals was established in 1982 by Congress as the first Article III appellate court to have exclusive jurisdiction over certain defined subject areas. Specifically, the Court's jurisdiction includes appeals from all patent litigation (nationwide), Patent and Trademark Office decisions, government contract claims, International Trade Commission, Merit Systems Appeals, and Veterans Appeals.

Entries to the contest may discuss any topic that lies within the procedure, substance, or scope of the jurisdiction of the Court.

The rules and further information can be found in the full contest rules at this url (pdf)

The competition is open to all law students enrolled in ABA accredited law schools.

The competition permits and encourages students to base their entries on papers that they prepared for law school courses and seminars during the 2008/2009 school year.

The competition is kept open for the entire school year so that papers prepared during the present Fall or Spring semester can be eligible.

Three thousand dollars ($3,000.00) will be awarded to the entry deemed by the judges to be the best entry and to merit the award. Second and third place cash prizes may also be awarded at the discretion of the judges. In addition, the winner will receive significant favorable publicity to all members of FCBA.

Submissions must be postmarked no later than June 26, 2009.

$2,000; Intellectual Property; June 30, 2009

This notice, in its entirety, appears at the American Intellectual Property Law Association web site

Robert C. Watson Award

To be presented on October 16, 2009 at the 2009 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, the Watson Award of $2,000 is awarded to the author of best article on a subject relating to the protection of intellectual property written or published between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009.

RULES:

To be eligible for consideration, the article must have been written solely by a student or students either in full time attendance at a law school (day or evening) or prepared in connection with a law school course. The article must be submitted to the American Intellectual Property Law Association on or before June 30, 2009. Papers should be approximately the equivalent of 10 law review pages including footnotes (30-40 pages typed copy). Submission of 20 copies is required. Submissions must include the submitter’s name, current address, current telephone number, and employment information, if applicable.

Judges will consider the merit of the article as a contribution to the knowledge respecting intellectual property and the extent to which it displays original and creative thought or information not previously written or published by the author prior to July 1, 2008.

Reasonable expenses will be reimbursed to the author of the winning paper to travel to Washington, DC to receive the Watson Award on October 16, 2009. Send articles to:

American Intellectual Property Law Association
Watson Award Competition
241 18th Street South, Suite 700
Arlington, VA 22202
Telephone: 703-415-0780

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Image credit:

Photographer:	Will Simpson
Times Viewed:	1035

$1,000; Alternative Dispute Resolution; June 15, 2009 Deadline

James Boskey ADR Writing Competition

Sponsored by The ABA Section of Dispute Resolution in association with the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution of UNLV Boyd School of Law and Penn State Dickinson School of Law.

Purpose of the Boskey ADR Writing Competition
The purpose of the competition is to promote greater interest in and understanding of the field of dispute resolution and collaborative decision-making among students enrolled in ABA accredited law schools.

The essay may address any aspect of dispute resolution practice, theory or research that the contestant chooses. Essays are limited to 15-25 typewritten pages, including footnotes or endnotes. The text of the essay must be double-spaced, with twelve-point font and one-inch margins.

First Prize: $1000 to the Competition winner and an invitation to publish in Penn State Dickinson School of Law Yearbook On Arbitration and Mediation. The Competition winner and honorable mention essays will also be posted on the Boskey Competition website.

Entry Information

Entries for the competition must be submitted by Monday, June 15, 2009. One electronic copy of the submission and one entry form must be submitted in order to register for the competition. Electronic entries are to be sent to Josephine Waugh at waughjos@staff.abanet.org, with the subject header “Attn: Boskey Dispute Resolution Essay Competition.”

Click here to download the Boskey Entry Form.

Register via mail send the completed Entry Form and essay to:

Boskey Dispute Resolution Essay Competition
c/o Jo Waugh
ABA Section of Dispute Resolution
740 15th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005

Entries must be postmarked by U.S. mail or recognized commercial express service. Entries submitted by fax will be automatically rejected. Contestants will receive confirmation of the entry. The winner(s) will be notified by mail of their selection. The James Boskey Dispute Resolution Essay Competition is sponsored by the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution.

James Boskey was an intellectual, humanitarian, mediator and career law professor at Seton Hall University School of Law. Jim Boskey became known and beloved world-over for his publication of The Alternative Newsletter, a resource guide on ADR published quarterly. It was in its tenth year when Jim died in 1999. The publication provided a comprehensive yet very accessible window into the diverse dimensions of the ADR field. In many respects, Jim Boskey-through The Alternative Newsletter-was the voice of the ADR community.

Founded in 1999, the James Boskey ADR Writing Competition is a project of the ADR in Law Schools Committee. The Boskey Writing Competition is chaired by Jean Sternlight, Saltman Professor, UNLV Boyd School of Law & Director Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution.

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Photographer:	Will Simpson
Location:	Moscow, Idaho
Times Viewed:	1040
Keywords:	moscow, food, co-op

Finding Time to Write

It's about Time ...

"Part of my problem with getting my writing done was that I wouldn’t write unless I could reserve a big block of time to do it. I rarely could do that, so I didn’t write at all.

Once I stopped thinking in terms of hours-- and started thinking in minutes-- I got my writing done."

Finding Time to Write

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Image: old Waterman Hall University of Arkansas School of Law, plus first law school expansion and the tree that is determined to survive (construction and then construction and then an ice storm), plus some of those interesting swirling clouds that developed (a couple of weeks ago) from two low pressure systems, one from the east and one from the west.