Dec. 31 deadline, Construction Law, $2,000 and travel to Las Vegas

1. The competition is open to law students in good-standing who were enrolled in an ABA accredited law school during calendar year 2011.

2. Papers should address a topical issue of interest to the construction industry.

3. All authors must certify that all work submitted is the author's work product without substantial editing by others.

4. Papers prepared for law school credit are eligible for entry in the competition.

Articles prepared for law review, or publication elsewhere, are eligible for the competition. Joint papers are not acceptable.

5. If the Forum wishes to publish the winning article or articles in its various publications and the article has already been published or is planned for publication, the Forum will publish it as well if the other publication provides its consent.

6. The format of the articles must conform to either of the Forum's two publications, The Construction Lawyer (law journal format) or Under Construction (newsletter format with articles of 1000-2000 words). Format guidelines for The Construction Lawyer are posted on the Forum's website.

7. Articles must be in Microsoft Word format.

8. Article must conform to the Harvard Bluebook citation style.

9. The following information must be presented on the title page: title; author's name; address, telephone number, email address; and law school.

10. Articles must be submitted by e-mail to the following:

- Amanda Raible, American Bar Association, amanda.raible@americanbar.org

- Marilyn Klinger, Sedgwick Detert Moran & Arnold LLP, marilyn.klinger@sedgwicklaw.com

11. All entries must be emailed by December 31, 2011. Winners will be selected and notified in March 2012.

12. The author of the first place submittal will receive a cash prize of $2,000; travel expenses and registration to attend the 2012 annual meeting of the ABA Forum on the Construction Industry in Las Vegas Nevada, where a first prize plaque will be presented; a one-year membership in the Forum and recognition in the Forum newsletter, Under Construction, and on the Forum's website. One or more authors may be determined a finalist and recognized with a plaque.

13. An impartial panel will judge the entries. Criteria for selection include creativity, clarity and precision of writing, strength of argument, novelty of subject, and quality of research.

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Construction Law, $2,000 and travel to Las Vegas

Subject: 2011 Law Student Writing Competition -ABA Forum on the Construction Industry

I wanted to assure you had information about this Law Student Writing Competition sponsored by the American Bar Association's Construction Industry Forum.

Finalists receive recognition, and the winner receives a cash prize of $2,000; travel expenses and free registration to attend the 2012 annual meeting of the Forum in Las Vegas, a first prize plaque, a one-year membership in the Forum and recognition in its newsletter, its publication, Under Construction, and the Forum's website.

The odds are good, and the opportunity is wonderful.

For More Information


Competition Rules


image source: wikipedia

Human Rights and the Global Economy - September 15 deadline - $500 and expense paid travel to Boston

Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE)

Northeastern University School of Law

Annual PHRGE Student Writing Competition

The Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE) at Northeastern University School of Law announces the PHRGE Student Writing Competition to be held annually in conjunction with the PHRGE Institute on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE) works closely with scholars, advocates and institutions nationally and internationally to address issues of human rights and economic development. PHRGE is particularly engaged with the national and international movement to promote economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR). As part of these efforts, each year, PHRGE hosts an Institute that brings activists, attorneys and scholars together to address a variety of ESCR issues.

On November 3-4, 2011, PHRGE will host an Institute on “Framing Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for Advocacy and Mobilization: Towards a Strategic Agenda in the U.S.” A successful frame helps organize facts and events to change the terms of the debate on a particular issue. Framing is not just a matter of “marketing” a message to the general public, but instead can and should play an integral role in building and sustaining a grassroots movement. This Institute will examine the strategic roles that distinctive frames can play in advocacy on ESCR before courts, legislatures and the media, as well as in mobilizing people to act on ESCR. The PHRGE Student Writing Competition will be held in conjunction with the PHRGE Institute.

Topic: Papers must address a topic within the broad field of economic, social and cultural rights within the United States.

Eligibility: Current JD students in the United States and 2011 JD graduates in the United States.

Length and Formatting: Submissions must be in English and between 8, 000 and 12,000 words including footnotes. The text of the paper must be in double-spaced 12-point font. Papers must conform to the Bluebook citation format. Submissions must be original work and not have been published anywhere else. Please include your law school and graduation date with your submission. Papers must be submitted electronically as word documents.

Judgment Criteria for Award: Papers will be judged on originality, the quality of writing and analysis, exhaustiveness of research and readiness for publication. All eligible submissions will first be reviewed by NU Law Journal staff members. The final papers from that process will then be reviewed by a panel composed of the PHRGE Directors and the editors of the NU Law Journal.

Deadline: Submissions due September 15^th 2011. Winner announced October 1^st 2011.

Prize: The winner of the writing competition will receive $500, as well as hotel accommodations and reasonable travel expenses (within the continental United States) to attend the ESCR Institute on “Framing Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for Advocacy and Mobilization: Towards a Strategic Agenda in the U.S.” to be held November 3-4, 2011, at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston. The winner will also receive expedited consideration for publication in the Spring 2012 issue of the NU Law Journal, which will be a special symposium issue on the Institute.

For More Information: Contact Gillian MacNaughton, Executive Director, Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy, Northeastern University School of Law, Boston MA

(617) 373-4972 g.macnaughton@neu.edu

Submit Papers To: Jenny Bagnyuk, Program Coordinator, Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy, Northeastern University School of Law, Boston MA j.bagnyuk@neu.edu

Image source: wikipedia

June 1 deadline, 2 $1500 awards Employee Benefits Law

(Image: Will Simpson Open Source Photography)

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF EMPLOYEE BENEFITS COUNSEL

Writing Competition Rules


1. Eligibility/topics. Except as provided in (6) below, applicants must be enrolled full-time or part-time in law school between August 15, 2010 and August 15, 2011 and seeking a J.D. or a graduate law degree (e.g., L.L.M. or S.J.D.). Papers must deal with employee benefits topics. As an illustrative example, a paper might address legal issues involving health benefits, pensions, 401(k) plans, severance, executive compensation, claims, appeals, current or former spouses' or domestic partners' benefits, collectively-bargained benefits, benefits in bankruptcy, ERISA litigation, fiduciary obligations or the tax treatment of benefits/contributions.

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

b. Papers must be submitted as email attachments to peter.kelly@bcbsa.com and should be submitted as Word or pdf documents. No information identifying the author or law school should be included in the text, the footnotes or the filename. That information, an address, a telephone number and enrollment status information should be provided in the email message.

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

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

2. Selection of winners. Winning papers will be selected by the Writing Competition Committee based on the factors they deem relevant. Among other factors, the Committee will consider: (i) depth and creativity of legal analysis; (ii) thoroughness of legal research; (iii) organization and writing style; (iv) difficulty of subject matter; and (v) consideration of employee benefits policy implications. The determination of the Committee is final. It is anticipated that winners will be notified by August 15, 2011, or shortly thereafter.

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

4. Prizes. Cash prizes will be awarded for up to two winning papers. The College may, in its discretion, decide to split prizes, to award additional prizes or to award fewer than two awards.

5. Deadline. Papers must be submitted in the manner described in paragraph 1(b) above and must be received no later than Midnight Central Time on June 1, 2011.

6. Disclaimer. The College disclaims responsibility for any failure to give due consideration to any submission due to any email or other electronic transmission, storage or archival errors, regardless of the cause. However, the Committee may waive the eligibility requirements applicable to any student whose properly submitted paper was not afforded due consideration on account of such an error in a prior year's contest.

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

Image: Will Simpson Open Source Photography

Finals, Mind and Body

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 the end of the finals period 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.

***

Two helpful web sites:

Top Ten Happy Foods

Finals Coming Up: Your Body Needs Good Nutrition