Office of Professional Development

Ohio Environmental Law Award:

Call for Papers

The Ohio State Bar Association Environmental Law Committee is seeking papers that advance the application and practice of environmental, energy or resources law in the State of Ohio. The winner of this contest will receive the "OSBA Environmental Law Award" and a prize of $1,000, donated by McMahon DeGulis LLP.

Winners will be announced at the Annual OSBA Environment, Energy and Resources Law Seminar in April 2014 and will be published in the seminar materials.

The submission deadline is Jan. 30, 2015 at 5 p.m. EST.

2015 Submission Guidelines 

Topic:Any topic that advances the application and practice of environmental, energy or resources law in the State of Ohio. 

Eligibility:You are eligible to enter the OSBA Environmental Law Call for Papers if you are currently enrolled in law school. The submission must be the student's original, unpublished and uncopyrighted work. The paper may be prepared to satisfy a course requirement or for other academic credit. However, the paper must be the work of the submitting student without substantial editorial input from others. Only one paper may be submitted per entrant.

Prize:The winner of this contest will receive a prize of $1000. The OSBA Environmental Law Call for Papers requires that there be only one winner. Joint submissions are not permitted. 

Submissions:Submissions may be of any length up to a maximum of 50 pages, in a double-spaced, 8.5 x 11-inch page format with 12-point font (10-point for footnotes). All entries must be submitted electronically to envlaw@mdllp.net. You will receive a confirmation by e-mail. The subject line should be "Response to Call for Papers" and the paper and cover page should be separate attachments. 

Each submission should include a SEPARATE COVER PAGE with the entrant's name, law school, year of study, mailing and email address, and phone number. The contestant's name and other identifying markings, such as school name, may not appear on any copy of the submitted essay. The cover page should also include an abstract of not more than 250 words and certification that the article has not been published or is not slated to be published elsewhere. This certification grants McMahon DeGulis LLP and the OSBA the non-exclusive license to publication.

Selection:Submitted articles will be judged on the following criteria: relevance to the practice of law in Ohio, timeliness and importance of selected topic; organization; quality of legal analysis; quality of legal research; and quality of the overall writing. In the event of a tie, the first tiebreaker will be the score for relevance to the practice of law in Ohio. The winning paper is expected to be of law review quality or better.

For additional information, please contact Louis L. McMahon, Esq. of McMahon DeGulis LLP at (216) 367-1407 or lmcmahon@mdllp.net.