Akron Bar Foundation

57 S. Broadway Street, Akron, Ohio 44308

P: 330-253-5007 | F: 330-253-2140

www.akronbar.org

The Akron Bar Foundation provides scholarships to law students based on grade point average, affiliation with Summit County, history of community involvement and financial need.

Carefully complete the accompanying scholarship application and return to: The Akron Bar Foundation, Attention: Director of Development, 57 South Broadway Street, Akron, Ohio 44308. Applications MUST BE postmarked NO LATER THAN Friday, February 26, 2016. Qualified applicants will be contacted to arrange for an interview, which will take place during the last week of April.

Qualified Applicants Must Meet ALL of the Following Criteria:

[ ] You are a citizen of the United States

[ ] You have been admitted to a law school in Ohio

[ ] You are in good academic standing with your school(s)

[ ] You have an affiliation with Summit County

[ ] You have a demonstrated history of community involvement

[ ] You have a strong financial need

In Order for your Application to be Considered, You Must Submit the Following TYPED Information:

The 2016 Tannenwald Writing Competition

Sponsored by the Theodore Tannenwald, Jr. Foundation for Excellence in Tax Scholarship and The American College of Tax Counsel

Named for the late Tax Court Judge Theodore Tannenwald, Jr., and designed to perpetuate his dedication to legal scholarship of the highest quality, the Tannenwald Writing Competition is open to all full- or part-time law school students, undergraduate or graduate.  Papers on any federal or state tax-related topic may be submitted in accordance with the Competition Rules (viewable at http://www.tannenwald.org).

Cash prizes of $5,000, $2,500 and $1,500 for the top three papers.

Deadline for submitting papers:  9:00 p.m. EDT, July 1, 2015.

Mail papers to: Tannenwald Foundation, 700 Sixth Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20001-3980, Attn:  Sandie Kiedrowski.

For more information contact: Nancy Abramowitz at 202.274.4164 (nabramo@wcl.american.edu).

DIVERSITY LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

Latham & Watkins is excited to host a select group of 1Ls at our second annual Diversity Leadership Academy from April 1-3, 2016 in San Francisco, California. Applications are due January 11, 2016.

We are pleased to announce the second annual Latham & Watkins Diversity Leadership Academy, April 1-3, 2016, in San Francisco. We encourage talented first-year law students to apply to attend.

The Diversity Leadership Academy will bring together Latham attorneys from around the globe and talented first-year law students from across the United States with a specific focus on developing and empowering future leaders of the legal profession and creating community among our lawyers, recruits and 1L guests, all of whom share a commitment to diversity.

We will consider the following factors when selecting participants.

·         Academic and leadership achievements.

·         Obstacles, challenges or other factors (financial or otherwise) encountered in advancing career objectives.

·         Life experiences that have shaped values and professional goals.

·         A desire to practice at a global law firm.

·         Demonstrated commitment to promoting inclusion and diversity in the legal profession.

This firm-sponsored training and development retreat will provide first-year law students with the information and skills needed to successfully navigate the law firm interview and hiring process, and transition from law student to practicing attorney. Each 1L student will be partnered with a Latham mentor who will serve in this capacity during the Academy and throughout the remainder of the student’s law school career.

Applications can be accessed starting December 1, 2015 at www.lw.com/DiversityLeadershipAcademy.  Applications are due on January 11, 2016. Students selected will be notified in February 2016.

2015-2016 Louis Jackson National Student Writing Competition in Employment and Labor Law

Co-sponsored by Jackson Lewis LLP and IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, the Institute for Law and the Workplace

TOPIC
Judges will consider papers on any topic relating to the law governing the workplace, such as employment law, labor law, employee benefits, or employment discrimination.

REQUIREMENTS & ELIGIBILITY
Entries must be the law student author’s own work and must not be submitted for publication elsewhere. Authors must have completed or be currently taking course work in employment or labor law, and must be enrolled in an accredited law school during the Fall 2015 semester. Only the first two submissions per law school will be accepted as entries for consideration.

The deadline for submission is Tuesday, January 19, 2016.

Howard C. Schwab Memorial Essay Contest

IF YOU WIN:
• You’ll receive $1,500 (1st place); $750 (2nd place); or $350 (3rd place)!
• Your work could be published in the American Bar Association Section of Family Law’s scholarly journal, Family Law Quarterly and/or the Section’s website.
• Your Dean will be notified of your achievement.
• You’ll receive a certificate of recognition, and a one-year complimentary membership to the ABA Section of Family Law. You’ll also be invited to attend the Annual Awards Luncheon at our Annual Meeting in the summer.

Essays must be postmarked by April 29, 2016. If you’d like to participate in this year’s contest, you must fill out an entry form by April 15th so we may assign you an entry number.

For guidelines, rules, and application, visit: www.shopaba.org/schwab

American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law and
The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
Annual Law Student Writing Competition for 2015-2016

The ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law and the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers are pleased to announce their 2015-2016 writing competition. This competition is open to articles written while the author is a student at an accredited law school in the United States. Authors may not have graduated from law school prior to December 1, 2015. Graduate students in law school (LL.M. candidates) are not eligible. Entries should address aspects of public or private sector labor and/or employment law relevant to the American labor and employment bar. Students are encouraged to discuss a public policy issue, practical implications of a leading case or doctrine, a statute or the need for statutory modification, or a common law doctrine. Articles may address U.S. law, international law of relevance to U.S. labor and employment attorneys, or how a legal topic is treated in states across the country. Papers limited to the law of a single state will not be considered. Papers must be analytical in nature, not merely a summary of the law. Students must present and discuss competing points of view with respect to the issue addressed and must distinguish their conclusions from opposing positions with sound logic and reference to multiple primary and secondary sources. We discourage students from writing articles about a recent Supreme Court decision or a case pending before the Supreme Court unless the article focuses upon case law or statutory developments subsequent to the Supreme Court's decision.

The following prizes may be awarded by the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers: First Place: $3000, Second Place: $1000, Third Place: $500. The first-place winning article will be published in the ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law. In addition, the author will be a guest at the annual CLE program of the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law and honored at the Annual Induction Dinner of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. The College and the Section reserve the right not to select any article for publication or award any prizes if, in their judgment, the submissions do not meet their standards for outstanding legal writing.

Rules

2016 OSBA Environmental Law Award: Call for papers and 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 Award: 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. Joint submissions are not permitted.

Prize: The winner of this contest will receive a prize of $1000 donated by McMahon DeGulis LLP. The second place winner will receive a prize of $250.

Submissions: Submissions may be of any length up to a maximum of 50 pages, in a double spaced, 8.5x11-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 email. 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.

Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. EST on Jan. 29, 2016.

A random number will be assigned to each entry and record of this number on all copies of each essay submitted. Neither the contestant's identity nor his/her academic institution will be known to the selection committee.

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.

Purpose
The Crane Writing Competition is designed to encourage outstanding student scholarship at the intersection of law and medicine or law and the social sciences that promotes an understanding, furthers the development of legal rights and protections, and improves the lives of those with disabilities.

Eligibility
The Crane Writing Competition is open to currently enrolled law students (J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D.), medical students, and doctoral candidates in related fields who attend an accredited graduate program of study in the United States.


Topic
Submitted papers may be on any topic relating to disability law including, legal issues arising with respect to employment, government services and programs, public accommodations, education, higher education, housing, and health care.

Deadlines
All submissions must be submitted electronically to cranewritingcompetition@tjsl.edu. All entries must be received by midnight, Pacific Standard Time, January, 15, 2016. Winning submissions will be announced by April 15, 2016.

Contact

Questions should be directed to Professor Susan Bisom-Rapp: susanb@tjsl.edu

http://www.tjsl.edu/cranewritingcompetition

2016 WRITING COMPETITION

The American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers is pleased to announce awards to be presented for:

                      (a) the best book

                      (b) the best publishable article, book chapter, or substantial book review

                      (c) the best student note or comment on a topic dealing with consumer financial                                        services law.

The awards include cash payments of $2500, $2000, and $1000, respectively, a Certificate of Recognition from the College, and travel expenses to attend the Spring 2016 meeting of the College. In any given year, depending on submissions, all three awards, or fewer, may be made.
Eligible entries will address a topic on consumer financial services, but not securities regulation, insurance, or the safety-and-soundness aspects of banking regulation. Works on subjects within these (or other) areas, however, will be considered if they bear directly on consumer financial services.
Entries must have been written or published between November 15, 2014, and December 1, 2015.

The deadline for submission is December 1, 2015. Unpublished entries should be typed, double spaced, and in law review format.

The winners will be honored at the annual meeting of the College held in conjunction with the Spring Meeting of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association, to be held in Montreal in April 2016.

The American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers is a nonprofit association of attorneys who have made significant contributions to consumer financial services law over an extended period of time. Its members include academics, present and former federal and state regulatory and enforcement officers, authors in the field, private practitioners, counsel for financial institutions and other service providers, and representatives of consumer protection and advocacy organizations.

Entries must be submitted in electronic format and should be sent to:

tfranzen@franzen-salzano.com

Therese G. Franzén, ACCFSL Writing Competition Chair
Franzen and Salzano, PC
40 Technology Parkway South, Suite 202
Norcross, Georgia
30092

More information on the College may be found at: http://www.accfsl.org

You’ve Graduated From Law School, What Do You Call Yourself?

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself 

any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

~Oh the Places You’ll Go, by Dr. Seuss

But not so fast!  If you are going to be a practicing lawyer, you still need to take and pass the bar exam, and then be admitted to a state bar.  And in the meantime, while you are studying, taking the bar, and then contemplating “what the heck am I going to do until I’m admitted,” you need to know what you can call yourself professionally?

This is an important consideration that is often overlooked by recent law school graduates.  The question is frequently asked of the staff at the Board of Professional Conduct, “Can I call myself lawyer, attorney, counselor, esquire?”  And the answer invariably is “No.  Not until you are admitted to practice before the bar.”  It is important to recognize this distinction because you do not want to run afoul of the ethics rules before you are admitted, or worse not be admitted because of it.  See, Disciplinary Counsel v. Cuckler, 2004-Ohio-784; In re Application of Stage, 1998-Ohio-338.

Here is quick guide of how to refer to yourself and when:

• After graduated and studying for the bar exam:  “J.D.” and/or indicate “preparing for OH (or whatever state) bar examination”
•  After graduated and finished taking bar exam:  “J.D.” and/or “awaiting OH (or other state) bar examination results”
• After graduated and passed bar exam, but not yet admitted:  “J.D.” and/or “awaiting/pending admission to OH (or other state) bar.”
• After admitted to bar:  “J.D.” and/or “lawyer, attorney, or esquire.”
•  After graduated, but never admitted to bar:  “J.D.”

It is important to keep in mind that you CANNOT refer to yourself as “lawyer, attorney, counselor, esquire” until admitted to a state bar.  The six months from graduation to admission may seem long, but it is much shorter than not being admitted because your application is denied.  The key is do not refer to yourself as something you are not.

This blog post was provided by Heidi Wagner Dorn, Esq., Counsel for the Board of Professional Conduct, Supreme Court of Ohio, Summer 2015.

Legal Research and Writing Competition

The deadline is quickly approaching deadline for the DISH^® 2015 “Best in Class” eDiscovery Legal Research and Writing Competition sponsored by DISH Network L.L.C., in conjunction with Redgrave LLP.  The grand prize is $3,500 for the winning student, and the winning school can get some media coverage.

The submission deadline is April 13, 2015.

The DISH® “Best in Class” eDiscovery Legal Research and Writing Competition encourages law students to develop a thorough understanding of the evolution and practice of Information Governance and Discovery in civil litigation.  The competition is the only one of its kind designed to challenge law students to explore the evolving issues of document management, electronically stored information, and ever-expanding technology — along with their application to the law.

Additional contest information can be found on the contest website at: http://www.dishediscovery.com

UpRight Law Scholarship Contest Official Rules

THE UpRight Law Access to Advocacy Award IS OFFERED ONLY IN THE 50 UNITED STATES AND DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BY UpRight Law LLC (“SPONSOR”) TO PROMOTE ITS ONGOING COMMITMENT TO access to justice. CONTEST BEGINS 12:01 AM CST February 15, 2015 AND ENDS 11:59 PM CST July 15, 2015 (“CONTEST PERIOD”).
Contest is open to legal permanent residents of the 50 United States and District of Columbia.  Entrants must be either (1) currently registered in an accredited law school program; (2) currently accepted to a law school program; or (3) engaged in pre-law curriculum at an accredited four-year college.  Scholarship will only be awarded to the winning entrant upon furnishing proof of law school registration;  entrants who are accepted but not registered, or enrolled in pre-law course work, must register in a law school program to receive scholarship and must do so before July 15, 2019 or entrant/winner will be deemed to have forfeited his or her scholarship. Proof of identity and registration must be furnished upon request.
Entry in the Contest is available only at www.UpRightLaw.com (the “Website”). Entrants must submit an original video 90 to 120 seconds in length on one or more issues or topics relating to the need for the legal profession to adopt modern technologies to increase access to legal services and lower the cost for such services. The video may not contain any work (in whole or in part) which is the subject of a copyright, trademark or brand name of a third party. Video must not include anything that is inappropriate for publication (such as, profanity, nudity, hate speech, illegal conduct or gratuitous violence) or that disparages or adversely affects the goodwill and reputation of UpRight Law LLC. Video must address the Contest theme, must be truthful and accurate, and must not have been submitted to any other competition or contest or have received an award prior to submission as an entry in this Contest.  Once submitted, the video may not be modified, edited or replaced by the entrant. Video must be the original work of the entrant.  Upon submission, Sponsor is granted the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to display, reproduce, distribute, publish and create derivative works of the video in any format or medium.  Sponsor reserves the right to remove any submission for any reason.
To enter the Contest, access the website during the Contest Period, complete the official entry form on the Contest website and submit it and the video entry as directed. Entry and related materials must be submitted no later than 11:59 PM Central Standard Time on May 31, 2015.  Limit of one entry per person. No joint, group or team entries are allowed.  All video submissions become property of UpRight Law.

National Association of Women Lawyers
2015 Selma Moidel Smith Law Student Writing Competition

The National Association of Women Lawyers ("NAWL") is a national organization devoted to promoting the interests and progress of women lawyers and women's legal rights. Since 1899, NAWL has served as an educational forum and active voice for the concerns of women lawyers in this country and abroad. Through its programs and networks, NAWL provides the tools for women in the profession to advance, prosper, and enrich the profession. 

NAWL has established the annual Selma Moidel Smith Law Student Writing Competition to encourage and reward original law student writing on issues concerning women and the law. 

The rules for the competition are as follows:

Entrants should submit a paper on an issue concerning women's rights or the status of women in the law. The most recent winning paper wasThe Decriminalization of Rape on America's College Campuses: How Federal Sex Discrimination Policy has Diminished the Role of the Criminal Justice System in Combatting Sexual Violence written by Danielle Elizabeth DeBold, who was a 3L at New York University School of Law. View the paper here.

Essays will be accepted from students enrolled at any law school during the 2014-15 school year. The essays must be the law student author's own work and must not have been submitted for publication elsewhere. Papers written by students for coursework or independent study during the Summer, Fall or Spring semesters are eligible for submission. Notwithstanding the foregoing, students may incorporate professorial feedback as part of a course requirement or supervised writing project.

              

FORMAT: Essays must be double-spaced in 12-point, Times New Roman font. All margins must be one inch. Entries must not exceed fifteen (15) pages of text, excluding notes, with footnotes placed as endnotes. Citation style should conform to The Bluebook - A Uniform System of Citation. Essays longer than fifteen pages of text, excluding notes, or that are not in the required format may not be read.

JUDGING: NAWL and the Women Lawyers Journal designees will judge the competition. Essays will be judged based upon content, exhaustiveness of research, originality, writing style, and timeliness.

QUESTIONS: Questions regarding this competition should be addressed to the Writing Competition Chair, Professor Jennifer Martin at jmartin@stu.edu.

SUBMISSION AND DEADLINE: Entries must be received by May 1, 2015.

Entries received after the deadline will be considered only at the discretion of NAWL. Entries must include a cover letter providing the title of the essay, school affiliation, email address, phone number, and mailing address of the author. Entries must be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word via email to jmartin@stu.edu.

AWARD: The author of the winning essay will receive a cash prize of $500. NAWL will also publish the winning essay in the Women Lawyers Journal. 

Learn More

Court of Federal Claims Bar Association
2014 – 2015 Law Student Writing Competition

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims Bar Association announces its 2014-2015 Law Student
Writing Competition. The Court of Federal Claims Bar Association (CFCBA) is a voluntary bar
association made up of nationwide members who practice law in the areas that lie within the
specialized jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The goal of this competition is to
promote interest in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and its distinctive role in American
jurisprudence, and to encourage law student scholarship on current topics that lie within its
jurisdiction.

The United States Court of Federal Claims, which hears claims against the United States, has
existed in its current and predecessor forms for more than 150 years. The current court was
created pursuant to Article I of the United States Constitution in October 1982. Its predecessor,
the United States Claims Court, was created in 1855 when Congress established a court to hear
private suits against the sovereign. The U.S. Court of Federal Claims is authorized to hear
primarily money claims founded upon the Constitution, federal statutes, executive regulations, or
contracts, express or implied-in-fact, with the United States.
The cases before the Court are diverse. They include (but are not limited to) disputes concerning
tax refunds, contracts with the government, Fifth Amendment takings (which frequently raise
environmental and natural resource issues), federal civilian and military pay, intellectual
property (including use by the government or its contractors of technology protected by patents
or copyrights), Native American rights, federal procurement "bid protests," and the federal
Vaccine Injury Compensation program.

Entries to the contest may discuss any topic that lies within the procedure, substance, or scope of
the jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The rules of the contest appear below.
COMPETITION RULES

Eligibility: Any law student in good standing currently enrolled at or graduated from an ABA
accredited law school during the 2014-2015 academic year may enter the competition. Students
are permitted to use as their entries (i) papers that they prepared specifically for the competition,
or (ii) papers that they prepared for law school courses and seminars during the 2014-2015
academic year.

DEADLINE EXTENDED: ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN
11:59PM EASTERN ON FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2015.

Building Professional Habits

Courtesy of Mary Crane, Mary Crane & Associates

A week or so ago, I spoke with the head of professional development at a top-ranked U.S. law school about an upcoming networking program that I’ve been retained to facilitate. “We want our students to walk away from the program understanding that this is just the beginning,” my contact said. “That networking is not necessarily instinctive, but if they start the habit now, it will pay off throughout their professional lives.”

Graduate school and the concomitant transition into the workplace present an ideal opportunity for students and new professionals to develop a series of new habits. Any time we encounter a period of upheaval—psychologists call these periods “quantum change moments”—habits become more malleable. We suddenly become open to new rewards. It’s the presence of those rewards that can help convert a new behavior into a routine. Once that occurs, a new habit is formed.

You can play a huge role in helping students and junior employees acquire critically important professional habits. With that in mind, here are three things you need to know:

1. How do we form habits?
Over the past several years, a body of science has clarified how individuals develop habits. It turns out the process is amazingly simple, and it’s driven by neurology. According to New York Times reporter and book author Charles Duhigg, every habit has three component parts: a cue (something that automatically triggers a behavior); a routine (the behavior itself); and a reward (something that helps you remember and want to repeat the behavior in the future).

When we want to initiate a new habit or change an established one, most people focus on the actual behavior. But, Duhigg says, that approach almost always fails. Instead if we focus on cues and rewards, then the likelihood of ingraining the habit significantly increases. 

Duhigg describes one study that tested how best to make early morning exercise habitual. Researchers found that participants were most likely to succeed when they put their exercise shoes out before going to bed (the cue) and when they also received a small bite of chocolate (the reward) after their exercise session. Within a matter of months, 58 percent of participants reported that they continued to exercise without the chocolate reward.

So, think about your students and new professionals and the habits you want to instill in them. What cues and rewards can you provide? Want them to network? Then how can you cue them up for an event and reward them afterward?

2.  How do you change a habit?
You may work with students or new professionals who have developed work habits that you would desperately like to change. Maybe you’ve invested time and effort in recruiting a particular individual, but his recent behaviors suggest he may be among the 50 percent who won’t survive his first two years at work. What’s your next step?

When we develop a habit—a good, bad, or neutral one—our brains effectively go on autopilot. And thank goodness they do. Habits save us huge amounts of time. For example, if pressed, I can pack a suitcase in three minutes flat . . . simply because I’ve acquired a packing habit. I don't need to think through the process.

If you wish to help a student or new professional change a habit, you need to help them identify the current cues and rewards that support a specific routine.  With that knowledge, you can then help them identify a new, more professional response to a specific trigger as well as a reward that will help them transform the response into an ongoing habit.

Here’s one example: I’ve participated in loads of law firm orientations and have lost count of the number of times I’ve heard a partner instruct a group of new lawyers to record their time daily. The instructions are generally accompanied by an admonition that capturing all of the time invested on a particular project is critical to the firm’s bottom line. If establishing good time-recording habits is as important as I believe it to be, firms would be well served to create a system that rewards associates when they complete a nightly timesheet update.

3. What types of rewards work best?
Those of you who know me well know that I am not a believer in the “everyone-gets-a-prize” school of motivating behavior. I am completely and thoroughly opposed to the idea of giving some a reward just for doing the equivalent of “showing up.” But anyone who has taken a Psych 101 course understands the power of positive reinforcement.

According to Duhrigg, “If you can create a sense of craving,” specifically craving for some reward, “you can establish almost any habit.” The reward need not be huge. In the exercise study cited earlier, the piece of chocolate each runner received was relatively small. But according to Duhrigg, it was large enough to satisfy either an individual runner’s sensation-seeking impulse or the novelty impulse.

In my timesheet example, a law firm could help encourage daily timesheet entry through a variety of different rewards. Each time a new associate updates his or her timesheet, a computer-generated message could be delivered to his or her email inbox thanking the new associate for their contribution to the firm’s bottom line. Alternatively, associates who update their timesheets daily could receive “points” that could be used to purchase a morning java at the local coffeehouse. And remember, the reward won’t need to be delivered forever, but rather just long enough to transform the behavior into a habit.
Your greatest challenge moving forward may be uncovering what motivates all the people you need to influence. Expect major variations person to person.

Imagine the habits you can start to inculcate among your new and established professionals: people RSVP for events; people actually attend the events for which they’ve RSVP’d; everyone dresses appropriately; professionals regularly say “please” and “thank you”; and so forth. Focus your efforts on creating the right cues and rewards, and you can help your students and new professionals create the habits they need to succeed.

For more on the formation of new, good habits or the replacement of old, bad ones, click here to listen to Charles Duhigg’s 2013 TEDTalk.

Copyright © 2014 Mary Crane & Associates.

James Boskey ADR Writing Competition

Sponsored by The ABA Section of Dispute Resolution in memory of James B. Boskey, an intellectual, humanitarian, Seton Hall University law professor, and mediator.

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 law students.

Prize: $1000 to the Competition winner

• The essay may address any aspect of dispute resolution practice, theory or research that the  contestant chooses.
• Essays must be 15-25 typed, double spaced pages.
• Essays must use 12 point Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins.

For more info, forms, and procedures please see:

http://www.americanbar.org/groups/dispute_resolution/awards_competitions.html

Frederic L. Ballard, Jr. Memorial Scholarship Program

to attend its

2015 Fundamentals of Municipal Bond Law Seminar

The National Association of Bond Lawyers (“NABL”) is pleased to announce that it is once again offering up to five scholarships to law school students, through the Frederic L. Ballard, Jr. Memorial Scholarship Program to attend its 2015 Fundamentals of Municipal Bond Law Seminar.  Located in the District of Columbia, NABL was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in 1979, and exists to promote the integrity of the municipal market by advancing the understanding of and compliance with the law affecting public finance. NABL pursues this mission in a number of ways, including, but not limited to, providing several annual educational programs for its members and others in the law relating to state and municipal bonds and other obligations.  

The 2015 Fundamentals of Municipal Bond Law Seminar is one of these educational programs. Designed for attorneys, paralegals, government officials and employees, financial consultants and other municipal finance professionals and market participants seeking a basic knowledge of municipal bond law and related municipal finance issues, it is open to both NABL members and non-members.  The seminar is being held April 22-24, 2015, at the Hyatt Grand Cypress in Orlando, Florida.  The 2015 seminar brochure is available on the NABL website. 

To be a recipient of one of the five possible scholarships, an applicant must be currently enrolled in the Doctor of Jurisprudence Program or Masters of Law (LL.M.) Program at an accredited law school located within the United States of America.  Each scholarship will include (a) waiver of the enrollment fee to the seminar, (b) complimentary hotel lodging at the Hyatt, (c) reimbursement of roundtrip airfare and (d) reimbursement of ground transportation to and from the scholarship recipient’s departing airport and to and from the Orlando airport.  

Please take a few minutes to review the application and seminar information .  Completed applications are due no later than March 6, 2015. 

OACTA Announces 2015 Law Student Diversity Scholarships



The OACTA Law Student Diversity Scholarship is open to incoming second and third-year African American, Hispanic, Asian, Pan Asian and Native American students enrolled at Ohio law schools. Incoming second and third-year female law students enrolled at Ohio law schools are also eligible regardless of race or ethnicity. Other criteria for the scholarship include: Academic achievement in law school; Professional interest in civil defense practice; and Service to community and to the cause of diversity. Up to two (3) scholarships in the amount of $1,250 each will be awarded to successful applicants. Applicants are required to submit an application, law school transcript and a cover letter addressing the following: academic, personal and professional accomplishments, and why they should be selected as a recipient of the scholarship. Applicants may submit up to three letters of recommendation.

Applications are available here:
https://mlsvc01-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/b9c9cff2101/4dc82881-36b0-4b4e-94cf-f798a87683ce.pdf

The completed application and all other requested material must be received by April 17, 2015. Winners will be announced in June. Scholarship recipients will be recognized at the OACTA Annual Meeting in November.

OACTA members (and their firms or companies) are asked to consider making a contribution to this scholarship fund. The 2015 dues renewal forms and membership applications will include an option for a voluntary contribution. As a member of OACTA, we ask that you consider supporting this worthwhile initiative. Thank you, in advance, for your support. OACTA believes that a diverse membership makes us a stronger organization.

We encourage diversity in all aspects of our activities and are committed to nurturing a culture that supports and promotes diversity. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2014 OACTA

National Association of Women Lawyers 2015 Selma Moidel Smith Law Student Writing Competition The National Association of Women Lawyers ("NAWL") is a national organization devoted to promoting the interests and progress of women lawyers and women's legal rights. Since 1899, NAWL has served as an educational forum and active voice for the concerns of women lawyers in this country and abroad. Through its programs and networks, NAWL provides the tools for women in the profession to advance, prosper, and enrich the profession.  NAWL has established the annual Selma Moidel Smith Law Student Writing Competition to encourage and reward original law student writing on issues concerning women and the law.  The rules for the competition are as follows: Entrants should submit a paper on an issue concerning women's rights or the status of women in the law. The most recent winning paper wasThe Decriminalization of Rape on America's College Campuses: How Federal Sex Discrimination Policy has Diminished the Role of the Criminal Justice System in Combatting Sexual Violence written by Danielle Elizabeth DeBold, who was a 3L at New York University School of Law. View the paper here. Essays will be accepted from students enrolled at any law school during the 2014-15 school year. The essays must be the law student author's own work and must not have been submitted for publication elsewhere. Papers written by students for coursework or independent study during the Summer, Fall or Spring semesters are eligible for submission. Notwithstanding the foregoing, students may incorporate professorial feedback as part of a course requirement or supervised writing project.                FORMAT: Essays must be double-spaced in 12-point, Times New Roman font. All margins must be one inch. Entries must not exceed fifteen (15) pages of text, excluding notes, with footnotes placed as endnotes. Citation style should conform to The Bluebook - A Uniform System of Citation. Essays longer than fifteen pages of text, excluding notes, or that are not in the required format may not be read. JUDGING: NAWL and the Women Lawyers Journal designees will judge the competition. Essays will be judged based upon content, exhaustiveness of research, originality, writing style, and timeliness. QUESTIONS: Questions regarding this competition should be addressed to the Writing Competition Chair, Professor Jennifer Martin at jmartin@stu.edu. SUBMISSION AND DEADLINE: Entries must be received by May 1, 2015. Entries received after the deadline will be considered only at the discretion of NAWL. Entries must include a cover letter providing the title of the essay, school affiliation, email address, phone number, and mailing address of the author. Entries must be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word via email to jmartin@stu.edu. AWARD: The author of the winning essay will receive a cash prize of $500. NAWL will also publish the winning essay in the Women Lawyers Journal.  Learn More

Notre Dame Law School sponsors an annual writing competition on the topic of legal ethics.

All students with an interest in legal ethics are invited and encouraged to participate.
The competition is open to all law students at U.S.and Canadian law schools. Entries should concern any issue within the general category of legal ethics. Entries must be original.unpublished work.
Entries must not exceed 50 pages,including notes.on 8.5 x 11 paper,double space, and standard font

Coauthored essays may be submitted.

Submissions will be judged by a panel of faculty of the Notre Dame Law School. A prize of $2,500 will be awarded for one winning entry.
All entries must be received before 5 p.m., Friday, April 24, 2015.

Please include cover letter with contact information and name of current law school.
All entries should be submitted to:
SmithDoheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition Notre Dame Law School
P.O. Box 780
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556 (574) 6316749
                           Fax: (574) 6318612
                           Email: sumption.l@nd.edu
Website:http://www3.nd.edu/~ndlaw/writing_competitions/smith_doheny.pdf

Ed Mendrzycki Essay Contest
For Law Students and Young Lawyers

For Innovative Research and Writing on Lawyers' Professional Liability

An Annual Competition

Concluding every April

$5,000 Prize & a free trip to the LPL National Legal Malpractice Conference!

Contest Deadline & Information

Deadline for Submission

ONLINE entries MUST be submitted by 11:59 PM CST on February 20, 2015.

MAILED entries MUST be postmarked by February 20, 2015.

Contest Mission

The contest encourages original and innovative research and writing in the area of legal malpractice law, professional liability insurance and loss prevention.

Prize

* Cash award of $5,000.

* All expense paid trip to the Spring 2015 National Legal Malpractice Conference in Washington, DC, April 8-10, 2015.

Sponsors

The Ed Mendrzycki Essay Contest is conducted by the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Lawyers’ Professional Liability and the San Francisco law firm of Long & Levit LLP. The 2015 contest is administered and judged by a subcommittee designated by the ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers’ Professional Liability.

The Assignment

The 2015 Contest Essay Hypothetical involves liability issues arising from the breach of a law firm’s computer network and the subsequent leaking of a client’s confidential information.

Read the 2014 Winning Entry
Read the 2014 Contest Hypothetical

Read the 2013 Winning Entry
Read the 2013 Contest Hypothetical

The Frederic L. Ballard, Jr. Memorial Scholarship Program

The 2015 Frederic L. Ballard, Jr. Memorial Scholarship Program - Now Accepting Applications

NABL is pleased to announce that it is once again offering up to five scholarships to law school students to attend the 2015 Fundamentals of Municipal Bond Law Seminar.  Now in its fourth year, the scholarship program was renamed in honor of Frederic L. “Rick” Ballard, Jr. by the NABL Board of Directors in September 2014.  This year's seminar is being held April 22-24, 2015 at the Hyatt Grand Cypress in Orlando, Florida. 

Qualified candidates must be currently enrolled in the Doctor of Jurisprudence Program or a Masters of Law (LL.M.) Program at an accredited law school located within the United States of America.  Each scholarship will include a waiver of the enrollment fee and travel expenses to the 2015 Fundamentals of Municipal Law Seminar.  Click here for more details and the application.  Completed applications are due no later than March 6, 2015.  If you have any specific questions about this scholarship, please contact Linda Wymanat (202) 503-3300.

The Florida Bar Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section Presents: 

The 2014-2015 LOUIS TERTOCHA FASHION LAW WRITING COMPETITION

Competition rules. Contest opens September 15, 2014. The Fashion Law
Writing Competition is open to students in good standing in an ABA-approved
law school during the Fall 2014 through Spring 2015 terms. Essays must discuss
a legal issue in the Fashion Industry. For example, without limitation, intellectual
property, technology, communication, contracts, employment law and
international trade issues are included in this description, provided such legal
issues relate to or affect the fashion industry. The essay must be the unique
creation of the student and may not contain the work of classmates or editors.
Students may submit papers previously created for law school academic credit,
journals, or other publications. EASL reserves the non-exclusive right to publish
the best essay(s) on the EASL website, in its newsletter and/or any other related
publications. Essays must be no less than 15 pages and no more than 30 pages,
including citations and standard law school submission fonts and font sizes.
Submissions must be in PDF format, and include proper citation in accordance
with the Harvard Bluebook.

Submission Guidelines. Entries must be received no later than March 23, 2015.
Students shall submit all entries via e-mail to Brittany Rawlings, Esq. The PDF
must not have the student’s name or any identifying information included within it.
Students must pick a four digit number as their identifier and place it in the top
left corner of the header so that its visible on all pages of the submission. Under
their four-digit identifier, student must also identify the name of their law school.
The PDF should be named with the title of the article and include the four digit
identifier. The body of the e-mail must include the student’s name, student’s selfchosen
four-digit identifier, graduation year and school.
Judging. Entries will be blind judged by a judging panel of Florida law professors
and fashion attorneys. Selection of a winner will be based upon the originality of
the piece, the clarity of writing, strength of arguments, quality of research, and
compliance with Harvard Bluebook citations.

Prize. There will be at most one grand prize winning essay. The author of the
grand prize winning entry will be recognized by EASL and have its work
published on the EASL website and/or in newsletters, and may receive other
prizes TBA.

For questions, please call: Brittany Rawlings, Esq. at 239-293-4391
For writing submissions only: brittany@fashionboss.com