Office Description

The Office of Professional Development blog is your resource for up to the minute news, advice, and information relating to your career and professional development.

Friday, February 26, 2016

National Association of Women Lawyers 2016 Selma Moidel Smith Law Student Writing Competition
 

The mission of the National Association of Women Lawyers is to provide leadership, a collective voice, and essential resources to advance women in the legal profession and advocate for the equality of women under the law. Since 1899, NAWL has been empowering women in the legal profession, cultivating a diverse membership dedicated to equality, mutual support, and collective success. 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.

Essays will be accepted from students enrolled at any law school during the 2015-16 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 15 pages of text, excluding notes, or that are not in the required format will not be read.

JUDGING: NAWL 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 chair of the Writing Competition, Professor Jennifer Martin at jmartin@stu.edu.

SUBMISSION AND DEADLINE: Entries must be received by May 1, 2016. Entries received after the deadline will be considered only at the discretion of NAWL. Entries must provide a cover letter providing the title of the essay, school affiliation, email address, phone number, and mailing address. Entries must be submitted in the following format: email an electronic version (in Microsoft Word) 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. The most recent winning paper was "The Practice of Name Suppression: How the News Media Promotes the Stigmatization of Rape Victims" written by Emily Suran, University of Michigan Law School. Please view paper by clicking here

Monday, February 22, 2016

DISH® 2016
“Best in Class”
eDiscovery Legal Research and
Writing Competition

Sponsored by DISH Network L.L.C., in conjunction with Redgrave LLP
first grand prize is $2,500
second place prize is $1,000

All eligible law school students who (a) have obtained a baccalaureate degree or equivalent from an accredited institution and (b) are or will be enrolled in an ABA-accredited law program in the United States on the date of submission can compete.

The submission deadline is Monday, April 11, 2016.

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
Please direct all questions to contactus@dishediscovery.com.

Friday, February 19, 2016

DRI Announces 2016 Law Student Diversity Scholarship




DRI announces its annual Law Student Diversity Scholarship program, open to rising (2016–17) second- and third-year African American, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, LGBT and Multi-Racial students. All rising second- and third-year female law students are also eligible, regardless of race or ethnicity. Any other rising second- and third-year law students who come from backgrounds that would add to the cause of diversity, regardless of race or gender, are eligible to apply. Students who are members of the American Association for Justice (AAJ), law school or law student members of AAJ, or students otherwise affiliated with or employed by AAJ are not eligible for DRI Law Student Diversity Scholarships.

To qualify for this scholarship, a candidate must be a full-time student. Evening students also qualify for consideration if they have completed one-third or more of the total credit hours required for a degree by the applicant’s law school. The goal of these scholarships is to provide financial assistance to two worthy law students from ABA-accredited law schools to promote, in a tangible way, the DRI Diversity Statement of Principle.  See the last page of the
 application for the DRI Diversity Statement.
Two scholarships in the amount of $10,000 each will be awarded to applicants who best meet the following criteria:
  • Demonstrated academic excellence 
  • Service to the profession 
  • Service to the community
  • Service to the cause of diversity 
Applications and all other requested materials must be received by March 30, 2016. Click here to access the 2016 Law Student Diversity Scholarship.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Advancement of Animal Law Scholarships

The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) Advancement of Animal Law Scholarships are available to law student members of our Student Animal Legal Defense Fund (SALDF) chapters and are awarded based upon demonstrated commitment to ALDF’s mission, “to advance the interests and protect the lives of animals through the legal system.” Applicants should be committed to the advancement of animal law through active involvement with their SALDF chapter while in law school and anticipated participation in the field after graduation.
A secondary goal of the scholarship is to ensure the recipient’s chapter will remain active and maintain engaged leadership. Therefore, scholarship recipients are encouraged to act as a SALDF advisor to their chapter for up to two years after graduation; this mentorship will help ensure continuity of the chapter and contribute to its ongoing vitality.
Scholarships are for one year only. However, students are eligible to apply for continued funding. Scholarships are not available to students graduating this semester, but 3Ls in a 4-year program are welcome to apply. Scholarship amounts are: $5,000 each for three first place recipients, and $1,000 each to the second place recipients. (Note: the number of second place recipients is indeterminate and may vary from year to year.)

Federal Claims Association 
2015-2016 Law Student Writing Competition


The United States Court of Federal Claims Bar Association announces that its
annual Law Student Writing Competition for the 2015-2016 academic year is underway.
The Court of Federal Claims Bar Association is a non-profit, voluntary bar association
made up of nationwide members who practice law in the areas that lie within the
specialized jurisdiction of the United States Court of Federal Claims. The goal of this
competition is to encourage law student scholarship on current topics that lie within the
jurisdiction of the United States Court of Federal Claims. The winning entry in the
competition will receive a $3,500 cash prize and an opportunity to be published via the
Association’s website.
The United States Court of Federal Claims was created pursuant to Article I of the
United States Constitution in October 1982, by the Federal Courts Improvement Act.
The court is authorized to hear primarily money claims founded upon the Constitution,
federal statutes, executive regulations, or contracts with the United States.
The cases before the court are diverse and involve a variety of statutes. They
include claims arising from tax refunds, government contracts, Fifth Amendment takings
(which can implicate environmental and natural resource issues), Federal procurement
“bid-protests,” Federal civilian and military pay matters, intellectual property disputes,
Native American tribal rights, and the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation program.
Entries to the contest may address any topic that lies within the procedure,
substance, or scope of the jurisdiction of the United States Court of Federal Claims. The
rules of the contest are posted on the Association’s website at:
http://www.cfcbar.org/writing-competition
Entry deadline is July 15, 2016.

2016 American Association for Justice Law Student Scholarships!

 
The American Association for Justice (AAJ) is proud to announce its 2016 Law Student Scholarship cycle has begun. AAJ has scholarships available for qualified law students.
 
The Richard D. Hailey Scholarship: AAJ's Minority Caucus will award $5,000 scholarships to minority Law Student Members who are entering their first, second, or third year of law school. This scholarship is awarded to applicants who best represent criteria including the following: interest and proficiency in trial advocacy skills; desire to represent victims; commitment to AAJ and its mission by involvement in an AAJ law student chapter and Minority Caucus activities; and financial need. Additionally, winners will be provided travel and accommodations to attend the AAJ Annual Convention in Los Angeles, California, in July, 2016.  
 
The Trial Advocacy Scholarship is open to all AAJ Law Student Members who are entering their second and third year of law school. This $3,000 scholarship is awarded to the applicant who best demonstrates the following: commitment to AAJ and its mission; a desire to represent victims; an interest and skill in trial advocacy; and financial need.   
  
The Leesfield Scholarship is sponsored by AAJ and AAJ member Ira Leesfield. This scholarship awards $2,500 to a Law Student Member to subsidize attendance at AAJ's Annual Convention. This scholarship is available to first-and second-year AAJ Law Student Members.     
 
The Mike Eidson Scholarship awards $5,000 annually to a female student entering her third year of law school (the student can be enrolled in a three-year day program or four-year night program) who has demonstrated a commitment to a career as a trial lawyer, along with dedication to upholding and defending the principles of the Constitution, to the concept of a fair trial, to the adversary system, and a just result for the injured, the accused, and those whose rights are jeopardized. The winner must attend the AAJ Annual Convention in Los Angeles, California, on July 23, 2016, in order to accept the scholarship. Travel and accommodation will be provided.
 
All scholarship applications are due May 1, 2016.
 
With the exception of the Mike Eidson Scholarship, applicants must be AAJ Law Student Members to qualify for the scholarships. Law students can join AAJ at the rate of $15 for one year. Student membership applications can be found here.
 
For more information or questions, contact AAJ's Education Dept. at education@justice.org or 800-622-1791.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Scholarship opportunity from the 
American Association of Law Libraries



American Association of Law Libraries offers several educational scholarships to law school graduates who are currently attending or interested in attending library school to become law librarians.  Many law librarians, including me, have both a JD and the Masters in Library and Information Science.
The AALL website has additional information and links to all the scholarship applications, including the Library School Scholarship for those with Law Degrees.  
Minority applicants may also apply for the George A. Strait Minority Scholarship at the same time, using the same application.



The deadline for all these applications is Friday, April 1, 2016.