National Academy of Social Insurance - 1st Annual Writing Competition

LAW STUDENT WRITING AWARD COMPETITION

The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI), with its sponsoring partner, The Borchard Foundation Center on Law and Aging, is pleased to announce competition for its first annual law student writing award for an outstanding paper on social insurance

NASI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization devoted to furthering knowledge and understanding of social insurance. NASI’s scope covers social insurance such as Social Security, Medicare, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, related public assistance, and private employee benefits. The Outstanding Law Student Paper Award sponsored by the Borchard Foundation Center on Law and Aging is designed to recognize and promote outstanding research and analysis by law students addressing the impact of the law on social insurance policy questions, especially those that address aging. 

The First Annual Law Student Writing Award will be given to the best paper or article in the social insurance field completed between January 1, 2013, and September 14, 2014.  The award will be presented at NASI’s annual conference in Washington, D.C., in January 28-29, 2015.  The winner will receive a $2,500 honorarium and the opportunity to participate in the conference with expenses paid.

TOPICS:

Relevant topics might include analysis of legal and policy issues relating any social insurance program. These issues include but are not limited to long-term care, Social Security, Social Security Disability, health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, related public assistance and private employee benefits. Nominations of comparative and interdisciplinary work relating to social insurance protections and policies are encouraged.

ELIGIBILITY:

Any substantial written work addressing topics relevant to the legal and policy issues creating, modifying, planning, and implementing social insurance programs are eligible for nomination. Papers prepared by any person(s) studying for a J.D. degree at an ABA-accredited law school. Eligible papers may not exceed 10,000 words in length, plus appropriate footnotes. Papers should observe the style specifications of and should be presented in double-spaced format on letter-size pages. All papers or articles completed before January 1, 2013 and September 14, 2014 will be considered.

NOMINATION PROCEDURES:

Nominations for the award can be made by a supervisor of the law student’s research paper, by an active member of the National Academy of Social Insurance, or any full-time faculty member at an ABA-accredited law school. Complete applications must include: 1) Nominator Form, 2) Nominator Letter, 3) Nominee Form, 4) Copy of the paper emailed to:  dcowens@nasi.org, or mailed to National Academy of Social Insurance, Attention: Devin Cowens, 1776 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20036. Application forms are available by visiting the Law Student Paper Award page at www.nasi.org, or by calling NASI at (202) 452-8097.

EVALUATION CRITERIA:

A committee comprised of members of NASI who teach at ABA-accredited law schools will assess each nominated paper. The committee may consult with outside scholars when expertise not represented on the committee is required for appropriate consideration of a nominated paper. The criteria for assessing each paper: originality of the contribution to the body of knowledge on the law relating to social insurance, policy relevance of the findings, quality of the legal analysis, and clarity and felicity of the exposition. In cases of jointly-authored components, the related contribution of the co-authors must be explained fully.

AWARD COMMITTEE:

Renée Landers, Suffolk Law School, Chair
Richard Kaplan, University of Illinois Law School
Lance Liebman, Columbia Law School
Sallyanne Payton, University of Michigan
Emily Spieler, Northeastern Law School

Edward Spurgeon (Committee Adviser), Borchard Foundation Center on Law and Aging

www.nasi.org