Career Development Office Blog

On Friday, November 19^th, the newly created Tupper Lake Business Community, Inc. announced a writing contest that is being submitted to law schools around the country, seeking students who are interested in preparing a brief concerning the influences that have had a negative effect on the Adirondack economy.  Full details on the contest are available online at http://tlbusiness.org.

First prize for the writing contest will be $7,500; second prize $2,000; and third prize $500.  All brief submissions must be received by April 15^th. The panel of judges will be announced in the near future.

Committee Spokespeople Mark Moeller and Beth Johnson told the group of nearly 50 people, that there has been tremendous attention given to the environment in the Adirondack Park, with little regard to the economy.  Moeller noted, “the intent of the contest is to have the law students from around the country review the influences on local businesses as well as on the regulatory agencies within the Adirondack Park, by outside parties and preservationist advocacy groups, and to prepare a brief that will be judged by a panel of experts in order to highlight and quantify the impact those influences have had on the economy and the people of the Adirondacks.”

Johnson added, “we believe this group supports the true intent of the Adirondack Park Act, and believes the staff of the Adirondack Park Agency are true professionals that care about the environment and economy of the Park.  This effort is not directed at them.”  Johnson went on to say, “there are groups who have had an undue adverse impact on our economy, and have used tactics that have come at a great cost to the local economies within the Park.”

Moeller also clarified the difference between this group and ARISE.  “The TLBC group has a very narrow focus with donations going for a specific purpose.  ARISE has a more broad approach, and they are not set up for this type of advocacy.”

The writing contest will focus specifically on Tupper Lake, knowing that much of the information provided by the students, will have a regional implication.

Attorneys Doug Wright and Kirk Gagnier, have been in contact with top law schools and, gauging the reaction by some of the professors, have reported that there seems to be overwhelming excitement about the project.  Gagnier said, “there is a growing trend across the country, that advocacy group influence has come at a quantifiable cost, and this writing contest will offer a legal opinion on the impact felt in Tupper Lake.”

Wright added, “there has been no discussion of this leading to a legal suit against any groups or individuals.  This is an educational, research based effort that will be reviewed carefully after the submissions are made.”

The Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago is pleased to announce the Paul Faherty Tax Law Writing Competition.  The competition has a $3000.00 grand prize.

Topic:  The scope of permissible topics for the writing competition is broad – any aspect of Tax Law is acceptable. Students are encouraged to submit a paper on a public policy issue, a critique of a leading case or doctrine, a comment on a statute or the need for statutory modification, or a comment on a common law doctrine.

Eligibility:  Any currently enrolled law school student, JD or LLM candidate, attending an ABA – accredited law school in the United States may enter. Entries will be evaluated on topic selection, analysis, quality of research, grammar, spelling, usage and syntax, clarity, structure, and overall appearance.

Prizes:  A grand prize of $3,000 plus two honorable mentions of $1,000 will be awarded. The winner’s paper will also be posted on the website of The John Marshall Law School Center for Tax Law & Employee Benefits and excerpted in an upcoming issue of the Center’s quarterly newsletter.

Rules:  The paper must be the applicant’s original work. Each student entrant is limited to one entry; multiple entries from the same person are expressly prohibited. Additionally, the paper must not be under consideration for any other publication or written as part of paid employment.

Specifications:  All papers are to be submitted electronically by e-mail. Please reference “Writing Competition” in the subject line.

Your paper should be typed double-spaced, set in Times New Roman font on 8.5×11 inch paper with 1 inch margins on all sides.

Papers are to be formatted with endnotes.

Papers submitted with footnotes will not be accepted.

Entries should be between 25-30 pages long, not including endnotes.

Citations are to conform to A Uniform System of Citation (the Bluebook).

Deadline:  All entries must be received by Friday, April 15, 2011. Papers submitted after that date will not be considered. Include a cover letter with your entry stating your name, mailing address, and phone number along with the name of your law school and your expected year of graduation.

Please direct any additional questions to Steven Szydelko.

Click HERE to download a copy of the rules.

Click HERE to read the 2010 winning submission.

Call for Entries – Essay Competition from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

(for a copy of the entry form, please email the Career Development Office)

In keeping with its goal to promote diversity within the criminal defense bar, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers invites law students from accredited law schools in the United States to submit essays for a chance to be published in The Champion magazine.

Topic:  DECLINING MINORITY ENROLLMENT IN LAW SCHOOL AND THE CHALLENGE OF BAR AND BENCH DIVERSITY

It has been reported that from 1993 to 2008, the entering enrollment in law schools dropped by 7.5 percent for African-Americans and 11.7 percent for Mexican Americans (see AmLaw Daily article from January 2010, Study: Minority Law Student Numbers Dip as Law School Capacity Rises). With the numbers of historically underrepresented minorities seeking a law degree either stagnant or dropping in recent years, what steps would you recommend for increasing diversity in the profession and, in particular, on the bench? And why?

Eligibility
The contest is open to all current law students who are in good academic standing at accredited law schools in the United States.

Prizes
1. There will be one first prize winner, one second prize winner, and one honorable mention.
2. The first prize winner will have his or her winning essay published in a forthcoming edition of NACDL’s magazine, The Champion; receive a $200 cash prize; receive a free one-year student membership; and receive a certificate of recognition.
3. The second prize winner will have his or her essay published in NACDL’s magazine, The Champion; receive a $100 cash prize; receive a free one-year student membership; and receive a certificate of recognition.
4. The entrant who receives an honorable mention will have his or her essay published in NACDL’s magazine, The Champion; and will receive a certificate of recognition.

Deadline
Entries must be received by 5 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on December 31, 2010. Please email entries to Terrica Redfield at tredfield@schr.org; attention: NACDL Essay Contest.

Award Date
Winning entrants will be notified on February 1, 2011.

Rules
1. Each entry must address the following topic: Declining Minority Enrollment in Law School and the Challenge of Bench and Bar Diversity.
2. Joint entries are not permitted and are void.
3. Multiple entries by a law student are not permitted and are void.
4. Entries must be the law student’s original work created for this competition. Entries previously published elsewhere will not be accepted and are void.
5. The essay must be submitted by e-mail only. No entry will be accepted if submitted by any other means. Entries must be e-mailed to Terrica Redfield, NACDL Essay Contest.
6. The essay entries must be no less than 600 words and no more than 1200 words in length. An entry form must accompany each entrant’s essay.
7. Entries will be judged on their originality, creativity, and overall quality.
8. Entries must be received by 5 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on December 31, 2010.
9. The winning entries will be published in a forthcoming edition of NACDL’s The Champion magazine.
10. By submitting an entry to the contest, each entrant gives NACDL all rights, including copyright, to the entry and express permission to edit and publish the entry in all media without limitation and without any other notice.
11. NACDL, as sponsor of the competition, will be the final arbiter of all questions regarding entries, judging, interpretation of the rules, and any other aspect of this contest. In the event that there is an insufficient number of qualified entries or if the judges determine in their absolute discretion that no or too few entries meet the quality standards established to award the prizes, NACDL reserves the right not to award the prizes. NACDL will not be responsible for typographical printing or other inadvertent errors in these rules or in other materials relating to the competition.  NACDL will not be responsible for incomplete, lost, late, misdirected, or illegible entries or for failure to receive entries due to transmission failures or technical failures of any kind.

Additional Terms and Conditions
1. All federal, state, local, and municipal laws and regulations apply. Void where prohibited.
2. By entering, entrants acknowledge compliance with these rules, including all eligibility requirements.
3. Except where prohibited, participation in the competition constitutes an entrant’s consent to the publication of his or her name and image in any media for any commercial or promotional purpose, without limitation or further compensation.
4. Winners agree that the NACDL and its employees and agents shall not be liable for injury, loss, or damage of any kind resulting from participating in this competition or from any acceptance or use of any prize awarded.
5. The prize is non-transferable.

For More Information
Questions? Contact Terrica Redfield at 404-688-1202 or via email.