Career Development Office Blog

The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys is pleased to present the Fifth Annual NAELA Elder Law Writing Competition offering a $1,500 cash prize for the best article submitted. In addition to the $1,500 first prize, the winner will be interviewed for a future issue of NAELA News. The second place winner will receive $1,000 cash, and the third place winner will receive $500 cash. The top eight articles will be published in NAELA Student Journal, an annual publication, and the top eight authors also will receive a complimentary one-year student membership to NAELA.

The writing competition was designed to focus students on the issues of Elder Law and Elder Law as a legal specialty.

The article should address any topic regarding legal issues affecting seniors or people with disabilities.  Articles will be judged on originality, accuracy, research, conciseness, analysis, and clarity of style.  Papers with excessive typographical and/or grammatical errors will be eliminated.

• The contest is open to part- and full-time JD candidates who have not yet graduated.
• All articles must be original and previously unpublished.
• Articles written for law school credit are acceptable.
• Jointly authored papers are not acceptable.
• NAELA encourages students to meet with a faculty member or practicing attorney for a review of their article prior to submission, but all content must be the student’s own work.
• The faculty member or lawyer who reviews the article must be indicated in the submission e-mail.
• Entries should be set at 12-point Times New Roman font with double spacing and one-inch margins, not to exceed 35 pages including footnotes, charts, graphs, indices, appendices, etc., on standard letter paper.
• NAELA encourages students to provide an outline and follow a standard law review format.
• Do not utilize macros or type in all caps.
• Articles must be submitted electronically in Word or WordPerfect.
• Citations must appear as footnotes at the bottom of the page and be linked to the corresponding note in the body of the document.
• Cites must conform to the 17th edition of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation.

NAELA is a non-profit association that assists lawyers, bar organizations, and others who work with seniors, people with disabilities, and their families. Established in 1987, the Academy provides a resource of information,
education, networking, and assistance to those who deal with the many specialized issues involved with providing legal services to the elderly and people with disabilities.

• NAELA reserves the right to reject without reading any article that has substantial typographical or grammatical
errors.
• All entries must be submitted electronically, as an attachment to an e-mail message with the subject line 2010 NAELA STUDENT JOURNAL WRITING COMPETITION (in all caps).
• Each entry must be submitted between March 1, 2010 and 12:00 p.m. EDT on May 31, 2010 to mhansen@naela.org. A confirmation e-mail will be sent within 72-hours of our receipt of your article.
• Only one essay may be submitted for each student.
• All entries must be submitted with a title page containing only the essay’s title.
• The entrant’s name should not appear on any page of the submitted essay.
• Please include the following information in the body of the e-mail:
1. title
2. date submitted for academic credit (if applicable)
3. name
4. law school
5. name of advising professor (if applicable)
6. year of graduation
7. mailing addresses
8. telephone number(s)
9. e-mail addresses
• Each entrant must complete and submit an official entry form published by NAELA that provides:
1. the title of his/her essay
2. the date
3. the entrant’s printed name and signature
4. the entrant’s law school and expected date of graduation
5. the entrant’s e-mail address
6. all permanent and temporary addresses and telephone
numbers
• Forms requiring signatures should be printed, signed, scanned and attached to the e-mail message that submits
the contest entry.
• By submitting the paper and official entry form, the entrant agrees that:
1. the entrant has read the competition rules and accepts
the conditions stated,
2. the paper is written by the entrant,
3. the entrant releases NAELA from all liability, and
4. the entrant releases the use of his or her paper and name for publication in any medium and for editorial,
advertising, and promotional usage, without compensation, in connection with the promotion of this writing competition and succeeding writing competitions sponsored by NAELA. A paper that fails to comply with all format and other submission requirements will not be considered.

NAELA Student Journal reserves the right of first refusal for publication of all works submitted. No work submitted as an entry in this contest may be published in any form until the contest has ended and the winners have been named. If you decide to have your work published in another publication, you must notify Meredith Hansen immediately and remove your submission from consideration.  After the contest has ended and the winners have been named, NAELA reserves the right of first refusal for publication  with respect to the top eight winners. All other entries will be automatically released at the time the contest winners are named.

Winners will be announced in mid-August 2010.

For a copy of the entry form, please email Diane Quick of the CDO.