Career Development Office Blog

The 2020 American College of Employee Benefits Counsel law student writing contest deadline has been extended from June 1, 2020 to the end of day on June 15th, 2020. Those who have already submitted may resubmit by the extended deadline if they would like to make any revisions.

SUBJECT:                            Any topic in the field of employee benefits law.

OPEN TO:                             Any J.D. and graduate (L.L.M. or S.J.D.) law students enrolled at any time between August 15, 2019 and August 15, 2020, who have not at any time engaged in the practice of law. 

SUBMIT BY:                        June 15th, 2020 (end of day – extended)

UP TO TWO PRIZES:      Alvin D. Lurie Memorial Award: $1,500 and Sidney M. Perlstadt Memorial Award: $1,500

Winners will be honored during the College’s annual black tie dinner on in September 12, 2020 in Chicago.  They will receive a plaque and an employee benefits treatise published by Bloomberg BNA Books. The winning papers will also be distributed to the Fellows of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, experienced attorneys who have made significant contributions to the advancement of the employee benefits field in a wide range of practice settings including law and consulting firms, universities, labor unions, advocacy organizations and government agencies throughout the United States.  The College will also use its best efforts to have one or more of the winning papers published in the Benefits Law Journal or another professional or scholarly publication, if deemed suitable by the College’s Writing Prize Committee and the editors of the publication.

Writing Prize Rules: 

1. Eligibility/Topics. Except as provided in (6) below, applicants must be enrolled full-time or part-time in law school between August 15, 2019 and August 15, 2020 seeking a J.D. or a graduate law degree (e.g., L.L.M. or S.J.D.), and not at any time admitted to the practice of law in any jurisdiction.  Papers must deal with employee benefits topics.  As an illustrative example, a paper might address legal issues involving health benefits, pensions, 401(k) plans, severance, executive compensation, claims, appeals, current or former spouses’ or domestic partners’ benefits, collectively-bargained benefits, benefits in bankruptcy, ERISA litigation, fiduciary obligations or the tax treatment of benefits/contributions.

• Papers should not exceed 40 pages (double-spaced, in 12 point type, with an inch margin on each side), not including footnotes.
• Papers must be submitted as email attachments and should be submitted as Word or pdf documents. No information identifying the author or law school should be included in the text, the footnotes, or the filename.  That information, an address, a telephone number and enrollment status information should be provided in the email message.
• Submissions may include papers prepared for class assignments, law journals or other purposes, as well as those written especially for the Prize.
• Student papers submitted for publication in law reviews or other law school journals or periodicals but not yet published are eligible for the Prize, provided that (i) the version submitted for the Prize does not reflect any changes made to the paper after submission of the manuscript to any publication and (ii) the College receives any consents necessary to publish or republish the article.

2. Selection of Winners. Winning papers will be selected by the Writing Prize Committee based on the factors they deem relevant.  Among other factors, the Committee will consider: (i) depth and creativity of legal analysis; (ii) thoroughness of legal research; (iii) organization and writing style; (iv) difficulty of subject matter; and (v) consideration of employee benefits policy implications.  A focused, in depth analysis of a discrete topic generally is considered more favorably than a broad survey piece.  Presentation (e.g., organization, proofreading, proper grammar, etc.) also carries substantial weight.  The Committee may decline to consider a poorly organized paper or one laden with grammatical errors for those reasons alone.  The determination of the Committee is final.  It is anticipated that winners will be notified by July 24, 2020, or shortly thereafter.
3. Publication of Winning Articles(s). The College will use its best efforts to arrange for publication of the winning papers in a professional or scholarly publication, if deemed suitable by the Writing Prize Committee and the publication’s editors.  In addition, the winning papers will be posted on the College’s website.
4. Prizes. There are cash awards for two winning papers.  However, the College may, in its discretion, decide to split prizes, to award additional prizes or to award fewer than two prizes. Winners will be guests of the College during its annual black tie dinner to be held on September 12, 2020 in Chicago.  The College covers the travel and lodging expenses for the prize recipients as well as that of one guest each.
5. Deadline. Papers must be submitted in the manner described in paragraph 1(b) above and must be received no later than Midnight, Eastern Time, on June 15, 2020. 
6. Disclaimer. The College disclaims responsibility for any failure to give due consideration to any submission due to any email or other electronic transmission, storage or archival errors, regardless of the cause.  However, the Committee may waive the eligibility requirements applicable to any student whose submitted paper was not afforded due consideration on account of such an error in a prior year’s contest.

For information concerning the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel or the competition, contact Brian Dougherty, Chair of the ACEBC Writing Prize Committee, or consult the website.