The Aviation and Space Law Committee is pleased to announce its 2020 Annual Law Student Writing Competition. Submissions should address a recent development in any area of aviation or space law or discuss an area of aviation or space law where a controversy or disagreement exist. The Competition winner will be eligible to receive (1) $500 cash prize; (2) up to $1,500 reimbursement for hotel and transportation expenses to attend and speak at the ABA TIPS Aviation and Space Law Annual CLE Seminar in Washington, DC on October 28th and 29th, 2020, and (3) publication in an upcoming edition of the TIPS Aviation and Space Law Committee’s newsletter. Submissions must be limited to no more than twenty (20) pages, double-spaced, 12-point Book Antiqua, Arial or Times Roman font., with footnotes and citations conforming to Bluebook standards.
Please submit all entries, NO LATER THAN SEPTEMBER 9, 2020, to: Roberta Miranda,Esq. and Peter J. Lewis, Esq.
As part of the ABA TIPS, the Aviation and Space Law Committee brings together attorneys for plaintiffs and defendants, in house counsel, and insurers to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas, and to be a primary resource for education and knowledge about aviation and space law issues. The Aviation and Space Law Committee encourage your interest in the ever expanding and cutting edge field of aviation and space law and welcome your participation in this Competition.
To learn more about the Aviation and Space Law Committee, or to become a member, visit the website.
The competition is open to all current U.S. citizen law student and LL.M. candidates. Membership in the ABA, TIPS or the Aviation and Space Law is not required for participation, though membership is free for all law students. If you are a member of the ABA, please include your ABA membership number with your submission. Please see enclosed Aviation and Space Law Committee Annual Law Student Writing Competition Official Rules.
Official Rules:
Description: This writing competition is sponsored by the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (“Section”) of the American Bar Association (“ABA”), 321 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654 (the “Sponsor”). Rules concerning the competition are as follows. The dates shown will change each year. The goal of the competition is to encourage law students to become involved in the Aviation and Space Law Committee (the “Committee”) and the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association. It is also intended to attract students to the tort, trial, insurance, and aviation and space practice fields, and to encourage scholarship in these fields. Each entrant must follow the rules of the competition detailed herein.
Eligibility: The competition is open to any law school student who is at least 21 years old at the time of entry and who is currently attending an ABA- accredited law school as of the date of entry, within the United States and its possessions. All entrants must be a U.S. citizen. Membership in the ABA, the Section or the Committee is not required. Employees of the ABA, its respective affiliates, and immediate family or household members of such employees are not eligible for the
Submission Requirements: Essays must address the following topic, as determined by the Committee: a recent development in Aviation or Space law or discuss an area of aviation or space law where a controversy or disagreement exist. Entrants are encouraged to write on subjects of national interest, rather than state specific issues.
a. All submissions must be the original work of the entrant. Any relevant article or essay may be submitted for the competition, including writing submitted for academic credit. Submissions must not have been previously published in any media, other than a law school publication, provided that such previous publication and the terms and conditions of such publication must be disclosed to the ABA by the winner upon selection of his or her entry as the winning entry. Only one essay, per competition theme, may be submitted by each entrant. Failure to submit an original essay will result in disqualification and selection of a new winner. Essays submitted must have been written after January 1, 2020.
b. Essays must be submitted by e-mail no later than 11:59 PM Central Time on September 9, 2020. The Sponsor is not responsible for errors or for lost, late, or misdirected email, or telecommunication or hardware or software failures, including any bug or computer virus.
c. Essays must not exceed 20 pages of double-spaced typed text, and 12- point Book Antiqua, Arial or Times Roman Essays should be presented in a traditional law review style that includes a scholarly discussion of the topic and full citations to authority in footnotes. Essays should conform to the current edition of The Bluebook—A Uniform System of Citation. Lengthy lists and outlines normally are not appropriate within the text of an essay; however, they may be included as appendices to a textual discussion. For example, if the law of all states on a subject is surveyed, the essay may compare analytically how and why the law differs between jurisdictions. A listing of the law by jurisdiction within the body of the essay would generally not be appropriate. If such a listing of the law by jurisdiction would be of particular value to the reader, it may be included in an appendix to the essay, which counts towards your page count.
d. The following information must be included on the title page: (1) essay title; (2) entrant’s name; (3) law school and expected graduation year; (4) entrant’s mailing address, (5) telephone number(s), and (6)e-mail address.
Selection and Notification of Winners: The entries will be judged anonymously by a three-person subcommittee comprised of the leaders in the Committee. Decision of the Sponsor (including the subcommittee judging this essay) are final. Essays will be judged based on the following criteria: clarity of the topic, significance of the topic, manner in which the topic is treated, organization, quality of analysis, quality of research, authority, and citations, and quality of grammar, syntax, and form. Winners will be notified by e-mail by 11:59 PM Central Time on October 5, 2020. The winner must acknowledge and confirm agreement to the terms and conditions of winning the competition no later than October 8, 2020, after which he/she forfeits the prizes and another winner will be selected.
Prizes: The first-place winner will be eligible to receive (1) $500 cash prize; (2) up to $1,500 reimbursement for hotel and transportation expenses to attend and speak at the ABA TIPS Aviation and Space Law Annual CLE Seminar in Washington, DC on October 28th and 29th, 2020 and (3) publication in an upcoming edition of the TIPS Aviation and Space Law Committee’s newsletter. In addition, at the sole discretion of the Sponsor, the winning entry may be published in the TIPS Law Journal or TIPS quarterly magazine, The Brief. At the sole discretion of the Sponsor, the next two runners-up may receive honorable mention in the Committee newsletter. The sponsors may substitute a prize of equal or greater value in its sole discretion. Prizes are non-transferable and cannot be substituted by the winner. Cash equivalent for prizes is not available. Winners will be solely responsible for reporting and payment of all taxes (federal, state, local or other) on prizes, which will include the value of any accommodations and airfare. Winners will be required to complete a W-9, affidavit of eligibility, tax acknowledgment and liability release for tax purposes. All forms must be completed and returned to Jeane Emily DuBose, TIPS Membership Associate, via e-mail within 5 business days of receipt, or prizes will be considered forfeited and another winner named.
Odds of Winning: Chances of winning may vary depending on the number of entries. However, Sponsor reserves the right not to award any prize if the judges determine that no entries are of sufficient quality to merit selection that year.
Announcement of Winners: For a list of prize winners, send a self-addressed stamped envelope by October 31, 2020 to the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section, American Bar Association, 321 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60654.
License/Grant of Rights: By entering, the winning entrant consents to the publication of her/his entry by the American Bar Association, understands that such publication is not guaranteed, and grants the American Bar Association the following rights: (1) the exclusive worldwide right of first publication of their entry in any and all ABA media or form of communication (other than any previous publication in a law school publication, provided that such previous publication and the terms and conditions of such publication were disclosed to the ABA by the winner upon selection of his or her entry as the winning entry); (2) the non-exclusive worldwide right, in ABA’s sole discretion, to use, transcribe, publish reproduce, distribute, sell (as part of an ABA publication) or display the entry, alone or in conjunction with other materials; (3) the right to edit the essay to conform to the publication’s standards of style, technological requirements, language, grammar and punctuation, provided the meaning of the essay is not materially altered; and (4) the non-exclusive worldwide right to use the winner’s name and likeness in connection with the essay or this Writing Competition, in each case, without further compensation. Additionally, the winning entrant must execute a separate publication agreement giving the ABA the publication rights enumerated above and the right to use the article for any other purpose related to the ABA mission. If the winner fails to sign the agreement within 30 calendar days of receipt, the prize will be considered forfeited and another winner named.
Deadline for Submissions: Entries must be submitted by e-mail no later than 11:59 PM Central Time, September 9,2020.
Laws and Regulations: This contest is governed by U.S. law and all relevant federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply. By entering, all participants agree that the competition shall be governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, that the courts of Illinois shall have exclusive jurisdiction, and that Cook County, Illinois shall be the venue for any dispute or litigation relating to or arising from the competition. Void where prohibited by law.
Conditions of Participation: By participating, each entrant agrees to these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor and releases and discharges the Sponsor, including but not limited to the ABA, subsidiary and affiliated entities, and each of their respective officers, directors, members, employees, independent contractors, agents, representatives, successors and assigns (collectively “Released Parties”) from any and all liability whatsoever in connection with this contest, including without limitation legal claims, costs, injuries, losses or damages, demands or actions of any kind (including without limitation personal injuries, death, damage to, loss or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation, or portrayal in a false light) (collectively “Claims”). Except where prohibited, acceptance of a prize constitutes a release by any winner of the Released Parties of any and all Claims in connection with the administration of this promotion and the use, misuse or possession of any prize. All entries submitted to the ABA become the property of the ABA and will not be returned; however, entrants who do not win first-place may submit their entries for publication elsewhere. Entrants must not submit their articles for publication elsewhere prior to December 1, 2020. All expenses involved in preparing and submitting an entry are the sole responsibility of the entrant. Sponsor is not responsible for errors or for lost, late, or misdirected mail or email, or telecommunication or hardware or software failures, including by reason of any bug or computer virus or other failure. Sponsor may cancel, modify or terminate the promotion if it is not capable of completion as planned, including by reason of infection by computer virus, tampering, unauthorized intervention, force majeure or technical difficulties of any kind.
Opt-Out Option: Any individual may elect to opt out of receiving future contest mailings from the ABA by calling the ABA Service Center at 800-285- 2221.
Privacy Policy/Data Collection: Information provided by entrants in connection with this sweepstakes is subject to the ABA’s privacy policy, available online.
Sponsor: The Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (“Section”) of the American Bar Association (“ABA”), 321 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654.
