Epstein Becker Green is pleased to announce its 24th Annual Health Law Writing Competition. The competition is designed to encourage J.D. and L.L.M. students in the preparation of scholarly papers on current topics of interest relating to health law. Cash prizes will be awarded as follows for the three best papers:

• First Place: $7,500
• Second Place: $4,000
• Third Place: $1,000

Entrants should take advantage of the fact that health law is a very broad and diverse field, encompassing aspects of almost every area of law. Papers may address any traditional area of the law as applied to health care (e.g., antitrust, tax, corporate) or areas of law unique to health care (e.g., fraud and abuse, managed care, Medicare/Medicaid, clinical trials, telehealth/telemedicine).

The submission period for the 24th Annual Health Law Writing Competition will close on February 25, 2022.

Competition Guidelines:

1. The Health Law Writing Competition is open to submissions written by J.D. and L.L.M. degree candidates who are currently attending a U.S. law school or who attended a U.S. law school during the school year ending in May/June 2021.
2. Papers must address an issue relating to health law. Papers may address traditional areas of the law as applied to the health care field (e.g., antitrust, tax or corporate) or may address areas of law unique to the health care field (e.g., fraud and abuse, managed care, Medicare/Medicaid, clinical trials, telehealth/telemedicine).
3. Submissions will be evaluated based on the following criteria: (1) originality of thought; (2) clarity and thoroughness of arguments presented; (3) technical excellence; (4) relevance to current health law issues or timeliness of topic; and (5) depth of research.
4. Papers authored by two or more eligible students may be submitted for consideration in the Health Law Writing Competition. All submissions must be the product of the author or authors, without substantial assistance from others.
5. Papers prepared for law school credit are eligible for entry in the Health Law Writing Competition provided that the work is original and the editing and citation work has been done by the author(s).
6. Authors may submit more than one paper for consideration in the Health Law Writing Competition. Please submit each paper separately.
7. All submissions must adhere to the following requirements: (1) papers must be double-spaced and set in Times New Roman, 12 point font; (2) papers must include footnotes instead of end notes, with the footnotes set in Times New Roman, 10 point font, and (3) papers must be 30 pages or less, excluding table of contents and cover pages, if any.  All papers must conform to the Bluebook legal citation guide.
8. All submissions are due by Friday, February 25, 2022. No late entries will be accepted.
9. Papers should be submitted in Microsoft Word format and should contain no identifying information except for the title, as all submissions are reviewed on an anonymous basis. Entrants will be asked to verify that the papers have been de-identified before submission.
10. Papers should be submitted via the Health Law Writing Competition page at the Epstein Becker Green website.
11. If you are unable to submit your entry form(s) and paper(s) electronically, please contact David Shillcutt in Epstein Becker Green’s Washington, DC, office, at (202) 861-1877 or by e-mail.
12. Winners must provide a Social Security number and a mailing address in order to collect the cash prizes. The author of the first place entry will receive a cash award of $7,500; the author of the second place entry will receive a cash award of $4,000; and the author of the third place entry will receive a cash award of $1,000. If a winning paper has more than one author, the prize will be split equally among the co-authors. The judges may elect, at their discretion, to award honorable mention prizes.
13. Authors retain all ownership rights with respect to their work submitted to the Health Law Writing Competition. However, by submitting a paper, authors grant Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. the right to publish the title of the paper and the author’s name and law school in materials relating to the Health Law Writing Competition. Also, authors receiving any award or honorable mention agree to include a footnote on the first page of any publication of the work noting the Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. Health Law Writing Competition award.
14. An impartial panel will judge the Health Law Writing Competition entries. Some or all of the stated awards will not be made if none of the submissions are deemed by the judges to be of sufficient quality.
15. Winners will be announced and contacted approximately nine months after the due date, depending on the volume of submissions received.

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