Topic

Discuss any topic relating to administrative law. 

Eligibility

The competition is open to currently enrolled students of ABA-accredited law schools who are also members of the ABA Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice and who are legal permanent residents or citizens of the U.S. Submissions can include papers submitted for a law school course, law review notes and comments, or pieces written specifically for the competition. Essays must be the work of the submitting student without substantial editorial input from others. Co-authored papers are ineligible. Only one essay may be submitted per entrant.

Format

Submissions must be in Microsoft Word. The text of the essay must be double-spaced, in twelve-point font, with one-inch margins; footnotes or endnotes should be single-spaced, also in twelve-point font and with one-inch margins. Citations may be embedded in text or set out in footnotes or endnotes and should conform to the current edition of the Uniform System of Citation (Bluebook). Submissions may not exceed 40 double-spaced pages exclusive of footnotes and end-notes. (At the discretion of the Section, the winning student may be asked to prepare a shorter version for inclusion in the Administrative and Regulatory Law News.)

Entry Procedure

Submit electronically two files. The first file should be a cover page only with contestant information, including the paper’s title and the entrant’s name, law school, year of study, mailing and email address, phone number, and ABA Membership ID number. The second file should be the paper with a cover page listing the title only; the contestant’s name and other identifying information, such as school name, MAY NOT appear on any page within this file. Entrants must email an electronic copy of their submission in Word format to Section Director Anne Kiefer (anne.kiefer@americanbar.org). Entries must be received by 7 pm Eastern time on May 1, 2015.

Staff of the Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice will assign a random number to each entry. Neither the contestant’s identity nor his/her law school will be known to the selection committee.

By submitting an entry in this contest, the entrant affirms that the entry is his or her own work and grants the ABA and the ABA Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice permission to edit and publish the entry in the Administrative and Regulatory Law News and/or the Administrative Law Review. Publication will be at the sole discretion of the Section and the Editors and Editorial Boards of these publications. Please direct any questions about the contest to the Section Director at  anne.kiefer@americanbar.org.

Judging

The entries will be judged anonymously by Fellows of the ABA Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice. Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

• Creativity and clarity of the proposal or thesis
• Organization
• Quality of the analysis and research
• Grammar, syntax and form

Prize

The winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize and round-trip airfare and accommodation to attend the Section’s Fall Conference in Washington, DC. At the discretion of the Section and the respective editorial boards, the winning entry may be selected for publication in the Administrative and Regulatory Law News and/or the Administrative Law Review. As a condition of receiving the award, winner agrees to submit a completed W-9. Winner is responsible for all taxes associated with receiving the award. The Fair Market Value of award, travel and accommodation will be reported on a 1099-MISC.