Contest Overview
Sponsored by: ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability and Long & Levit, LLP
Deadline for Submission
ONLINE entries MUST be submitted by 11:59 pm CST on February 3, 2025.
MAILED entries MUST be postmarked by February 3, 2025.
Contest Mission
Since 1998, the ABA's Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability has hosted a scholarly writing contest for law students and young lawyers encouraging scholarship and innovative research and writing in the area of legal malpractice law, professional liability insurance, and loss prevention. The Committee's writing competition has long been sponsored by San Francisco law firm Long & Levit, LLP.
Mendrzycki means courage. Edward "Ed" Mendrzycki was an integral member of the Standing Committee and served as Chair of the Committee from 2001 to 2004. He dedicated his legal career to the betterment of both the lawyers' professional liability field, as well as the work of the Committee. He earned a national reputation for excellence, especially through his work with the Attorneys' Liability Assurance Society (ALAS). In 2015, the Committee renamed the contest in his honor to carry on his commitment to encouraging the betterment of the lawyers' professional liability field and the law of lawyering.
Prize
The winner of the 2025 Edward C. Mendrzycki Award will receive:
- A cash prize of $5,000.00
- Round-trip airfare and two-night stay at the Omni Charlotte Hotel to attend the Spring 2025 National Legal Malpractice Conference, in Charlotte, North Carolina!
- Complimentary registration to attend all educational programming sessions at the Spring 2025 National Legal Malpractice Conference!
Sponsors
The Edward C. Mendrzycki Award is conducted by the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability in conjunction with and with the gracious support of the San Francisco law firm of Long & Levit LLP. The 2025 contest is administered and judged by a subcommittee designated by the ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers’ Professional Liability.
The Assignment
This year's hypothetical involves multiple ethical and professional liability concerns that arise when a law firm adopts an artificial intelligence software platform to assist its lawyers in providing legal services to its clients.