2018 ADR Law Student Writing Competition

The Dispute Resolution Section of the New York State Bar Association and the American College of Civil Trial Mediators are proud to announce the Second Annual NYSBA/ACCTM National Championship Alternative Dispute Resolution Law Student Writing Competition for 2018.

Once again, a $10,000 CASH PRIZE will be awarded to the winning submittal as determined by a panel judges from the Editorial Board of the ACCTM American Journal of Mediation, select Fellows of the College and members of the NYSBA Dispute Resolution Section. Winning entries will be published in the ACCTM Journal of Mediation and the NYSBA New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer.

To our knowledge, this is the richest Law Student Writing Competition in the United States. Last year over 50 entries were received from law schools throughout the US and Canada.

The competition is open to all North American JD and LLM law students enrolled as of December 15, 2017.

Subject matter focus for entries can be on any aspect within the full range of alternative dispute resolution – reconciliation systems (e.g., negotiation, mediation), consensus based adjudicative processes (e.g., early neutral evaluation, arbitration and private judging), or mixed processes (e.g., arb-med, med-arb, high low arbitration, baseball arbitration etc.). Papers can also focus on ADR process design, practice techniques, specific case studies, related legislation, and ethical dilemmas and standards for dispute resolution professionals.

Submittals will be judged on timeliness and importance of topic, clarity of writing, innovation, and appropriate research supporting assertions and conclusions. Manuscripts must be the work of a single author and previously unpublished. All judging will be in the blind; judges will not be provided information on the author's identity or school. NYSBA and ACCTM reserve the right not to award any prize and to reject any submission.

While there are no firm page limits, there is an expectation that submitted works will be between fifteen and thirty double spaced pages, including footnotes. The work should be presented in 12 point Times New Roman font, on 8 ½ X 11 inch paper with one inch margins. Footnotes may be single spaced and presented in accordance with The Blue Book: A Uniform System of Citation (20th Edition).

Entries are due no later than 5:00 pm EST June 1, 2018 and should be electronically submitted in Microsoft Word Format to:
American Journal of Mediation
American College of Civil Trial Mediators
C/O Kathy Talbot Executive Administrator
20 North Orange Ave. Suite 704
Orlando, Fla. 32801
Acctm@Acctm.org