MID-SOUTH COMMERCIAL LAW INSTITUTE

2012 WRITING COMPETITION

We appreciate your interest in the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute Writing Competition and look forward to your participation.

The goal of the Writing Competition is to offer law students an opportunity to expand their knowledge of commercial and bankruptcy law while also creating an opportunity for the top three authors to network and further extend their legal education by attending the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute seminar. Winners will be introduced to over 250 lawyers, judges and scholars at this year's Mid-South Commercial Law Institute and their submissions will be included in the written seminar materials.

To submit an entry, please download the Copyright Release and Authorization, Writing Competition Rules and Coversheet. The Copyright Release and Coversheet must accompany your submission…

WRITING COMPETITION RULES

The Competition: The Mid-South Commercial Law Institute ("MSCLI") is pleased to invite students to participate in its Student Writing Competition. First, Second and Third Place prizes will be awarded. The Competition presents a wonderful opportunity for students to expand their base of knowledge concerning commercial and bankruptcy law, earn money for school and have their work published on-line and in materials provided to attendees of the MSCLI. MSCLI encourages law school professors and administrators to let their students know about this Competition.

Topic: Entrants should submit an essay, article or comment on current issues concerning a commercial and/or bankruptcy law topic.

Eligibility: Students enrolled at a United States law school during the 2012-2013 school year are eligible to participate. The submission must be the law student author's own work and must not have been published elsewhere. Notwithstanding the foregoing, students may incorporate feedback as part of a course requirement or supervised writing project. Only one paper may be submitted per student.

Format: Submissions must be typed, double-spaced, with at least 1" margins on 8.5" x 11" paper and with typing on only one side of each page. Papers must be written in 12 point, Times New Roman font. Maximum number of pages is 30, including footnotes. Do not use endnotes. Footnotes may be 10 point and single-spaced but there should be a space between notes. Citations must substantially conform to The Bluebook.

Judging: Submissions will be evaluated and judged by a Selection Committee consisting of judges, practitioners and/or faculty designated by the Board of Directors of MSCLI. The decision of the Selection Committee will be final and non-reviewable. Submissions will be evaluated with emphasis on the following criteria: depth of research; originality of thought; quality, clarity and efficiency of presentation; and relevance to current commercial or bankruptcy law issues, policy and events.

Process for Submission: Submissions must be made electronically to coordinator@MidSouthSeminar.org and must include a signed Cover Sheet, which is available at www.MidSouthSeminar.org/WritingCompetition.html. Submissions must be submitted in both Word format and a PDF form with a '.pdf' extension. Cover Sheets must be submitted in a PDF form with a '.pdf' extension. Maximum allowed file size of a Submission is 2MB. Submissions are judged anonymously, so the author's name or other identifying information, other than the Title of the Submission should not appear anywhere on the Submission.

Deadline: Each Submission and Cover Sheet must be received by MSCLI at coordinator@MidSouthSeminar.org on or before September 14, 2012. Questions: Questions regarding this competition should be addressed to the Chair of the Writing Competition at coordinator@MidSouthSeminar.org.

AWARDS:

The First Place writer will receive a scholarship award of $3,000.00, plus publication of the Submission on the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute website and in seminar materials. The First Place writer will also receive free registration and a room for the 2012 Mid-South Commercial Law Institute, held December 6 and 7, 2012, in Nashville, Tennessee, and a stipend in the maximum amount of $600.00 for travel to and from the 2012 Mid-South Commercial Law Institute. The First Place writer will also receive free admission to a subsequent Mid-South Commercial Law Institute.

The Second Place writer will receive a scholarship award of $1,500.00, plus publication of the Submission on the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute website and in seminar materials. The Second Place writer will also receive free registration and a room for the 2012 Mid-South Commercial Law Institute, held December 6 and 7, 2012, in Nashville, Tennessee, and a stipend in the maximum amount of $600.00 for travel to and from the 2012 Mid-South Commercial Law Institute. The Second Place writer will also receive free admission to a subsequent Mid-South Commercial Law Institute.

The Third Place writer will receive a scholarship award of $500.00, plus publication of the Submission on the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute website and in seminar materials. The Third Place writer will also receive free registration and a room for the 2012 Mid-South Commercial Law Institute, held December 6 and 7, 2012, in Nashville, Tennessee, and a stipend for travel in the maximum amount of $600.00 for travel to and from the 2012 Mid-South Commercial Law Institute. The Third Place writer will also receive free admission to a subsequent Mid-South Commercial Law Institute.

Winners of the Competition will be notified on or before October 31, 2012. Final results will appear on the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute website. Winners will be presented with certificates recognizing their achievement and their law schools will be notified so that this achievement can be noted in the students' records. Winners must agree to have their papers published by MSCLI.