ABA Section of Business Law

Each ABA-accredited law school, acting through its dean, is asked to nominate one paper on a high quality business law topic written in the 2006-2007 or current academic year by a student currently enrolled in the law school's J.D. program. The paper may be 1) specifically prepared for this contest; 2) submitted in a class, seminar, or as an independent study; or 3) a proposed law review/journal note, comment or article. The paper should, however, be the work of the submitting student without substantial editorial input from others. Papers submitted are normally 20-30 pages long, but in any event should not exceed 100 pages of double-spaced typed text, including footnotes. A student need not be a member of the Section of Business Law to participate in the contest.

The prizes for the writing contest are:

• First Place: $2,500 to the first place winner to be presented at the Section of Business Law Spring Meeting in Dallas, TX.
• Second Place: $1,000 to the second place winner to be presented at the Section of Business Law Spring Meeting in Dallas, TX.
• Third Place: $500 to the third place winner to be presented at the Section of Business Law Spring Meeting in Dallas, TX.

The papers are be judged on research and analysis, choice of topic, writing style, originality, and contribution to the literature available on the topic. Depending on the topic, prior publication, and other factors, a previously unpublished first place winning essay may be considered for publication in a Section publication.

"Business Law" is a broad category. Without attempting to define the area precisely, the subject is intended to include matters within law school curricula in courses entitled:

Agency Bankruptcy Business Law Business Organizations Commercial Law Consumer Law Contracts Corporate Finance Corporate Governance Corporations

Creditor's Rights Financial Institutions Employment Law Insurance Law Oil and Gas Law Professional Responsibility Remedies Secured Transactions Securities Regulations Uniform Commercial Code

Winners and their respective topics and law schools are:

• First Place:
  Elena Schwieger, Catholic University Columbus School of Law
  Redefining the Private Placement Market After Sarbanes-Oxley: NASDAQ's PORTAL and Rule 144A
• Second Place:
  Jonas Anderson, Duke University School of Law
  Regulating Corporations the American Way: Why Exhaustive Rules and Just Deserts are the Mainstay of U.S. Corporate Governance
• Third Place:
  Scotland M. Duncan, University of Pittsburgh School of Law
  Fraud: The Result of Bad People or a Bad System? An Empirical Analysis of Corporate Governance