1. The competition will conducted in two divisions. Division I is open to candidates for a J.D. degree attending law schools within the United States and its possessions. Division II is open to candidates for an L.L.M. degree attending law schools within the United States and its possessions, and to attorneys admitted to the bar for no more than five years as of September 15, 1999. All authors must be current members of the American Bar Association.

2. Papers should address a topical issue of interest to the public contract and grant law community.

3. Papers prepared for law school credit are eligible for entry in the competition, provided the work is original and the editing and citation work has been done by the author. Joint papers are not acceptable. Articles prepared for law review, or publication elsewhere, are eligible for the competition provided they are not published prior to October 15, 1999 and provided that the author certifies that all work submitted is the author's work product, without substantial editing from others.

4. Papers submitted for the Division I competition shall not exceed 35 pages of 8-1/2" X 11" text, excluding footnotes. There is no page limit on papers submitted for the Division II competition.

5. Papers must be double spaced, including cited material and footnotes. Footnotes must be presented at the end of the papers.

6. Persons interested in entering the PCLJ's writing competition should refer to the Journal's website for information concerning the required form and style of manuscripts. The website also contains information about deadlines and the place for submission of manuscripts. The PCLJ's website is at:

http://www.abanet.org/contract/operations/lawjournal/journal.html

7. The following information shall be presented on the title page: title; author's name; ABA membership number; social security number; law school attending and author's year in school, if applicable; date submitted for academic credit or law review publication, if applicable; author's permanent and temporary addresses and telephone numbers.

8. Three copies of each entry, and a copy on 3-1/2" disk formatted in WordPerfect or Word, should be submitted to the following address:

Carl L. Vacketta, Esq.
Piper & Marbury
1200 19th Street, N.W. 7th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20036-2430

9. All entries must be postmarked by September 15, 1999.

10. Winners will be selected and notified by January 15, 2000. The first place winner in each division will receive a cash award of $1,000; second place in each division will receive a cash award of $500. Winning entries will be published in the Public Contract Law Journal.

11. An impartial panel will judge the entries. Awards will not be made if none of the submissions is deemed by the judges to be of notable quality.