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Originally published in Student
Lawyer magazine, October 2003 (Vol. 32, No. 2). All rights
reserved.
Enter Writing Contests to Win
With a little effort, you can turn your law school paper into
cash, travel opportunities, professional recognition, and a line
on your résumé that employers will notice
by Aaron Patton
(Aaron Patton is a writer in New York. He graduated from the University
of Wisconsin Law School in 2001.)
You have to play to win. It sounds like a lottery ad or Las Vegas
billboard, but it's also true for legal-writing contests. Entering
these competitions is far easier than you might think (and your
odds are infinitely better). And you can win big cash prizes, travel,
recognition, and more with relatively little effort.
There's so much in it for you that I hope you'll use this article
for the rest of law school. Why am I so enthusiastic? Because I
won writing contests when I attended college and law school, and
it wasn't that difficult to do. My secret? We'll get to that later.
I started my contest kick as an undergraduate. A history paper
earned me an A in a class, then won a $50 second-place prize in
the philosophy department's writing contest. I later submitted it
to a history journal, which published the article.
In law school, the final paper I wrote for Jurisprudence led to
my winning the University of Wisconsin Law School's Bercovici Jurisprudence
prize in 2001. The award's perks were an invitation to the honors
brunch at graduation, recognition on stage, a line on my résumé,
and a check for $300. (In hindsight, $300 is relatively little compared
to the cash some writing contests offer.)
At best, the majority of law students' finest papers become writing
samples for prospective employers. At worst, these papers crumble
away in boxes or envelopes labeled by semester.
But it doesn't have to be that way. A second-year seminar assignment
can be recycled. Last spring's jurisprudence final can be reused.
An unpublished law review or journal note can be rebuilt. Papers
you've already researched and written can be put to work again to
earn cash prizes, recognition, publications, and even jobs.
The benefits of winning
What's the point? Here's a rundown of the benefits of entering and
winning legal- writing contests:
o Cash. Legal-writing contests can be very generous
to their winners and runners-up. A quick look at some contest descriptions
shows how high some cash prizes are. Winners can receive anywhere
from $300 to $7,500, with the middle range between $1,000 and $5,000.
o Publications and travel. Many contests award meeting travel
expenses and journal publication in addition to cash. For instance,
the ABA
Health Law Section is giving the winner of its writing contest
a $500 honorarium plus airfare and expenses to attend a conference
in La Jolla, Calif. The section also publishes the winning paper
in its journal. Many other legal organizations and ABA entities
sponsor writing contests with prizes of money, travel, and journal
publication.
o Résumé enhancement and jobs. Any contest
win or honorary recognition belongs on your résumé.
It shows research and writing ability, critical-thinking skills,
and effective argumentation. When employers see contest wins, they
naturally have questions about what and how you won, giving you
the opportunity to talk about something you know well. Such résumé
entries distinguish yourself from the field of applicants.
Your legal-writing skills-especially if you can attest to them
with contest honors-definitely stand out with legal employers. Lawrence
Horn, a partner at Sills Cummis Radin Tischman Epstein & Gross
in Newark, N.J., says firms consider many factors when evaluating
job candidates. But the one thing that ties them together is legal-writing
ability. "It's very important, one of the most important factors
considered," he says.
Getting over the myths
Even with thousands of dollars, travel, publications, and possible
jobs on the line, some law students still are unsure about the investment
they'd have to make. So let's address the most likely excuses for
not entering writing contests:
o "I don't have time." Every law student
utters these words every day. Many assume they can't afford to waste
time researching and writing a paper that isn't required by a class
or journal. This is a reasonable argument.
A resourceful rebuttal is that, instead of wasting time, you're
being efficient. By using papers that have already been written
for law school classes or journals, you can spend comparatively
little time looking for contests that want those papers and editing
them for entry.
Don't assume that all competitions require papers to be researched
and written specifically for the contest. This is a myth that perpetuates
the misperception that contests take too much time. On the rare
occasion when a contest requires work written for that contest alone,
the rules will say so.
o "It's too much work." If submitting work
you've already done requires too much effort, how did you ever write
that paper in the first place? Finding a contest and editing your
paper is practically no work when contrasted with the initial effort
of writing it. While broadening or narrowing the scope of your paper
may take more time than just sending it off, the question you ultimately
should ask yourself is this: "Is winning lots of cash and airfare
to a fabulous location, meeting interesting and accomplished lawyers
with job connections, and having something to make my résumé
stand out worth fixing my entertainment law paper for a day? Two
days? Three days?" The more work you do, the better your paper
probably w1ill be. But in most cases, you'll begin well away from
square one.
o "I'm not going to win, so why bother?"
The more people who agree with this sentiment, the greater the likelihood
that those who enter will win. It's a simple calculation of probability.
My hunch is that most writing contests receive far fewer viable
entries than you'd suppose. How many of your friends and classmates
are entering contests or even talking about them? Probably not many.
However, even with fewer competitors, you still have to enter to
win. If your paper already is written, what's the harm in spending
an hour or two looking for contests that want it?
Finding and entering contests
Where do you begin? First, do some digging, and keep your eyes
open for opportunities. Look for legal-writing contests and essay
competitions on the Internet, at your career services office, on
announcement boards at your law school, and in Student
Lawyer magazine. The web has numerous sites listing pages
of competitions for virtually every legal topic imaginable. (See
"Where Can You Sign Up?," below.)
In addition to the ABA's many contests, most law schools have their
own awards and prizes. So do organizations like the American Judges
Association, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, your state
or local bar association, specialty bar associations, and so forth.
Search through the announcements and instructions to see if any
topics match papers you have written, are writing, or are planning
to write. Close matches are best because the more changes you have
to make, the more work will be required. Many contests have topics
that are relatively broad, so use your imagination when determining
if you can enter your paper or an edited version of it.
Don't, however, try to make your paper something it isn't. A paper
on 16th century British property law won't lend itself easily to
a contest asking you to assess the impact of the latest Supreme
Court ruling on takings. But a jurisprudence paper that discusses
the dangers of judges deconstructing statutes will need little altering
for submission to a contest asking for papers on topics of import
to the modern judiciary.
After you find a contest that matches a paper you've written, tailor
it to the contest's requirements. If they want only 15 pages, condense
or narrow your 20-page paper. Once your paper is below the page
limit, you can edit it to perfection.
One thing to remember: Your school may require you to check with
your professor before publishing your paper elsewhere, and in most
cases you may not turn in a recycled paper for credit in another
course.
A great way to make a paper contest-ready is with the help of a
willing faculty member. If you ask nicely and he or she is available,
a professor or clinical instructor will test your arguments and
research, critique your sources and reasoning, and question your
analysis. In doing so, the instructor will help you hone your paper
into a publishable piece of work, worthy of a contest win or honorable
mention. This also has the added benefit of developing a relationship
with a professor who could help you at some point in the future.
You never know when your contracts or torts professor will be tapped
to fill a key government post or judicial vacancy.
The final step, of course, is to submit your paper. Fill out the
application, attach the paper and any other necessary documentation,
and send it off.
Promote your success
If you end up winning-or even if you earn honorable mention-be sure
to inform prospective employers. In your cover letters and résumés,
provide a brief description of the contest and your award. Who sponsored
the competition? What was required to win? Recognition for earning
the highest grade in your criminal law class is less impressive
than prevailing in a regional or national writing contest.
Employers do pay attention. Jane Heymann is assistant dean of career
services at my alma mater, the University of Wisconsin Law School,
and a former legal recruiter and partner at the law firm of Bryan
Cave. She agrees that honors received in legal-writing contests
can put a job candidate at the top of consideration.
"Most law firms assume basic skills, but they also look for
personal characteristics and attributes," Heymann says. "Someone
who takes the time to enter and win a contest is a go-getter, is
entrepreneurial, and is someone who goes the extra mile and does
the extra work needed."
I hope I've shown that entering your class paper in a legal-writing
contest is faster and easier than you think, and that the benefits
of winning are definitely worth the effort. But remember-you have
to play to win.
Where Can You Sign Up?
While not a complete listing, the following web sites provide information
on hundreds of legal-writing contests, including sponsors, requirements,
deadlines, and prizes. Also, Student Lawyer publishes information
on ABA writing contests regularly.
Web sites and contest rules may change, so be sure to confirm with
the sponsors that the information is current.
ABA Law Student Division
www.abanet.org/lsd/competitions/scholarships.html
Arizona State University College of Law
www.law.asu.edu/studentresources/writing/default.aspx
Hieros Gamos
www.hg.org/studentwriting.html
Northern Illinois University
www3.niu.edu/claw/finaid/scholar.pdf
University of Richmond School of Law
http://law.richmond.edu/essaycontests/default.htm
Saint Louis University School of Law
http://law.slu.edu/financial_assistance/fa/competitions.html
-Aaron Patton
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