Ben Martie (Real Property Division)

Tyler Pitrat (Trust and Estate Division)

The Real Property Trust and Estate Law Section's 2009 Student Writing Contest is open to all law and LL.M students currently attending an ABA-accredited law school. It is designed to encourage and reward law student writing on real property, trust and estate law subjects of general and current interest. Complete rules as well as the entry form are available online. For more information, please contact Amanda Pauli at paulia@staff.abanet.org.

The 2009 first place winner will receive $2,500 and a one year membership in the RPTE Section. The winner will also receive free round trip airfare and weekend accommodations to attend the RPTE Fall Leadership Meeting, November 19th – 22nd at the St. Regis Hotel in Dana Point, California (valued at approximately $1,000). In addition, the first place winner's essay will be considered for publication in a future issue of the Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Journal and will be announced in Probate & Property, the Section magazine. Both the second and third place winners will be announced in Probate & Property. The second place winner will receive $1,500, and the third place winner will receive $1,000.

The goal of the RPTE student writing contest is to encourage and reward law student writing on real property and trust and estate law subjects of general and current interest. As part of this effort, the Section sponsors the RPTE writing contest, which invites law school students to submit original essays on current topics in the fields. The essay contest is designed to attract students to these law specialties and to encourage scholarship in these areas.

2008-2009 Writing Contest

• 1st place - Amy Jo Smith from DePaul University - "Curbing the License to Steal: A Discussion of English Law and Possible Reforms for the Durable Power of Attorney"
• 2nd place - Tyson Tamashiro from University of Hawaii - "RLUIPA and the Individualized Assessment: Special Use Permits and Variances under Strict Congressional Scrutiny"
• 3rd place - Jessica Vollmer from University of Baltimore School of Law - "A Question of Property Rights: The Constitutionality of Maryland's Ground Rent Reform"

2005-2006 Writing Contest

• 1st place - Michael J. Percy of Santa Clara University, School of Law, for his submission, "Delta Levees -- Tort Immunity vs. Takings Liability."
• 2nd place - Jeremy R. Moss, Columbus School of Law
• 3rd place - William H. Woolston, College of William and Mary, School of Law

2004-2005 Writing Contest

• 1st place - Craig S. Kaufman of Temple University in Philadelphia for "Sympathy for the Devil's Advocate: Assisting the Attorney General When Charitable Matters Reach the Courtroom."
• 2nd place - Adrienne Iwamoto Suarez of the University of Hawaii, Honolulu
• 3rd place - Jennifer Felton of Southwestern University in Los Angeles

2003-2004 Writing Contest

• 1st place - Kelly Culpin, Emory University
• 2nd place -Malia Schreck, University of Hawaii
• 3rd place - Ruth Cramer, Valparaiso University School of Law

2002-2003 Writing Contest

• 1st place -Catherine Vogel of the University of Houston for her submission "Military Readiness and Environmental Security - Can They Coexist?"

Find out more in the law student brochure below!

• 2009 Law Student Writing Contest Rules and Entry Form
• Past Contest Winners
• Law Student Brochure
• Fellows Program

If you're already an ABA member, simply add the Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law to your membership. The Section dues are $55 annually. Use your ABA membership ID to log in to the ABA website. If you need help with your password, or to join the Section by phone or mail, contact the ABA Service Center at 800-285-2221 to speak with a membership representative. You must first be a member of the ABA to join the Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section.

With more than 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.