Fifth Annual ABI Bankruptcy Law Student Writing Competition

The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) is pleased to invite you to participate in our Fifth Annual ABI Bankruptcy Law Student Writing Competition.  First, Second and Third Place prizes will be awarded and include $4,000 in prize money and publication in the ABI Journal or one of our ABI committee newsletters. Remember that we no longer require law professor approval of papers prior to submission.  We are happy to announce that this year, we will provide one-year ABI memberships to all students who participate.

Writing Topics
We invite papers on current issues regarding bankruptcy jurisdiction, bankruptcy litigation, or evidence in bankruptcy cases or proceedings. Papers may address business or consumer cases and may include matters such as bankruptcy sales, plan confirmation and other topics that involve jurisdiction, litigation or evidence in the bankruptcy courts.

Dates of Competition
Papers must be submitted no later than March 1, 2013. Papers need to have been written since the close of last year's competition (anytime after March 1, 2012). Our hope is that the competition will dovetail nicely with any fall legal writing or advanced bankruptcy courses so that you can satisfy one of your writing requirements while creating an entry for the competition.

Competition Awards
Available awards include $4,000 in prize money and publication in the prestigious ABI Journal and ABI committee newsletters. Winners of the competition will be announced in April 2013 and will be presented with certificates from ABI recognizing their achievement. In addition, law schools will be notified so that this achievement can be noted in students' records. This year, we will provide one-year ABI memberships to all students who participate.

1.       The First Place Winner, sponsored by Invotex Group, Inc., will receive a prize of $2,000, plus publication of his or her paper in the prestigious ABI Journal and a one-year ABI membership.
2.       The Second Place Winner, sponsored by Jenner & Block LLP, will receive a cash prize of $1,250, plus publication of his or her paper in an ABI committee newsletter and a one-year ABI membership.
3.       The Third Place Winner, sponsored by Thompson & Knight LLP, will receive a cash prize of $750, plus publication of his or her paper in an ABI committee newsletter and a one-year ABI membership.

Competition Rules
Papers must be 10-12 double-spaced pages (including footnotes) on 8.5" x 11" paper with 1' margins. They must be written in 12 point, Times New Roman font. Papers must otherwise comply with the guidelines for ABI Journal submissions, which can be found at http://journal.abi.org/content/submission-guidelines; please note, however, that the papers must have numbered pages. Students must submit their papers by uploading the papers in PDF format to http://papers.abi.org on or before March 1, 2013. Submission guidelines are as follows:

‐  Papers submitted must be in PDF format with a ".pdf" extension.
 ‐  The maximum file size allowed is 2 MB.
‐  The maximum number of pages allowed is 12.
‐  Papers must have been written after March 1, 2012.
‐  One paper may be submitted per student. If a mistake was made, the student must create a new account to submit the paper.
‐  Contest winners will be contacted by email.
‐  Winners must agree to have their papers edited by ABI staff and leaders prior to publication.
‐  Submitted papers must be original and unpublished.

Full details of the competition, including past participating law schools, can be found at papers.abi.org.  We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity.  Please give the membership department a call at 703.739.0800 with any questions.  We're here to help!