Current Students > Student Activities > Writing Competitions > 2008 Howard C. Schwab Memorial Essay Contest
2008 Howard C. Schwab Memorial Essay Contest
DEADLINE: May 15, 2008.
2008 Howard C. Schwab Memorial Essay Contest
Overview:
This annual contest, conducted by the ABA Section of Family Law,
was established by the Toledo Bar Association and the Ohio
Bar Foundation as a memorial to Howard C. Schwab, a Past President
of the Toledo Bar Association and Past Chairman of the Family
Law Committee of the Ohio Bar Association. He was Chairman-Elect of the
Section of Family Law at the time of his death on February 24, 1969.
In 1985, the Section of Family Law assumed full responsibility for
sponsoring this contest.
Purpose of the Contest:
The purpose of the contest is to create greater interest in the field of
family law among all law students, and particularly the Law Student
Division of the American Bar Association.
Subject Matter of Essays:
The subject may be any aspect of family law. The primary focus of each essay
should be an issue of law, although some interdisciplinary material may be
useful in addressing a legal issue. Since winning entries may be published in
Family Law Quarterly, entrants are encouraged to write on subjects of national
interest. Essays on such subjects usually include citations to the law of several
jurisdictions. However, if the law in one state reflects a significant development
or trend, that too could be an appropriate subject for an entry.
Essays should be limited to approxiamtely 5,000 words (25 double-spaced, typewritten pages
including footnotes). Longer essays will be judged unfavorably, and those longer than 28
pages will be disqualified. Essays scheduled to be published, and essays that have
previously been published, are ineligible for consideration.
The essay format was selected to stimulate creativity of thought. Entries will be judged on the
basis of originality, quality of analysis, quality of research, style and organization, and
practicality and timeliness of subject.
Authorship:
Each entry shall be the original work of a single individual. The ideas and work reflected
by each essay must be the author's own. The author must perform all of the key tasks of
identifying the topic, researching it, analyzing it, formulating positions and arguments,
and writing and revising the paper. The author may accept a reasonable amount of advice
from others. For example, the author may obtain a professor's opinion that a proposed topic
is a good choice, that a detailed outline should be reorganized, or that a first draft omits
a significant subtopic. The author must limit the amount of such advice sought or received, so
that the final essay truly reflects the author's own ideas and work, not another's.
Authors may submit only one (1) entry; multiple submissions are not accepted.
Eligibility of Contestants:
Persons eligible to compete are students at ABA-approved law schools who are:
- second or third-year full-time students
- second through fourth-year part-time students; or
- first-year students enrolled in schools where the subject of family law is
part of the first-year cirriculum.
Students who are employees of the ABA are not eligible to compete.
Awards:
First Place
- Certificate of Recognition as First-Place Winner
- Consideration of essay's publication in Family Law Quarterly
- Consideration of essay's publication on the ABA Section of Family Law website
- Letter to Law School Dean
- One-year complimentary ABA Section of Family Law membership
Second Place
- Certificate of Recognition as Second-Place Winner
- Consideration of essay's publication on the ABA Section of Family Law website
- Letter to Law School Dean
- One-year complimentary ABA Section of Family Law membership
Third Place
- Certificate of Recognition as Third-Place Winner
- Consideration of essay's publication on the ABA Section of Family Law website
- Letter to Law School Dean
- One-year complimentary ABA Section of Family Law membership
Winners will be notified after the ABA Annual Meeting in mid-August. Winners must be a member of the
ABA to receive a free Section of Family Law membership. (Law students may
join the ABA for $25.)
Entry Procedure:
Law students interested in entering the contest should download the Schwab Entry Form and fill it out.
Once the form has been filled out, contestant should return it to be assigned an entry number.
The assigned entry number must then be placed in the upper right-hand corner of each page
of the essay. Contestant's name must not be on any copy of the submitted
essay. Judges will not know contestants' identities.
A total of seven (7) copies of the essay and two (2) entry forms (with assigned number)
should be submitted.
- Download the Schwab Entry Form and fill it out.
- Return the completed entry form either by e-mail (preferred) to
asalonc@staff.abanet.org with
Schwab Entry as the subject, or by fax to 312-988-6700.
- The ABA will e-mail an electronic copy of the entry form with an assigned number.
- Place the assigned number in the upper right-hand corner of each page of the essay.
(Contestant's name must not appear anywhere on the essays.)
- Send six (6) hard copies and the completed entry form (with assigned number and
signature) to:
Schwab Essay Contest
ABA Section of Family Law
321 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60610
- Send one (1) copy of the essay and the completed entry form (with assigned
number) to
asalonc@staff.abanet.org. Subject:
Schwab Essay Submission.
Please Note: We will only accept one (1) entry per author;
we do not accept multiple submissions.
DEADLINE: All entries must be postmarked on or before May 15, 2008.
The ABA will confirm receipt of entries via e-mail.
Questions regarding the contest should be directed to the ABA Section of Family Law
at 312-988-5145.