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Adam A. Milani Disability Law Writing Competition
2009 Competition
Sponsored by the Mercer University School of Law and
the American Bar Association Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law
Adam A. Milani
Adam A. Milani – a passionate disability
rights activist and accomplished scholar – was well known
for his publication of numerous practical books and articles in
the field of disability discrimination. He taught legal writing
as well as the law of disability discrimination and always encouraged
his students to become prolific and outstanding writers.
Purposes of the Adam A. Milani Disability
Law Writing Competition
The purposes of the competition are to promote
greater interest in and understanding of the field of disability law
and to encourage excellent legal writing skills in law students.
Topics
The submission may address any aspect of disability
law, theory, or practice the contestant chooses. Other permissible topics
include issues arising under any of the following statutes: Civil Rights Act
of 1964; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; Age Discrimination in
Employment Act; Family and Medical Leave Act; or any state statutes or municipal
ordinances prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Categories and Requirements
Submissions should be trial-level or appellate briefs
on one of the topics listed above. The text of a submission must be
double-spaced, with twelve-point font and one-inch margins. The Question(s)
Presented section, the Statement of the Facts / Statement of the Case section,
the Argument section, and the Conclusion together are limited to 20 pages.
Briefs may include any other customary component of a similar court document,
but those components will not be evaluated.
If the submission covers both a topic among those listed
above and a topic not listed above, only the topic listed above will be evaluated.
For papers written originally for a legal writing class, only two papers per legal
writing professor per year will be considered. If more than two students of a
particular professor desire to submit a paper, the professor shall choose which
paper(s) will be submitted.
Briefs will not be penalized for arguing a position that
would limit rights rather than expand them.
Prizes
First Prize will range between $300 and $1,000, depending
on whether multiple awards are given. The name of the winner(s) in each category
will be posted online at the Mercer University School of Law website.
Entry information
Entries for the competition must be submitted by mail to
the "Adam A. Milani Disability Law Writing Competition," Mercer University, School of
Law, 1021 Georgia Ave., Macon, GA 31207-0001. Submissions must be postmarked by June
1, 2009, by U.S. mail or a recognized commercial express service. Entries submitted
by fax will not be accepted. The contestant's name and other identifying markings
such as school name are not to be on any copy of the submitted entry. The staff at
Mercer University School of Law will assign a random number to each entry and will
record this number on all copies of each submission. Neither the contestant's
identity nor his or her academic institution will be known to any Milani Competition
Judge. Two copies of the entry must be submitted along with a disk containing an
electronic copy of the submission in Word Perfect or Word format. Clear, legible
photocopies without changes are acceptable. Each entrant may submit only one entry.
Entries must be accompanied by the attached entry form.
Eligibility
The competition is open to all students who attend a law school
in the United States. Full-time students who are not law students but who write
law-related papers as part of a course at an American law school are also eligible.
Employees of Mercer University School of Law (except for students working less than
20 hours per week) are not eligible to enter the competition.
Authorship
The author must have performed all the key tasks of
researching, writing, and revising the paper for himself or herself, but
may have received a reasonable amount of advice from academicians or practitioners.
Except for any discussions or other activities that occur as part of course activities
approved by the student's professor, the author must avoid collaboration with other
students. If the brief is written as an assignment in a legal writing class and if
the student was assigned to produce the brief along with a partner, the student may
submit the brief but must identify the portions for which the student was the sole
author. Only those parts of the brief will be evaluated. Under no other circumstances
may any of the written product be produced by another.
Criteria and Judging
All entries will be judged anonymously by the Milani Competition
Judges, who will select the winning submission(s). The Director of the Milani Writing
Competition at Mercer University School of Law will notify the award winner(s). The
Judges reserve the right not to award any prizes if it is determined that no entries
are of sufficient quality to merit selection that year.
Entries will be judged based on the following criteria: quality of
research and authority provided; accuracy and clarity of the analysis; compliance with
standard conventions of similar court documents; and technical quality of writing,
including organization, grammar, syntax, and form.
Entry Form
(MS Word format)
Rules and Entry Form (MS Word format)
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