Sponsors/facilitators of student writing competitions provide more detailed instructions and rules at their websites. Students need to review the information and rules available at these websites.
Sponsor: , American Bar Association Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section
Topic in 2025 Contest: "[O]riginal essays on a current topic dealing with real property, trust and estate law.." (See contest rules and entry form for additional useful information.)
Format requirements in 2025 Contest include: "Original essay." "Essays must not exceed 50 pages of double-spaced typed text, including footnotes." "Citations in Contest entries must conform to legal conventions detailed in the most recent editions of The Bluebook - A Uniform System of Citation and the ALWD Guide to Legal Citation." "The ABA prohibits the use of all generative artificial intelligence,
including large language models, to create any portion of a contestant’s written submission for this competition whether in the research, writing, or editing phase. Generative artificial intelligence in this context includes, but is not limited to, OpenAI’s 'GPT' series, BLOOM, Jasper, BERT, Galactica, and Lex ('AI')."
Eligibility requirements in 2025 Contest: "Open to any law school student in good standing, over the age of 21, who is currently attending an ABA-accredited law school within the United States and its possessions, and who is a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States. Officers, employees, and agents of the ABA and their immediate family or household members are not eligible to enter or win."
Prizes in 2025 Contest: "The first-place winner will receive $2,500 cash, a full-tuition scholarship to the University of Miami School of Law’s Heckerling Graduate Program in Estate Planning OR Robert Traurig-Greenberg Traurig Graduate Program in Real Property Development for the 2025-2026 or 2026-2027 academic year, a one-year free membership in the Section, and free round-trip economy-class airfare and weekend accommodations to attend the Section’s 38th Annual RPTE National CLE Conference, April 29-May 2, 2026 in Chicago (airfare, hotel accommodations, and luncheon ticket are valued at approximately $1,000). The first-place winner will also be announced in an upcoming issue of Probate & Property, the Section’s magazine, and RPTE eReport, the Section’s electronic newsletter. The second-place winner will receive $1,500 cash, one-year free membership in the Section, and will be announced in Probate & Property and eReport. The third-place winner will receive $1,000 cash, one-year membership in the Section, and will be announced in Probate & Property and eReport. No substitutions for prizes will be permitted, except at the sponsor’s discretion, in which case a prize of equal or
greater value will be substituted. Any taxes are the responsibility of the winners. Winners will receive a 1099-Misc for the full fair market value of the prize, including travel. Only one winner allowed per family or household. Duplicate prizes will be awarded in the event of a tie."
Format requirements in 2025 Competition include: "Only papers that have not been previously published are eligible. Papers accepted for publication, but not yet published, are eligible, as are papers prepared for law school credit." "The body of the paper must be between twenty and thirty double-spaced pages in length...." (See Mary Moers Wenig Student Writing Competition 2025 Rules for more key information.)
Eligibility requirements in 2025 Competition include: "This competition is open to any law student in good standing (full-time or part-time) who is currently enrolled at the time of submission or was a student within the past 90-day period prior to submission as a J.D. or LL.M. candidate in an ABA-accredited law school within the United States or its possessions."
Prizes in 2025 Competition: "1st Prize A Full Tuition Scholarship to the Heckerling Graduate Program in Estate Planning at the University of Miami School of Law for the 2024-2025 or 2025-2026 academic year (candidates must apply and be admitted as full-time students to be considered for the scholarship), $5,000 award and publication in the ACTEC Law Journal. 2nd Prize $3,000 award, online publication on The ACTEC Foundation’s website, and possible publication in the ACTEC Law Journal. 3rd Prize $1,000 award, online publication on The ACTEC Foundation’s website, and possible publication in the ACTEC Law Journal."
