Entertainment Law Initiative Writing Contest (annual) + Official Rules
- Sponsors: Recording Academy Entertainment Law Initiative & American Bar Association
- Topic was: "The writing contest challenges students to identify, research, and write an essay with a proposed solution on a compelling legal issue confronting the music industry."
- Format was: "Essays shall be no longer than 3,000 words not including endnotes/footnotes. Entrants must use The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, for citation style." "Essays must be in English."
- Eligibility requirements stated: "1. This contest is open to Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Laws (LLM), or joint JD/LLM program candidates currently enrolled at a U.S. law school. LLM students who are, or who have been at any time in the past, licensed as an attorney or who have performed professional services as an attorney are not eligible to enter. JSD/SJD students are not eligible. 2. Entrants must be an enrolled student at least eighteen (18) years old as of January 1, 2025. 3. Entrants must be legal residents (including foreign students who at the time of entry hold a valid U.S. Student Visa) enrolled in a JD or LLM program at a law school located in the United States. Contest is void where prohibited by law or regulation. 4. Current regular, full-time, part-time and temporary employees, contractors, interns, GRAMMY U representatives, directors and officers of Sponsor, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, distributors, sales representatives, retailers, and advertising, promotion and judging agencies and all other service agencies involved with the Contest, and members of the immediate family (spouse, parent, child, sibling and their respective spouse) and household of each such employee are not eligible to participate. 5. Previous winners and/or finalists are ineligible."
- Submission Requirements stated: "All essays must be original works specifically written for the Contest. Previously published works are ineligible. The submission of works previously written for academic purposes is acceptable, provided that the work is edited to meet the guidelines of the Contest and is not identical to the prior academic work." "Co-authorship of the Essay is not permitted. Papers may be reviewed by law school faculty or colleagues for editorial feedback, but such assistance may not rise to the level of co-authorship."
- Winner + Runners Up: "A national panel of music law experts will judge the papers in a blind process and select one winner and two runners-up."
- Prizes were: "Winner receives a Ten Thousand Dollar ($10,000) cash scholarship paid directly to the law school where the student is enrolled. A one-hour mentorship session with an Entertainment Law Initiative Committee attorney member. Also, subject to the provisions in Sections 30-36 inclusive, two (2) tickets to and recognition on stage at the 27th Annual ELI event currently scheduled to take place in or about February 2025 in Los Angeles, two (2) tickets to MusiCares® Person of the Year gala event currently scheduled to take place in or about February 2025 in Los Angeles, two (2) tickets to the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards® currently scheduled to take place in or about February 2025 in Los Angeles, round-trip coach airfare for two (2) from a major U.S. airport near Winner’s residence to Los Angeles for the events, hotel accommodations for two (2) for five (5) days/four (4) nights based on double occupancy. Approximate retail value (“ARV”) of Winner prize: $13,000." "Each Runner-Up receives a Two Thousand, Five Hundred Dollar ($2,500) cash scholarship paid directly to the law school where the student is enrolled and a one-hour mentorship session with an Entertainment Law Initiative Committee attorney member. Also, subject to the provisions in Sections 30-36 inclusive, one (1) ticket to and recognition on stage at the 27th Annual ELI event currently scheduled to take place in or about February 2025 in Los Angeles, round-trip coach airfare for one (1) from a major U.S. airport near Runner Up’s residence to Los Angeles for the event, hotel accommodations for one (1) for three (3) days/two (2) nights. Approximate retail value (“ARV”) of Winner prize: $1,200." "Meals, gratuities, luggage fees, incidental hotel charges and any other unspecified travel-related expenses are the sole responsibility of Winner or Runner Up, as applicable."
- Deadline was: November 8, 2024.
New York State Bar Association Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section: Phil Cowan – Judith Bresler Memorial Scholarship + Award Flyer
- Sponsor: Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section of the New York State Bar Association
- Topic in 2025 Competition was: "Each Scholarship candidate must write an original paper on any legal issue of current interest in the area of entertainment, arts or sports law. You may submit any paper for the scholarship that you previously submitted for a school assignment."
- Format for the 2025 Competition was: "The paper should be 12 to 15 pages in length (including Bluebook form footnotes), double-spaced and submitted in Microsoft Word format. Papers longer than 15 pages total will not be considered." "The cover page (not part of the page count) should contain the title of the paper, the student’s name, school, class year, telephone number and email address. The first page of the actual paper should contain only the title at the top, immediately followed by the body of text. The name of the author or any other identifying information must not appear anywhere other than on the cover page."
- Note: "All papers should be submitted to designated faculty members of each respective law school. Each designated faculty member shall forward all submissions to Sharmin Woodall, EASL’s Liaison to the New York State Bar Association. Sharmin, in turn, will forward all papers received to the Committee Co-Chairs for distribution. The Committee will read the papers submitted and will select the Scholarship recipient(s)."
- Eligibility requirements for the 2025 Competition included: "The Competition is open to all students – both J.D. candidates and L.L.M. candidates — attending eligible law schools. 'Eligible' law schools mean all accredited law schools within New York State, along with Rutgers University Law School and Seton Hall Law School in New Jersey, and up to ten other accredited law schools throughout the country to be selected, at the Committee’s discretion, on a rotating basis."
- Prizes for the 2025 Competition were: "[O]ffers up to two awards of $2,500 each on an annual basis in Phil Cowan’s and Judith Bresler’s memories to law students who are committed to a practice concentrating in one or more areas of entertainment, art or sports law." "Each winning paper will be published in the EASL Journal and will be made available to EASL members on the EASL website. The Scholarship Committee is willing to waive the right of first publication so that students may simultaneously submit their papers to law journals or other school publications. In addition, papers previously submitted and published in law journals or other school publications are also eligible for submission to The Scholarship Committee. The Scholarship Committee reserves the right to submit all papers it receives to the EASL Journal for publication and the EASL Web site." "All rights of dissemination of the papers by EASL are non-exclusive." "All students submitting a paper for consideration, who are NYSBA members, will immediately and automatically be offered a free membership in EASL (with all the benefits of an EASL member) for a one-year period, commencing the day of the EASL Spring Meeting of the year of the paper submission."
- Deadline for 2025 Annual Phil Cowan-Judith Bresler Memorial Scholarship Writing Competition was: April 1, 2025. "All papers should be submitted via email to Sharmin Woodall at swoodall@nysba.org with subject line “EASL Writing Competition” no later than April 1, 2025." "The winner(s) will be announced and the scholarship(s) awarded during the Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law Spring Meeting."
