JAMES E. BECKLEY SECURITIES ARBITRATION AND LAW WRITING COMPETITION [DEADLINE: SEPT. 16, 2016 BY 5 P.M. EASTERN]
This is a writing competition for students interested in Securities Arbitration and Securities Law sponsored by The PIABA Foundation. The purposes of the competition are to promote greater interest in and understanding of the fields of securities arbitration and securities law and to encourage excellent legal writing skills in law students.
Eligibility: The competition is open to all students who attend a law school in the U.S. Employees of The PIABA Foundation and PIABA (except for students working less than 20 hours per week) are not eligible to enter the competition.
Topic: The submission may address any aspect of Securities Law; Securities Arbitration; The Federal Arbitration Act, Title 9, US Code, Section 1-14; or FINRA Code of Arbitration, effective April 16, 2007 and any changes or proposed changes to that Code. The writing can be based in theory or practice, but should ultimately advocate a position on the topic area chosen.
Awards: Competition winner(s) will be posted online. The PIABA Bar Journal Board-of-Editors will publish the first place paper, and may, at their option, print additional submissions. The first place winner is invited to accept the James E. Beckley Writing Competition in-person during the President’s Dinner at the PIABA Annual Meeting on Oct. 28, 2016. 2nd and 3rd place winners, and Honorable Mention(s) are announced at that time as well.
- First Prize $1,000
- Second Prize $750
- Third Prize $500
Submission guidelines: (1) Double-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins; (2) any Question(s) Presented section, the Statement of the Facts/Statement of the Law section, the Argument section, and/or the Conclusion together are a minimum of 15 pages and a maximum of 30 pages; (3) 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; (4) submissions will not be penalized for arguing a position that would limit investor rights rather than expand them; and (5) contestant’s name/other identifying markings such as school name are not to be on any copy of the submitted entry – the PIABA Foundation will assign a random # to each entry and will record this # on all copies of each submission.
Complete details and Submission Form: Available @ piabafoundation.org/piabe-bar-journal/beckley-competition