The Dispute Resolution Section of the New York State Bar Association and the American College of Civil Trial Mediators are proud to announce the inauguration of the NYSBA/ACCTM National Championship Alternative Dispute Resolution Law Student Writing Competition.

A $10,000 cash prize will be awarded to the winning submittal as judged by the Editorial Board of the ACCTM American Journal of Mediation along with select Fellows of the College and members of the NYSBA Dispute Resolution Section. Winning entries will be published in the ACCTM Journal and the NYSBA New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer.

The competition is open to all JD and LLM law students enrolled as of December 15, 2016

Subject matter focus is on the full range of alternative dispute resolution – consensus-based reconciliation systems (e.g., negotiation, mediation), adjudicative processes (e.g., early neutral evaluation, arbitration and private judging), and mixed processes (e.g., arb-med, med-arb, high low arbitration, baseball arbitration etc.). Papers can also focus on process design, practice techniques, an analysis of particular controversies and their resolution, legislation about dispute resolution, and ethical dilemmas and standards.

Submittals will be judged on timeliness and importance of topic, clarity of writing, innovation, and appropriate interviews, consultations and research supporting assertions and conclusions. Manuscripts must be the work of a single author and previously unpublished. The judges will not be provided information on the author’s identity and will reserve the right not to award any prize and to reject any submission.

While there are no firm page limits, there is an expectation that submitted works will be between fifteen and thirty double spaced pages, including footnotes. The work should be presented in 12 point Times New Roman font, on 8 ½ X 11 inch paper with one inch margins. Footnotes may be single spaced and presented in accordance with The Blue Book: A Uniform System of Citation (20th Edition).

Entries are due no later than 5:00 pm EST June 1, 2017 and should be electronically submitted in Microsoft Word Format to:

American Journal of Mediation
American College of Civil Trial Mediators
C/O Kathy Talbot Executive Administrator
20 North Orange Ave. Suite 704
Orlando, Fla. 32801
Acctm@Acctm.org