Write-On Competition

Write-On Competition Policy for Transfer Students:

• All copies of your paper and the completed identification form must be turned into the Office of Student Services no later than 5:00 p.m.
• Your paper will not be accepted unless you have made one copy for each journal you are applying for and have filled out the identification form before 5:00 p.m. If you still need to make copies or your identification form is not filled out by 5:00 p.m., your submission is considered late and will not be accepted. Please plan accordingly.
• Out of town papers must be postmarked by Thursday, July 7, 2011. Your mail-in submission will not be accepted unless it includes one copy of your paper for each journal you are applying for and the completed identification form.
• Mail-in submissions MUST be sent to the Office of Student Services (see address below). DO NOT mail papers directly to the journal for which you are applying.
• International Submissions: IF and ONLY IF you will be out of the country during this summer’s write-on competition, you may submit your paper in .doc or .pdf format to Derrick Gabriel (DGabriel@Central.UH.edu) in Student Services by 5pm, July 7th. Remember that the Honor Code applies in full force to this policy, and you absolutely MUST be out of the country to submit your paper electronically. Please complete the Identification Form (below) and submit it with your paper. Derrick Gabriel MUST receive your electronic copy by the deadline for it to be considered. As with hard copy submissions, DO NOT indicate your identity anywhere in your paper. Once received, Derrick will print out your materials and place them with the regular submissions.

• Rising UHLC 2L winners will receive invitations from the journals to which they have been selected on Friday, July 15, 2011. ***Students who submitted their casenotes via mail may not be notified until the following Monday, July 18, or Tuesday, July 19.***
• Students must respond via email to the journal of their choosing no later than Friday, July 22, 2011.
• Prospective transfer student winners will be notified after they have secured admission to the UHLC.

Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn

• All copies of your paper and the completed identification form must be turned into the Office of Student Services no later than 5:00 p.m.
• Your paper will not be accepted unless you have made one copy for each journal you are applying for and have filled out the identification form before 5:00 p.m. If you still need to make copies or your identification form is not filled out by 5:00 p.m., your submission is considered late and will not be accepted. Please plan accordingly.
• Out of town papers must be postmarked by Wednesday, August 10, 2011. Your mail-in submission will not be accepted unless it includes one copy of your paper for each journal you are applying for and the completed identification form.
• Mail-in submissions MUST be sent to the Office of Student Services (see address below). DO NOT mail papers directly to the journal for which you are applying
• International Submissions: IF and ONLY IF you will be out of the country during this summer’s write-on competition, you may submit your paper in .doc or .pdf format to Derrick Gabriel (DGabriel@Central.UH.edu) in Student Services by 5pm, July 7th. Remember that the Honor Code applies in full force to this policy, and you absolutely MUST be out of the country to submit your paper electronically. Please complete the Identification Form (below) and submit it with your paper. Derrick Gabriel MUST receive your electronic copy by the deadline for it to be considered. As with hard copy submissions, DO NOT indicate your identity anywhere in your paper. Once received, Derrick will print out your materials and place them with the regular submissions.

• All admitted transfer student winners will be notified on Friday, Aug. 19, 2011. 
• Students must respond via email to the journal of their choosing no later than Friday, Aug. 26, 2011.

Connick, District Attorney, et al. v. Thompson

• Completed first year of program
• Two full years remaining in law school
• Top 30% of class year or section*

*Transfer students see “Competition Policy for Transfer Students” above

• Completed first year of program
• Two full years remaining in law school
• Top 50% of section

• Completed first year of program
• Two full years remaining in law school

• Completed first year of program
• Two full years remaining in law school

• Completed first year of program
• Two full years remaining in law school

• 20 – 30 pages, including footnotes
• Time New Roman, 12 point, double-spaced in both the body and the footnotes
• 50/50 text to footnote ratio
• Blue Book Citation

• The University of Houston Law Center’s Honor Code is in effect for this competition and every Law Center competition. Make sure you are familiar with its rules as they will be strictly enforced. Among those rules are the following: 1) You may not discuss the legal theories, cite form, grammar, word choice, or any other aspect of your paper with ANY OTHER PERSON 2) You may not have any other person proofread your paper.
• Remember to get your Westlaw or Lexis access extended through the summer. The representatives are happy to do this, just contact them. It is not a violation of the honor code to ask for help with your research from sources such as:
  Lexis contact number: 1-800-543-6862
  Westlaw contact number: 1-800-850-WEST (1-800-850-9378)
  UHLC Reference Librarians
  It IS a violation of the honor code to have anyone read what you have written before you turn in your note.
• UPDATED:Slides from Professor Tabor’s Casenote Writing Workshop 2011
• UPDATED:Write-on Presentation 2011
• UPDATED:Video from Professor Tobi Tabor’s Write-on Competition Workshop, June 12, 2010 (Part 1)
• Slides from Professor Tobi Tabor’s Write-on Competition Workshop, June 12, 2010 (PDF)
• Slides from Professor Tobi Tabor’s Write-on Competition Workshop, June 12, 2010 (PPT)
• Professor Tabor’s Handout #1 (PDF)
• Professor Tabor’s Handout #2 (PDF)
• UPDATED:Write-on Competition Handbook (2010)
• Example casenotes from previous years’ write-on competitions:
  Write-on Sample 1, Write-on Sample 2, and Write-on Sample 3.
• Slides from Professor Tobi Tabor’s Write-on Competition Workshop, June 6, 2009
• Video of Professor Tobi Tabor’s Write-on Competition Workshop, June 9, 2007: Part 1, Part 2
• Volokh’s Academic Legal Writing: Law Review Articles, Student Notes, Seminar Papers, and Getting on Law Review, 3rd Edition by Eugene Volokh.