Everything You Need to Know About the 2013 Write-On Competition

April 17, 2013

Who We Are Tal DeBauche — Houston Law Review

tadebauc@central.uh.edu Kelly Ferrell — Houston Law Review

krander3@centra.uh.edu Megan Davis — Houston Journal of International

Law mlwdavis@central.uh.edu

Barbara Fox — Houston Journal of Health Law & Policy bjfox@central.uh.edu

Lisa Steffek — Houston Business & Tax Law Journal lmsteffe@central.uh.edu

Meeting Objectives

(1) You will know the eligibility requirements to participate in the Write-On Competition. (2) You will know the “what, where, when and how” for the Write-On Competition.(3) You will leave totally calm and not overwhelmed at all (or at least have all your questions answered).

What is the Write-On Competition?

Law journals collaborate on an entry competition by which eligible students may gain membership.

Each participant anonymously submits a 20–30 page casenote analyzing an assigned court decision.

Eligibility

Eligibility requirements vary by journal. All journals require that members

Have completed their first two semesters, and Have at least two full years remaining in law

school

Houston Law Review

Tal DeBauche (tadebauc@central.uh.edu) & Kelly Ferrell (krander3@central.uh.edu)

Grade-On: Top 10% of class or section

Write-On: Top 30% of class or section

Houston Journal of International Law

Megan Davis (mlwdavis@central.uh.edu)

Grade-On: Top 20% of class or sectionApply-On: Top 35% of class or

section, OR an A or A- in at least one semester of LRW

Write-On: Top 50% of class or section

Houston Journal of Health Law & Policy

Chelsea Averill (ceaveril@central.uh.edu)

Grade-On: Top 33% of class or section, OR an A or A- in at least one semester of LRW

Write-On: Completed first two semesters

Houston Business & Tax Law Journal

Lisa Steffek (lmsteffe@central.uh.edu)Grade-On: Top 20% of class or sectionApply-On: Top 30% of class or section

OR A or A- in at least one semester of LRW

Write-On: Top 50% of class or section

What if you’re interested in more than one journal?

You can submit the same paper for all five journals.

You must submit a separate copy of your paper for each journal you are interested in.

Make sure to have all copies made and turned in to Student Services by 5:00 p.m. on July 5th!

The Identification Form to be turned in with your paper contains a space for you to rank the journals you are applying for in order of preference.

Competition Dates Saturday, June 15, 2013, at 8:00 am.

Assigned case will be posted on the Competition Website.

http://www.houstonlawreview.org/about/write-on-competition

Friday, July 5, 2013, at 5:00 pm. Papers due to Student Services Office, with

identification form. All copies must be made and the identification

form filled out no later than 5:00 p.m. Late submissions will be refused! If you’re out of town, your casenote must be

postmarked by this date (send to Student Services, not individual journals).

Notification

Friday-Saturday, July 12/13, 2013 Invitations extended to selected students. This gives you time to update your resume before

OCI.

Selected students must respond to the journal of their choosing by Friday, July 19, 2013, at 5:00 p.m.

Anonymity Your submission is identified only by your

PeopleSoft number. You will also submit an identification form with your paper, which Student Services will retain until the journals have made their selections.

Do not put your name on your paper or otherwise indicate your identity!

The names of selected candidates are only revealed when their papers are chosen. If your paper is not selected, your identity will never be revealed to the journals.

Honor Code Rules All work must be your own. You cannot discuss research, legal theories, citation

form, grammar, word choice, or any other aspect of your paper with anyone.

No one can proofread your paper. It’s a violation of the honor code if this rule is not

strictly followed. THE ONLY EXCEPTION: You can use the Lexis/Westlaw

aides (through the website) and the UHLC Reference Librarians, for “how do I find this” questions.

This does NOT mean you can’t get help before the competition starts.

Questions?

Getting Ready: Refer to EUGENE VOLOKH, VOLOKH’S

ACADEMIC LEGAL WRITING: LAW REVIEW ARTICLES, STUDENT NOTES, SEMINAR PAPERS, AND GETTING ON LAW REVIEW (4th ed. 2010).

Get a copy of the Texas Manual on Usage and Style (just Google it).

Attend Professor Tabor’s Casenote Writing Workshop on Saturday, June 8th (more details to follow).

Find and Read Examples of casenotes online. There are some available on the HLR website, as well as on the websites of many leading law schools.

Parts of a Casenote:

• Introduction• Case Recitation• Analysis• Conclusion

Writing the Casenote: Read the case carefully (and each opinion). Research related case law (embedded cases are a good

place to start). Start focusing your thoughts on one aspect of the case or

tie in various aspects to support one unified idea. Ex: case law the court relied on, legislative history, related

opinions, patterns in the law, dissenting opinions Continue researching the issue—use cases, statutes,

books, and scholarly articles (Googling can’t hurt, either). Analyze and evaluate the court’s approach to the issue

and the types of arguments the court is making. Consider what might happen if the rule from the case is

applied to various hypotheticals.

Formatting Requirements

20-30 pages. Double-spaced (text & footnotes). Times New Roman 12-point font for both text

& footnotes. 1” margins (top, bottom, left, right). No tricks on word spacing, etc! ~50/50 text to footnote ratio (use Word Count

to check). Every fact must have a footnote. Make sure to

properly use signals and parentheticals.

Tips for Writing the Best Casenote

Follow all formatting requirements. Figure out your point of view, state it clearly, and argue it

persuasively and efficiently throughout. Keep your legal theories simple – don’t try to

overcomplicate the subject. Research as thoroughly as you can and use a variety of

sources in your paper (we want to see that you can find and cite many different types of sources).

Cite everything in proper Bluebook form and use parentheticals explaining your authority.

Citation, citation, citation! (every time there is a fact, you have to verify that fact is true/can be inferred from another source)

Strategies for Success MAKE SURE you update your access to Westlaw

or Lexis for the summer! Do it now! Start early, plan accordingly Outline your thoughts early and often Organization is key Check Bluebook form Proofread 50% of your text is below the line, so that’s

where 50% of your time and attention should be allocated

For more detailed instruction on casenotes

Attend Professor Tabor’s Casenote Writing Workshop on June 8th! A video of the presentation from 2010 is

posted on the websiteProfessor Tabor’s slides will be posted

on the websiteA packet of useful handouts on

Bluebooking and casenote formatting is available on the website.

Why should I bother?

It’s not as bad as it sounds! Participating on a journal has lots of

benefits. The more you write, the better you

get at writing (and editing, citing, etc.).

Feeling Like This About the Write-On?

Take a Deep Breath...It is totally doable (even if you are

working and taking a class). You could grade on.You could apply on.The Journal of Consumer & Commercial

Law offers students a chance to get the benefits of being on a journal without having to go through the Write-On Competition to join.

Questions?

Who We Are Tal DeBauche — Houston Law Review

tadebauc@central.uh.edu Kelly Ferrell — Houston Law Review

krander3@centra.uh.edu Megan Davis — Houston Journal of International

Law mlwdavis@central.uh.edu

Barbara Fox — Houston Journal of Health Law & Policy bjfox@central.uh.edu

Lisa Steffek — Houston Business & Tax Law Journal lmsteffe@central.uh.edu