Everything You Need to Know About the

2010 Write-On Competition

Who We Are• Robin O’Neil—Law Review

rfoneil@central.uh.edu• Deborah Ko—Law Review

dsko@central.uh.edu• Stefanie Vincent—Journal of International Law

scvincen@central.uh.edu• Rina Shah—Journal of Health Law & Policy

rrshah3@central.uh.edu• Megan Smith—Business & Tax Law Journal

mesmith5@central.uh.edu• Jennifer Hopgood—Environmental & Energy Law Journal

jlhopgoo@central.uh.edu• Anne Mandola—Consumer & Commercial Law Journal

aemandol@central.uh.edu

What is the Write-On?

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

• Each write-on participant anonymously submits a 20-30 page casenote analyzing an assigned court decision.

Who is Eligible to Participate?

• Each journal has different requirements. Check each journal’s website for participation requirements.HLR –Top 30% of class.HJIL – Top 50% of class.HBTLJ – Finished first year.HJHLP – Finished first year.EELPJ – Finished first year.

Competition Dates

• Saturday, June 19, 2010, at 8:00 am.– Assigned case will be posted on the Competition

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

• Thursday, July 8, 2010, 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).

Winner Notification

• Week of July 12-16, 2010– Invitations extended to selected students.

• Selected students must respond to the journal of their choosing by Friday, July 23, 2010, 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.

What if you’re interested in more than one journal?• You must submit a separate copy of your

paper for each journal you are interested in.• Make sure to have all copies made and

ready to turn in to Student Services by 5:00 p.m. on July 8th!

• 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.

Getting Ready:

• Refer to EUGENE VOLOKH, VOLOKH’S ACADEMIC LEGAL WRITING: LAW REVIEW ARTICLES, STUDENT NOTES, SEMINAR PAPERS, AND GETTING ON LAW REVIEW (3d ed. 2007).

• Attend Professor Tabor’s Casenote Writing Workshop on June 12, 2010 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. in 211 TUII.

• 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• Research related case law • 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• Use your research to assist you in taking a unique

stance on that aspect through a strong thesis• Continue researching the issue—use cases, statutes,

books, and scholarly articles• 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.• Every verifiable statement must have a

footnote. The best footnotes have parentheticals.

Tips for Writing the Best Casenote

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

and argue it persuasively throughout.• Communicate your ideas efficiently.• 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.• Cite everything in proper Bluebook form and

use parentheticals explaining your authority. • Citation, citation, citation

Strategies for Success

• MAKE SURE you update your access to Westlaw or Lexis for the summer! Do it now!

• Limited timeframe—Start Early• Outline your thoughts early and often• Organization is Key • Check Bluebook Form• Proofread

Honor Code Rules

• All work must be your own.• You cannot share research.• Don’t discuss research, legal theories, cite

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.

For more detailed instruction on casenotes

• Attend Professor Tabor’s Casenote Writing Workshop!

• June 12, 2010, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., in 211 TUII.

• A packet of useful materials will be made available on the website as we get close to the competition start date.

Why should I bother?

• It’s not as bad as it sounds – really!

• Participating on a journal has lots of benefits.

• The more you write, the better you get.

Feeling Like This About the Write-On?

Take a Deep Breath...

• It is totally doable.• 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.

Any questions???www.houstonlawreview.org/about/write-on-competition