ACREL Law Student Writing Award

DESCRIPTION: The ACREL Law Student Writing Award is an annual award given by the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) (https://www.acrel.org/acrel/default.asp) to
the author(s) of a student-authored article relating to real property that is published, or accepted for publication, in a scholarly journal sponsored by a law school in the United States. The award is intended to recognize and encourage thoughtful student scholarship and excellent writing in the area of real property law or related topics.

ELIGIBILITY: The 2024 award competition is open to persons who are registered students at ABA-accredited law schools in the United States and its territories and possessions as of
December 31, 2024. To be eligible to participate in the 2024 competition, as of December 31, 2024, an entrant also must be 21 or over, and a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident of the
United States.

ENTRIES: Papers should address a topical issue of interest in real property law or related areas, including, for example, real estate aspects of financing, bankruptcy or environmental law.
Papers shall have been published, or accepted for publication, in a scholarly journal sponsored by an ABA-accredited law school in the United States and its territories and possessions within
calendar year 2024.

Eligibility determinations will be made by ACREL; all decisions regarding eligibility are final. A joint paper by two authors is acceptable, but each author must meet all criteria set forth above. Multiple submissions are acceptable; however, each author will only be eligible for one award. Each participant must certify that (a) the paper submitted is the author(s)'s work product without substantial editing by others (other than editing in the course of preparation for publication by the journal in which it was published or for which it has been accepted for publication), and (b) artificial intelligence tools were not used to generate text that is part of the submitted paper.

PAPER SPECIFICATIONS:

• Papers must be no fewer than 8,000 words and no more than 25,000 words.
• Unpublished papers must be submitted as a Word file formatted as 8-1/2" x 11", doublespaced, and using a 12-point font, including cited material and footnotes, and must be accompanied by evidence that the paper has been accepted for publication.
• Published papers may be submitted in the form as published, subject to the redaction requirement below.
• Unpublished papers may not include the author's name or any references to the author's identity. Such identifying information must be redacted from a published paper. Author information is to be included on the entry form only.
• Entries must be submitted with a brief (no more than 350 words) abstract.
• Entries must include a separate cover page that lists the title of the paper only.
• Artificial intelligence may not be used in the generation of text included within the paper (use of AI as a research or proofreading tool is acceptable).

ENTRY PROCEDURE: All participants must provide the information required on the submission form. Failure to provide any or all of the required information will result in the entry being
ineligible for consideration.

Participants must submit their competition entries, including the paper, in the format described above, and the submission form, by e-mail to Hailey Horch (hhorch@acrel.org). Failure to
submit both the paper and the completed submission form will result in the entry being ineligible for consideration.

All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on December 31, 2024.

JUDGING: The entries will be judged by an impartial panel of judges made up of Fellows of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. Entries will be judged based on the overall quality of the paper, including clarity of the theme or thesis presented, significance of the topic to the field, originality and creativity of topic treatment, quality of analysis, quality of research and authority provided, and technical quality of writing, including organization, grammar, syntax, and form.

SELECTION OF WINNERS AND PRIZES: Two winners (a First Place and a Second Place) will be selected and notified by February 18, 2025. The First-Place winner will receive an award of $2,000. The Second Place Winner will receive an award of $1,000. As a condition of receiving any cash award, winners must submit a completed IRS Form W-9. Winners are responsible for all taxes associated with receiving an award. The First Place Winner will also receive an invitation to attend the ACREL Spring Meeting in March 2025, with the cost of travel and lodging paid for by ACREL in accordance with ACREL's policies for travel reimbursement.

Judges may withhold some or all of the awards if the submissions are not of notable quality, in the opinion of the judges, which is within their sole and complete discretion.

GRANT OF RIGHT: By entering, each winner grants to ACREL the non-exclusive worldwide right to use the winner's name and likeness in connection with the competition without further
compensation.

LAWS AND REGULATIONS: This competition is governed by U.S. law and all relevant federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply. By entering, all participants agree that the
competition shall be governed by the laws of the State of Maryland and that any dispute relating to or arising from the competition shall be resolved by AAA arbitration, pursuant to the
Commercial Rules.

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION: By submitting an entry, each participant agrees to these rules and the decisions of ACREL and the judges, and releases and discharges ACREL, its
subsidiary and affiliated entities, and each of their respective officers, directors, members, employees, independent contractors, agents, representatives, successors, and assigns (collectively, the "Sponsor") from any and all liability whatsoever in connection with this competition, including without limitation legal claims, costs, injuries, losses or damages, demands or actions of any kind (including without limitation personal injuries, death, damage to, loss or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation, or portrayal in a false light) (collectively "Claims"). Except where prohibited, acceptance of a prize constitutes a release by any winner of the Sponsor from any and all Claims in connection with the administration of this competition and the use, misuse, or possession of any prize. Entries will not be acknowledged or returned. Sponsor is not responsible for errors or for lost, late, or misdirected mail or email, or telecommunication or hardware or software failures, including by reason of any bug or computer virus or other failure. Sponsor may cancel, modify, or terminate the competition if it is not capable of completion as planned, including by reason of infection by computer virus, tampering, unauthorized intervention, force majeure, or technical difficulties of any kind.

SPONSOR:          American College of Real Estate Lawyers
                              220 N Market Street, Suite 100
                              Frederick, MD 21701
                              Phone: (301) 816-9811
                              For additional information, please contact:
                              Julie Burgess (jaburgess@acrel.org)