Eligibility requirements:

Only students enrolled in law school through the end of the current school year (2009-2010) will be eligible to participate.

Entrants’ papers must have been either submitted for publication in a student publication, or prepared as course work in connection with a course at law school. Entrants’ papers need not have been actually published.

Papers that have been submitted to professional or for-profit publications will be ineligible.

All papers must be the original work of an individual student, although normal comment and guidance by law school faculty and journal editors is permitted. Joint papers are not eligible for the award.

Paper subject and focus:

The principal subject of the submitted paper must be federal civil practice and procedure, including the civil jurisdiction and venue rules of the federal courts. Submissions on the topics of federal courts management, federal appellate procedure, and alternative dispute resolution will also be acceptable. However, papers that deal primarily with criminal procedure will not be acceptable.

Papers focusing on the procedural aspects of certain types of substantive federal litigation are acceptable. For example, LexisNexis will accept an article on the scope of permissible discovery in an employment discrimination case, so long as the article focuses on interpretation of the applicable procedural rules. Papers on purely substantive issues that may arise in federal litigation (e.g., the scope of a particular defense to an antitrust action) are not eligible.

By submitting a paper for the James William Moore Federal Practice Award, the entrant and the law review grant to LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc., and its parents and its and their affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively “LexisNexis”) the right to hyperlink from a LexisNexis web site page to the paper.

By submitting a paper to LexisNexis pursuant to this James William Moore Federal Practice Award the entrant and law review or journal hereby expressly consents to the terms and conditions contained herein.

Format requirements:

All papers should follow the citation form set out in the Eighteenth Edition of A Uniform System of Citation (“The Harvard Bluebook”). Papers should be double-spaced (footnotes single-spaced), presented on one side of 8-1/2 x 11-inch paper. Times New Roman, 12-point, is the preferred font for both footnotes and text.

Submitted papers should be a minimum of 20 pages when formatted as indicated above.

One electronic copy and six paper copies of each paper should be submitted. Electronic copies should be submitted on a CD-ROM.

Judging standards:

Factors considered in the judging of papers will include:

  • Quality of writing, including style and organization
  • Thoroughness of research
  • Persuasiveness of the argument made in support of the author’s hypothesis
  • The extent to which the article will assist the legal community in understanding a difficult issue of federal practice and procedure
  • The significance to federal litigators of the issues addressed

The decision of the judges will be final and binding.

Winner:

One entrant submitting a paper will be selected based upon the Judging standards set forth above by the Board of Editors for Moore’s Federal Practice on or about October 1, 2010. The name of the entrant winner will be announced within 30 days after the selection date, provided that the selected individual meets all qualifications and eligibility criteria.

Except where prohibited by law, entry and/or acceptance of the award by the winner constitutes permission for LexisNexis to use, without further compensation, worldwide, for advertising/publicity purposes worldwide and in any and all forms of media, now known and hereafter devised, including without limitation online, entrant winner's name, address (city and state), photo, likeness, voice, biographical information, and statements.

Prize:

The entrant whose paper is selected will receive (a) a cash prize of $2,000 and (b) a four-volume set of Moore's Federal Rules Pamphlets (total approx. retail value: $350). In addition the winning entrant’s law review or journal will receive $1,000. If applicable, all Federal, state and local taxes, and all income and any other taxes, fees and surcharges will be the sole responsibility of the entrant winner and law review.

Sponsor of this James William Moore Federal Practice Award is: LexisNexis®, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.

LexisNexis and the Knowledge Burst logo are registered trademarks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used under license. Matthew Bender is a registered trademark of Matthew Bender Properties Inc. Moore's Federal Practice is a registered trademark of Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. Copyright 2010 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.