Bloomberg Law Write-On Competition Guidelines
The Bloomberg Law Write-On Competition is open to students at American law schools that are legal residents of the United States and Canada and that have reached eighteen (18) years of age or the age of majority in the state, province or territory in which they reside. Bloomberg BNA will only accept as entries original articles, which have not been published elsewhere, that analyze trends or developments in the law. We will select up to 10 winning articles based on accuracy, depth of analysis, writing style, and usefulness of the article to our audience.
Winning articles, which are subject to editing, will be published as BNA Insights in one of the following current awareness publications:
1. US Law Week
2. Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal
3. Employment Discrimination Report
4. Health Law Report
5. Corporate Law & Accountability Report
6. Daily Environment Report
7. Criminal Law Report
8. Privacy & Security Law Report
9. Securities Regulation & Law Report
10. Daily Tax Report
Style Considerations
The articles should aim to educate the audience with an objective, even-handed approach, analyzing the selected issue from all sides. Winning entries will be selected by Managing Editors at Bloomberg BNA based on clarity, depth of analysis, accuracy and the overall value to readers. Editors will be looking for submissions that go beyond a simple recitation of a court holding or recapping of an event. Additionally, articles will be judged on their adherence to the contest guidelines, including word count limitations, adoption of Bloomberg BNA style, and originality. In most cases, articles should not advocate a
particular position, like in a legal brief or an opinion piece. Note that there is one exception to this “no-advocacy” rule, and that is outlined in the sample topic below for possible publication in U.S. Law Week. Practice tips are prized by our readers, and should be included if appropriate to the topic.
Articles should be written in Word, and the word count per article should be between 1,000 and 1,600 words. One article per topic is permitted. If more than one (1) article with respect to a single topic is submitted by the same person, then only the first eligible article will be considered. Participants may submit more than one entry on different topics. Articles should include at least one citation to Bloomberg Law. Also, all citations should be to Bloomberg Law or the Federal Reporters, rather than Westlaw or Lexis. Authors should also seek to include citations in the body of the text and limit the use of footnotes, since footnotes can be hard to read with our format. We generally cite a case only on first
reference and do not use “Id.” or pinpoint cites. This helps with readability.
Also keep in mind that many readers are viewing our content on their mobile devices. Long, dense paragraphs that fill up an entire screen can be difficult to read.
Article Submission
Articles should be submitted by February 17, 2016 via email to writeonsubmissions@bna.com. Please put in the subject line the name of the applicable law report that your submission relates to. Please also include your name, address, phone number and email address so that we can contact you if your article is selected as the winning entry.
For the winning entries, we will request a short author bio and a head shot in either gif or jpeg format. Winning entries will be announced on or before March 18, 2016 on
www.bna.com/writeoncompetition and www.bna.com/writeoncompetition and winners will also be contacted directly. As a prerequisite for publication, we also will require the winning authors to sign our standard outside author agreement giving Bloomberg BNA the rights to the article, with some ability for the author to reproduce the article for certain purposes.
Participation
NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT IS NECESSARY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BLOOMBERG LAW WRITE-ON COMPETITION. By participating in the Bloomberg Law Write-On Competition each entrant represents and warrants that:
(i) his/her article is original to the entrant, and all right, title and interest (including but
not limited to copyright) therein and thereto is exclusively owned and/or controlled by the entrant to the full extent necessary to enable Bloomberg BNA to use the article as contemplated herein;
(ii) the article does not contain any material that is libelous, defamatory, profane or obscene, as determined by Bloomberg BNA in its sole discretion; (iii) the article does not infringe upon or misappropriate or violate the intellectual property or other statutory or common law rights of any third party (including but not limited to copyright, trademark, publicity or privacy rights); and
(iv) use of the article shall not require consent or permission from or payment to any third party.
Eligibility
Corporations and other organizations are not eligible to participate in the Bloomberg Law Write-On Competition. Also ineligible are any employees, officers, directors, members, partners, consultants or agents of Bloomberg BNA, and its parent, subsidiaries, or affiliates, any other person who directly or indirectly controls or is controlled by any of these parties, or any of their family or household members. Winners must meet all eligibility requirements. Bloomberg BNA shall not be liable to ineligible contestants. Each contestant represents and warrants that he/she has full eligibility to participate in the Bloomberg Law Write-On Competition. Bloomberg BNA reserves the right to request proof that contestants have met the eligibility requirements.
Bloomberg BNA reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to immediately disqualify, without notice, any and all entries that do not comply with any of the rules or requirements set forth herein, as determined in Bloomberg BNA’s sole discretion. No communication or correspondence will be exchanged with entrants except with the entrants selected for a prize.
Winner
Bloomberg BNA shall attempt to notify the potential winner via the contact information provided on or before March 18, 2016. In order to be declared a winner, the selected entrant must:
(i) execute, notarize and return an Affidavit of Eligibility/Prize Acceptance/Liability;
(ii) execute Bloomberg BNA’s standard outside author agreement and
(iii) otherwise fully comply with all rules and requirements set forth herein.
In the event a selected contestant does not meet one of these criteria within the timeframe(s) mandated by Bloomberg BNA, another winner may be selected by Bloomberg BNA. The names of the winners will be available at www.bna.com/writeoncompetition or may be obtained by sending a written request to: The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 1801 South Bell Street, Arlington, VA
22202; Attention: Noelle Petruzelli-Marino.
Liability
BLOOMBERG BNA IS NOT RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR INCORRECT OR INACCURATE INFORMATION, WHETHER CAUSED BY AN ENTRANT, EQUIPMENT OR PROGRAMMING UTILIZED IN THE BLOOMBERG LAW WRITE-ON COMPETITION OR TECHNICAL OR HUMAN ERROR IN PROCESSING SUBMISSIONS.
BLOOMBERG BNA DISCLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR:
(I) THE ACCURACY, AVAILABILITY OR TIMELINESS OF INFORMATION PUBLISHED ABOUT THE BLOOMBERG LAW WRITE-ON COMPETITION;
(II) ANY ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DELETION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, COMMUNICATIONS LINE FAILURE, THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OR ACCESS TO, OR ALTERATION OF ENTRIES;
(III) LATE, LOST, DELAYED, DAMAGED, MISDIRECTED, INCOMPLETE,
ILLEGIBLE OR UNINTELLIGIBLE ENTRIES;
(IV) ANY INJURIES, LOSSES OR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND CAUSED BY A PRIZE OR RESULTING FROM ACCEPTANCE, POSSESSION, USE OR MISUSE OF A PRIZE, OR FROM PARTICIPATION IN THE BLOOMBERG LAW WRITE-ON COMPETITION;
(V) PRINTING OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS IN THE BLOOMBERG LAW WRITE-ON COMPETITION MATERIALS; OR
(VI) PROBLEMS OR TECHNICAL MALFUNCTIONS OF TELEPHONE NETWORKS OR LINES, COMPUTER ONLINE SYSTEMS, SERVERS OR PROVIDERS, COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, SOFTWARE OR INTERNET CONGESTION.
IF, FOR ANY REASON, THE BLOOMBERG LAW WRITE-ON COMPETITION CANNOT BE RUN AS PLANNED, INCLUDING AS A RESULT OF INFECTION BY COMPUTER VIRUS, BUGS, TAMPERING, UNAUTHORIZED INTERVENTION, FRAUD, TECHNICAL FAILURE OR ANY OTHER CAUSE THAT CORRUPTS OR AFFECTS THE
ADMINISTRATION, SECURITY, FAIRNESS, INTEGRITY OR PROPER CONDUCT OF THE BLOOMBERG LAW WRITE-ON COMPETITION, SPONSOR MAY CANCEL, TERMINATE, MODIFY OR SUSPEND THE CONTEST. IF BLOOMBERG BNA IS UNABLE FOR ANY REASON TO AWARD A PRIZE AS DESCRIBED, BLOOMBERG
BNA MAY SUBSTITUTE A SIMILAR PRIZE OF APPROXIMATELY THE SAME VALUE.
Release
Each contestant releases and agrees to hold harmless, to the extent permitted by applicable law, Bloomberg BNA and its subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees, representatives and agents from liability for claims, costs, injuries, losses or damages arising out of or in connection with the Bloomberg Law Write-On Competition or acceptance, possession or use of a Prize (including, without limitation, related to personal injury, death, damage to or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation or portrayal in a false light, whether intentional or unintentional), whether under contract, tort, warranty or other theory. Bloomberg BNA expressly disclaims any and all responsibility or liability for injury or loss to any person or property relating to the Bloomberg Law Write-On Competition and the delivery or use of the Prize.
Conditions
Each contestant agrees to be bound by the rules and requirements set forth herein and Bloomberg BNA’s judges’ decisions, which are final and binding in all respects. Articles will not be returned to entrants. Entrants are responsible for all costs associated with participation in the Bloomberg Law Write-On Competition, including but not limited to computer equipment and internet connection charges. By participating in the Bloomberg Law Write-On Competition, contestants consent to Bloomberg BNA and its parent, subsidiaries and affiliates using any submitted entries, including names, addresses and likenesses, for the purposes of administering the Bloomberg Law Write-On Competition,
fulfilling the objectives of the Bloomberg Law Write-On Competition, for so long as is necessary to fulfill the objectives of the Bloomberg Law Write-On Competition, conducting publicity, improving Bloomberg BNA’s services, and distributing marketing, and contestants consent to the transfer or export, if any, of the entries, for these purposes. Any portion of a Prize not accepted by a winner will be forfeited. Bloomberg BNA reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to refuse entry of or disqualify any individual it finds to be: tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Bloomberg Law Write-On
Competition; acting in violation of the rules and requirements set forth herein; or acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY A CONTESTANT OR OTHER PERSON TO UNDERMINE THE OPERATION OF THE BLOOMBERG LAW WRITE-ON COMPETITION OR COMMIT ANY ACT OF FRAUD MAY VIOLATE APPLICABLE CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS. BLOOMBERG BNA RESERVES THE RIGHT TO
DISQUALIFY ANY SUCH CONTESTANT AND SEEK REMEDIES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
General Terms
The Bloomberg Law Write-On Competition may not be used in connection with any form of gambling. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. The Bloomberg Law Write-On Competition shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Virginia without regard to rules governing conflicts of law. All contestants and their heirs and assigns consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Arlington, Virginia for all legal proceedings relating to the Bloomberg Law Write-On Competition and waive any objection to propriety
or convenience of venue in such courts. Contestants agree to use any materials or information procured as part of the Bloomberg Law Write-On Competition only for contest purposes, as described herein, and not for any commercial purpose.
Cancellation; Postponement
Bloomberg BNA reserves the right to cancel, postpone or suspend the Bloomberg Law Write-On Competition for any reason whatsoever. In the event the Bloomberg Law Write-On Competition is cancelled, postponed or suspended, notification will be posted by Bloomberg BNA at www.bna.com/writeoncompetition.