“How have recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings on civil lawsuit pleading standards impacted litigation, and what are the potential implications of congressional efforts to repeal those judicial decisions?”

In Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 1950 (2009) and Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 127 S. Ct. 1955 (2007), the U.S. Supreme Court issued rulings which clarified its interpretation of the standards of particularity that plaintiffs must meet when crafting civil litigation complaints. Federal legislation, such as The Notice Pleading Restoration Act of 2009, S.1504, is being considered to overturn these decisions. Explain the Court's rulings in the two cases; assess case analysis of lower court decisions to see what impact the rulings have had, and examine the effect the repeal of Iqbal and Twombly would have on the civil litigation environment.

Eligibility. Any law student enrolled in a part-time or full-time J.D. program from an ABA accredited law school as of May 1, 2010, may participate.

Length. Essays should contain no more than 2400 words, including citations, title, and cover page information. (Papers exceeding 2400 words will not be read.) There is no minimum word requirement.

Format. Essays should be typed in Times New Roman, size 12 font, and double-spaced on 8 ½ x 11 paper. Essays should be saved as Microsoft Word documents or PDFs.

Submission. No student may submit more than one essay. Papers cannot be jointly authored.

Cover Page. The author's information should ONLY appear on the cover page (the body of the essay cannot include the author's information for fair judging purposes).

Please use the following format:

Citations. Citations must be in footnote format and be in accordance with the rules of The Bluebook, A Uniform System of Citation, Eighteenth Edition.

Due Date. Essays must be submitted electronically by 5:00 PM EST on Friday, August 27, 2010 to contest@wlf.org. You will receive an automatic receipt of confirmation upon completion.

Judges. Essays will be scored separately by senior members of WLF's Legal Studies and Litigation Divisions.

Scoring. The following criteria will be considered when grading the essay:

• Presents a clear, precise, well-written paper and a high quality of citations
• Delivers the requisite substantive information
• Accurately analyzes the relevant law and uses a thorough legal analysis
• Argues persuasively, with reference to relevant law and facts

For an example of WLF's LEGAL BACKGROUNDER please refer to:
Orrin L. Harrison III and J. Carl Cecere Jr., "Anti-Steering" Insurance Laws: State Censorship Of Consumer Information Treads On First Amendment Rights," February 26, 2010.

Winning Essays. The winning essay will be published by WLF and widely distributed to federal and state judges; electronic and print media reporters; state attorneys general; attorneys practicing in the respective field, both in private and corporate practice, as well as influential academics. The winner will be provided with a letter from the President of WLF to his or her law school Dean.

Announcement of Winning Essays. The winning essay will be announced on October 1, 2010.

Academic Honesty. Entries must be original, unpublished work. The essay must be the work of the submitting student without substantial editorial input from others. All references and quotations from other papers must be cited. Any form of plagiarism will be reported to the student's law school. WLF retains publishing rights on winning essays.