Halloween is over, and students are busy at work on outlines, preparing for the upcoming exam period. As always, there are many opportunities to hear distinguished speakers at Wayne Law on issues of local, national and international importance. This is one of the many advantages of pursuing your degree here at Wayne Law. Look at the Wayne Law website and information boards frequently to be sure you are aware of upcoming events—they are impressive.

Thanks to all of you who attended the Master’s Thesis Workshop on Friday, October 30th, for making it another stellar workshop afternoon, and special thanks to our Director of Legal Research and Writing, Anne Burr, and Director of the Wayne Law Library, Virginia Thomas, for sharing their insights about the process of research, topic selection, thesis honing, and drafting a scholarly paper. As mentioned at the workshop, we’d appreciate participants letting us know what parts of the workshop were most (or least) helpful or any other comments you may have. For those who did not attend this year, watch for the announcement of the schedule for the annual workshop next fall. Remember that attendance at a full session of the workshop is mandatory as part of the Master’s Thesis requirement.

Many LLM students may be interested in participating in one of the annual writing competitions sponsored by various bar associations. We will post notices of these competitions here as we receive them. Deadlines are often fairly early in the winter term, so be on the watch, so that you can take advantage of this opportunity to showcase your scholarly acumen, add to your resume, and perhaps win a significant monetary prize. The following is an excerpt from the announcement from the Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation regarding its annual writing competition for original papers on federal taxation by full-time LLM (or JD) students.

Papers must be a minimum of twenty pages and a maximum of thirty pages (double spaced, twelve point font, and one-inch margins) and must be postmarked or e-mailed by January 15, 2010. Additionally, each student must sign and return the attached warranty (a .pdf copy by e-mail is acceptable). If mailing submissions, please use the following address:

Federal Bar Association
Section on Taxation
Attn: Writing Competition
1220 N. Fillmore Street, Suite 444
Arlington, VA 22201

If e-mailing submissions, please e-mail to Adrienne Woolley at awoolley@fedbar.org, with the subject line “Writing Competition.”

Two winning papers will be selected by the Officers of the Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation.

The author of the First Place paper will receive:
(i) A $2,000 cash prize; and
(ii) A trip to the FBA’s Annual Tax Law Conference in Washington, DC, on March 5, 2010 (value not to exceed $700), where the First Place winner will be presented with a Commemorative Plaque and complimentary one-year membership in the Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation

The author of the Second Place paper will receive:
(i) A $1,000 cash prize; and
(ii) A Commemorative Plaque and complimentary one-year membership in the Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation;

Both the First Place and Second Place papers may be published in the Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation Report.