American Journal of Mediation

National Writing Competition

ANNOUNCING THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDIATION NATIONAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION WRITING COMPETITION – 2024

The American College of Civil Trial Mediators (ACCTM) is proud to announce the 2024 American Journal of Mediation National Dispute Resolution Writing Competition sponsored by the American College of Civil Trial Mediators. ACCTM is an association of dispute resolution professionals with substantial practice experience as mediators, arbitrators and conflict management neutrals. The ACCTM Journal is a nationally recognized publication dedicated to the growth and enhancement of dispute resolution professionals.

The College will award a $5,000 CASH PRIZE for FIRST PLACE and a $2,000 CASH PRIZE for SECOND PLACE, ranking submittals as determined by a panel of judges of ACCTM Fellows together with the Editorial Board of the Journal. Winning entries along with a selection of submissions separately chosen by the Judges will be published in the ACCTM Journal.

The competition is open to all North American JD and LLM law students enrolled as of December 15, 2023.

Subject matter focus for entries can embrace the full range of the alternative dispute resolution field– consensus-based dispute resolution (e.g., negotiation, mediation), adjudicative processes (e.g., early neutral evaluation, binding or non-binding arbitration and private judging), or mixed processes (e.g., arb-med, med-arb, high low arbitration, baseball arbitration). Papers can also focus on ADR process design, practice techniques, specific case studies, related legislation, and ethical dilemmas and standards for dispute resolution professionals.

Submittals will be judged on relevance, originality, writing quality and appropriate research supporting assertions and conclusions. Manuscripts must be the work of a single author. All judging will be “blind”—judges will not be provided information on the author’s identity or school. The Journal reserves the right not to award any prize and to reject any submission.

While there are no firm page limits, there is an expectation that submitted works will be between fifteen and thirty double spaced pages, including footnotes. The work should be presented in 12point Times New Roman font, on 8 ½ X 11-inch paper with one-inch margins. Footnotes may be single spaced and presented in accordance with The Blue Book: A Uniform System of Citation (20th Edition).

Entries are due no later than 11:59pm (EST) on December 15, 2024, and should be electronically submitted in Microsoft Word Format to:

Please include full name and contact information, along with law school affiliation and class.

American Journal of Mediation
American College of Civil Trial Mediators
C/O Sarah Evans, Journal Competition Administrator

Phone: 704-330-3726
Email: acctmjournalcontest@gmail.com