Description:

The AALA Law Student Poster Contest is an opportunity for students interested in agricultural law to demonstrate their understanding of an agricultural law topic and their ability to relate that understanding to an audience of professionals from private practice, governmental agencies, and academia.  This year, the Contest will involve an abstract of the poster, a video presentation of the poster’s content, and an interactive display of the poster during the AALA Annual Symposium’s welcome reception.

Guidelines:

• Eligibility:

Any student enrolled at an ABA-accredited law school as of the contest submission deadline date (October 1, 2015) may enter.

• Registration:

To register, simply email Shannon L. Ferrell (shannon.l.ferrell@okstate.edu) with a message indicating your intention to compete, topics and source material.

• Content:

Posters should be based on original written research students have completed individually in the form of a legal research and writing course assignment, previously unpublished submissions to law journals / reviews, popular press articles, etc.  Teams are allowed if all members have contributed to the research.  While the research presented may be supervised by a faculty member providing guidance and input, all substantive work on the project should be the work of the contestant(s) alone.

A copy of the original research product (article, paper, etc.) should be available for viewing during the poster display time, though it will not factor into the contestant’s score.

Any legal topic that is directly or indirectly related to agricultural law is acceptable.

No proof of submission or grading of the papers is required, as we realize that students may be attempting to publish their article or are currently enrolled in the related course.

• Abstracts:

Contestants will submit an abstract summarizing the research presented in the poster.  The abstract may be no more than 500 words.

• Posters:

Posters should be no larger than 36”inches in height by 48” inches wide. It is recommended that students have their posters printed/laminated and stored in a tube for transportation purposes.

Posters should be of suitable weight and construction that they can be affixed directly to a wall with non-damaging tape or clipped to a presentation easel depending on the needs of the conference facility.

• Video presentations:

Students submitting a poster should record a video presentation of their poster topic five minutes or less in length for submission to the contest judges.  Additional guidelines for video submissions will be provided at a later date.

• Live presentations:

The posters will be displayed during the welcome reception of the 2015 AALA Annual Symposium.  Contestants will engage with the conference attendees to present their posters and interact with conference attendees, which will include the contest judges (who will not be identified).  Conference attendees will also have the opportunity to vote for a “people’s choice award” recipient.

• Prizes:

Prizes will be awarded to first place and honorable mention.  Specific prizes/values will be announced at a later date.

• Scoring Rubric:

Scoring will be based on a ranking of 1-5 in different categories, with the highest combined score at the end of judging winning the contest. Prizes will be awarded accordingly for first prize and honorable mention.

Contestants will be scored on:

The complexity of the legal issue

The clarity and accuracy of how the legal issue is presented

The novelty of the legal issue or solution presented/argument made

Creativity in design and presentation of the poster

The neatness of their display/design

Professionalism in personal interactions and video production