The Theodore Tannenwald Writing Scholarship competition is named after the late Tax Court Judge Theodore Tannenwald, Jr., and designed to perpetuate his dedication to legal scholarship of the highest quality. The Competition is open to all full- or part-time law school students, undergraduate or graduate.
Eligibility Theodore Tannenwald Writing Scholarship
The Theodore Tannenwald Writing Scholarship is open to:
- Law students, undergraduate (J.D.) or graduate (L.L.M. or S.J.D.), enrolled full or part-time in a U.S. law school during the academic year; and
- Other students enrolled during such academic years in a U.S. law school tax course as part of an MBA or other non-law degree program.
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Topics
Submitted papers must focus primarily upon technical or policy-oriented tax issues relating to any type of existing or proposed U.S. federal or state tax or U.S. federal or state taxation system (including topics relating to tax practice ethical and professional responsibility matters).
The Theodore Tannenwald Writing Scholarship Submission Requirements
- Papers shall be 25 – 50 typewritten pages in length double-spaced (Times New Roman or Arial typeface), including footnotes and appendices (both of which may be single-spaced). 12 point font size shall be used for text and appendices; 10 point or 12 point font size may be used for footnotes. All margins (top, bottom and sides) shall be at least 1″. Same-page footnotes are strongly preferred instead of endnotes. Proper citation forms must be used.
- Papers submitted physically should be clipped or stapled; do not hole-punch or place in a binder.
- Papers written in connection with a law school course or seminar (including independent study and summer school courses) are eligible for the Competition.
- Papers based on research or other work done in connection with law firms or other employment are eligible for the Competition, as are papers evolving from moot court or legal clinic involvement. Any such papers, however, must be in the form of a scholarly article. Client-specific work products (e.g., briefs, legal memoranda, opinion letters, etc.) are not acceptable.
- Student papers submitted for publication in law reviews or other legal journals or periodicals, or for on-line publication, are eligible for the Competition, provided that the version submitted for the Competition shall not reflect any changes (substantive or editorial) made to the paper after submission of the manuscript for any such publication.
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Note
- No more than one paper may be submitted by the same student. Co-authored papers will not be accepted.
- Papers previously submitted to an earlier Competition may not be again submitted for a subsequent Competition unless (i) the paper has been revised to reflect the impact of one or more significant legislative, case law or administrative developments relevant to the subject matter of the paper; (ii) the paper is sponsored by the same or another law school professor; and (iii) all of the Competition Rules have otherwise been satisfied.
Faculty Sponsors
Each submitted paper must be sponsored by a law school professor.
- Consistent with normal levels of professor supervision with respect to student papers prepared for law school courses, the faculty sponsor may (i) assist the submitting student in selecting a topic; (ii) discuss outlines or drafts of the paper with the student; and (iii) offer suggestions with respect to organization and substantive content of the paper.
- The faculty sponsor shall furnish to the Foundation, along with each submitted paper, a signed letter or other written communication confirming that he or she reviewed the final draft of the paper and consents to being named as faculty sponsor of the paper.
- The same professor may serve annually as the faculty sponsor of no more than 5 papers submitted for the Competition.
Other Requirements
No more than 8 papers may be submitted by J.D. students from the same law school. If the school also has an L.L.M. or other graduate tax program, up to an additional 8 papers may be submitted by students in those programs.
- Where the number of students desiring to submit papers exceeds the permitted limits, the involved faculty sponsors shall coordinate regarding the selection of which papers to submit.
- If more than the permitted number of papers are received by the Foundation from the same school, only those papers up to the permitted number, as determined in the order received, will be accepted for the Competition.
Selection of Winners
Winning papers will be selected by the Foundation’s board of directors based on, among other factors;
- Depth and creativity of legal and tax analysis,
- Thoroughness of legal research,
- Organization and writing style,
- Difficulty of subject matter; and
- Consideration of tax policy implications.
Theodore Tannenwald Writing Scholarship Competition winners will be notified in the beginning of December, and an announcement of the winners will be sent to all entrants shortly thereafter.
Prizes for the Theodore Tannenwald Writing Scholarship
Cash prizes will be awarded as follows:
- Winning paper ($5,000),
- First runner-up ($2,500), and
- Second runner-up ($1,500).
Appropriate recognition will also be given to the faculty sponsors of winning papers. The Foundation may, in its discretion, decide to split prizes or award additional prizes.
Submission Deadline
All papers submitted for the competition must be received by the Foundation by no later than 9:00 p.m. EDT, July 10, 2023.
Please submit the original of each paper (but no additional copies) along with the signed faculty sponsor communication by email.
Email your submission to TannenwaldCompetition@gmail.com
You can also mail your submission to:
Tannenwald Writing Competition
ATTN: Genevieve Tokic
375 E Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
Cover Page Information
Each submitted paper shall have a cover page which includes:
- The title of the article,
- The name, law school and class, address, phone number and e-mail address of the submitting student; and
- The name, address, phone number and e-mail address of the faculty sponsor.
The title of the paper shall also appear on the first page of the paper, after the cover page; but the names of the student, faculty sponsor or their school should not appear in the paper text or footnotes of the paper.
Inquiries
Any inquiries regarding the Competition should be directed to Genevieve Tokic at genevieve.tokic@law.northwestern.edu