DEADLINE EXTENDED – Don’t miss this potential opportunity to be published and noticed!
Writing Competition – Construction – Contracts – Employment
The Construction Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association invites all 2L’s and 3L’s to showcase their writing skills and compete for two prizes, awarded to the best submission on this year’s topic. The goal is to encourage students to explore the practice of construction law and its connection to other practice areas.
First Place: $1,000
Second Place: $500
The submissions deadline is extended. Submissions are now due by Monday, November 30th. Send submissions to Abby Ward, MSBA Section Manager, by email at: award@mnbars.org.
Winners will be advised in January 2020 and will be recognized at the Construction Law Section Mini Symposium on January 14, 2020, at 3:00 p.m., via Zoom. The winning submission will also be considered for publication in a future issue of Bench and Bar, the magazine of the MSBA.
Good luck!
WRITING TOPIC:
For this year’s writing topic, please explore the implications of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on construction law in 1,000 words or less as follows:
The challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic are unprecedented, and the construction industry in particular has been and will be impacted in ways that are immediately being felt, and in ways that are as yet unknown, including in the following areas:
- Employment: site safety and liability; workforce planning (including furloughs and layoffs)
- Contracts: interpretation or enforcement of specific contract clauses (force majeure, liquidated damages, termination/suspension); types of industry players involved (material suppliers, contractors, owners)
- Project funding and development: lending sources; types of projects being funded or defunded
- Finance: overall industry financial health and legal impacts; bankruptcy; fraud; availability of stimulus resources
- Insurance: coverage issues (business interruption coverage, exposure coverage); worksite exposure
For your submission, consider the impacts in one (1) of the above areas. Please research and cite to at least 3 appropriate sources, including case law, statutes, construction industry publications and form contracts, local ordinances, pending legislation, and other reputable sources. The best submissions will identify a particular effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and examine its potential implications for stakeholders in the construction industry.