The first article competition to be run by the SCL AI Group, open to trainees and other junior lawyers (including students). Submit your article on a topic concerning the intersection of artificial intelligence and law for a chance to be published in the SCL’s Computers & Law magazine and on the SCL’s website.
Article topics
Entrants should write an article on one of the three topics:
- The most transformative changes in legal practice that will arise from the use of AI in the next 10 years;
- The ability of AI to increase access to justice; and
- The liability of autonomous systems.
The prize
• £500 of training credits to spend with SCL*
• Publication in the SCL’s Computers & Law magazine and on the SCL’s website
The judges may, in their discretion, in addition to declaring a winner, formally award one or more other articles the title ‘Highly Commended’.
Who can enter
• Trainee solicitors;
• Solicitor apprentices;
• Pupil barristers;
• Students currently undertaking, or who have completed in the last 12 months, a law degree (undergraduate or post-graduate), GDL, LPC or SQE (or any equivalent legal course/training).
Length of article
The length of your article should not exceed 1,500 words (excluding any footnotes and the title).
Deadline for submission
Submissions must be entered by 5:00pm (UK time) on Friday, 6 December 2024.
Article requirements
- Your article must be your original work and not previously published, or submitted for publication, elsewhere.
- Entrants are permitted to use AI tools, but use of AI tools must be disclosed (including the extent and nature) when submitting your entry.
- No jointly authored papers are permitted.
- You may only submit one entry.
- Your essay must be in English.
How to submit your essay
You must send your submissions as a PDF file by email to hello@scl.org to be received by 5:00pm (UK time) on Friday, 6 December 2024. Your covering email must set out your name, contact details, and a brief explanation of the basis on which you are entitled to enter the competition, e.g. ‘current LPC student’.
Copyright and publicity
You retain copyright ownership in your article. You agree to your work being compared against electronic sources by automatic means, and other plagiarism checks the SCL considers appropriate. If you win, you grant to the SCL the non-exclusive right to publish the article, in print and electronically, in SCL publications, and you agree not to publish your article elsewhere before 1 March 2025. You agree to make any pre-publication editorial modifications to the winning entry that are required by the editor of Computers & Law for this purpose.
If you are the winner or your article is “Highly Commended”, you grant SCL the right to publish your name, the basis for your entry into the competition and the details of your article.
How and when will the result be announced
The result of the competition will be announced in early 2025 and on the SCL’s website. The prize will be awarded only if, in the opinion of the judges, the standard of entries merits the award.
The judges
The judging panel will consist of members of the SCL’s AI Group Committee, in addition to David Chaplin, Editor of Computers & Law.
The winning submission(s) will be selected from a shortlist by SCL President, Professor Richard Susskind OBE KC (Hon).
All entries will be anonymised before submission to the judges. The decision of SCL as to the interpretation of these rules and the awarding of the prize (and as to whether any prize is to be awarded) is final and no correspondence or discussions regarding its decision will be entered into.
*No cash equivalent available if the credits are not spent on training