October 28, 2021 (Norman, OK). The PIABA Foundation, Inc. is pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 James E. Beckley Writing Competition. "Once again, the judges continue to be impressed with the quality of the writing and depth of understanding of the issues presented in the Competition submissions," said Robin Ringo, Director. "It is our honor to recognize the winning authors."
University of Nevada Law School student, Travis Studdard was awarded 1st Place and received a $1,000 stipend. Mr. Studdard was recognized as the first place recipient at the PIABA 30th Annual Meeting in Amelia Island, Flordia for his paper, Riling Up as Recommendation: How Commission-Free Brokerages Recommend Active Investing to the Public.
For his paper entitled, All or Nothing - Confining Materiality and Actionable Duties to Disclose: Why Item 303 Cannot Establish an Affirmative Duty to Disclose Under 10b-5, University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law student, Holden Branscum, finished second and received a $750 stipend.
The PIABA Foundation would like to acknowledge and thank the contest judging team for their contributions to the selection process: John Chapman (Ohio), Melanie Cherdack (Florida), Sara Hanley (Florida), Lance McCardle (Louisiana), and Philip Vujanov (Ohio). PIABA Bar Journal, Editor-in Chief, Jason Kueser, Lees Summit, Missouri, administered the contest.