OPPORTUNITIES FOR LAW STUDENTS AND LAWYERS IN FEBRUARY 2021

COMPETITIONS/CONTESTS

1. NIMASA World Maritime Day Essay Competition 2021

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is organizing an essay competition to commemorate the 2020 World Maritime Day. This essay competition is designed to create awareness about the tremendous opportunities that abound in the maritime sector and engender the interest of Nigerian youths to pursue careers in it.

The theme for this year’s World Maritime Day Essay Competition is “Sustainable Shipping for a Sustainable Planet.”

Modalities

1. The competition is open only to Year 1 and Year 2 of Nigerian Tertiary institutions.
2. Participants are required to scan bona fide proof of studentship alongside their essays. This can include admission letters and identity cards from the institution.
3. Essays should be sent to both wmdessay@nimasa.gov.ng and mail@samuelson.com.ng.
4. Essays should be a maximum of 1200 words (+/- 10%). Essays should be typed in MS Word format with font size 12 and double spacing formatting.
5. Plagiarism will not be accepted.
6. Candidates should end their essays with their names, telephone numbers and email addresses.
7. Essays that do not follow the guidelines will be disqualified.
8. Only successful participants will be contacted.
9. The competition is open between Friday, January 29th to Thursday, February 18th, 2021. Essays submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
10. Winners will be notified within two weeks after the deadline.
11. Prizes and awards will be presented at a date to be announced.

Prizes

1st Position: ₦500,000 Educational Grant plus a laptop & a plaque + Publication of the winning essay in NIMASA’s magazine, The Voyage & the NIMASA website

2nd Position: ₦350,000 Educational Grant + a laptop & a plaque

3rd Position: ₦250,000 Educational Grant + a laptop & a plaque

4th to 10th positions: Consolation awards of ₦100,000 Educational Grant & a plaque each

2. LAWTERACT Annual Essay Competition 2021

LAWTERACT is pleased to announce the third edition of its annual essay competition. LAWTERACT Essay competition calls on Nigerian students to contribute to knowledge on International Law. The theme for this year’s contest is “Resolving Conflicting Treaty-based International Obligations”

Modalities

1. The competition is open to postgraduate and undergraduate students of Law, Political Science and International Relations/Studies of Nigerian Universities.
2. Candidates submissions must conform to the following rules:
3. Only font 12, 1.5 line spacing, Times New Roman fonts are acceptable
4. Maximum of 3500 words duly referenced with footnotes
5. All documents must be typeset and converted to PDF Format
6. All submissions must contain an  abstract of  not less than 150 words and a succinct but detailed conclusion
7. Other than the submissions itself, no additional information such as age, watermarks, designs etc. should be placed on the essay submissions.
8. All submissions by candidates who have completed their essays are to be uploaded through the relevant channel provided on this page.
9. Submissions/Entries to be attached are to be saved in the names of candidates with surnames appearing first.
10. Essays to uploaded are to be in (PDF Format Only). Also, the picture of the candidate should be attached in the column titled ‘Candidate Image’.
11. After attaching/choosing the desired entry/completed essay from your device. The document will be automatically attached.
12. Successful submissions will receive an automatically generated mail in their email address supplied.
13. Entries start only 12:00 am on the 13th of February and ends 11:59 pm 16th of March 2021
14. Final year students who are haven’t convoked before the 16th of March are eligible to participate.
15. All essays must be original, factual and up to date and will be checked for plagiarism.
16. Essays shall be read, judged and graded by independents panellists carefully chosen by the Administrators.
17. Announcement of the top 5 Essays will be duly communicated via email submitted while their pictures and profiles would be posted on our different social media handles.
18. Top prize winners shall be reached out to and their accounts credited accordingly on the 1st of April, 2020
19. As an additional incentive, the essays of the top 10 candidates will be published in the Journal of Advanced Public International Law.
20. In the interim, you are advised to get acquainted with the other features, functions and services that LAWTERACT offers.
21. Visit http://lawteract.com.ng/submit-essay/ to submit your entry for the essay competition.

Prizes

1st position: ₦100,000

2nd Position: ₦70,000

3rd Position: ₦50,000

4th and 5th Position: ₦10,000 each

3. The Oyemaja Fellowship Challenge

The Oyemaja Fellowship Challenge is an initiative of the Oyemaja Foundation. The competition seeks to have Nigerian students proffer innovative solutions to the challenges bedeviling Nigeria’s tertiary education system.

Modalities

In 100 words or less, write what you feel is the biggest challenge to Nigeria’s University Education. Post your entry as an image/screenshot on your Instagram page.

Tag The Oyemaja Foundation (@theoyemajafoundation ) on your Instagram post.

Follow The Oyemaja Foundation (@theoyemajafoundation ) on Instagram

Use hashtag #theoyemajafellowship in your post

Competition is open only to students currently enrolled in Nigerian universities. Shortlisted students for the 2nd Round will be required to show proof of studentship.

The Deadline for participation is the 28th February, 2021.

Prizes

Winner: ₦100,000

Runner-Up: ₦50,000

4. SimmonsCooper Advocacy Development 2021

The SCAD is an initiative of SimmonsCooper Partners, a leading law firm in Nigeria. The bi-annual Advocacy contest usually involves an extensive brief-writing stage and an oral presentation round. It is open to undergraduate law students and law school students.

Interested law students are to download the Dispute Scenario from the SCAD Website, The top 10 candidates from the Brief Writing Stage will move on to the Oral Presentation at a time to be announced.

Deadline for submission of briefs is the 31st of March, 2021.

Prizes

1st Position: ₦1,000,000 + Internship at SimmonsCooper Partners

2nd Position: ₦500,000 + Internship at SimmonsCooper Partners

3rd Position: ₦250,000 + Internship at SimmonsCooper Partners

4th – 10th Position: ₦50,000 each

5. Olumide Babalola National Data Protection Essay Competition

The Obafemi Awolowo Law Students’ Society presents the Olumide Babalola National Data Protection Essay Competition. The theme of the Essay competition is Building an Effective System for Enforcement of Data Protection Rights in Nigeria: The Setbacks and Way Forward.

Modalities

1. Applicants must be a student in an accredited faculty of law in a Nigerian University.
2. Applicants are required to write a 1500-word essay on the essay theme. Applicants are advised not to exceed the stipulated word count (endnotes are excluded from the word count)
3. Applicants are advised not to make their names appear on their submissions as they will receive a unique registration number.
4. To get their unique ID number, candidates are expected to contact representatives of the competition as shown in the flyer. This unique registration number qualifies interested applicants to participate in the competition.
5. Entires are to submitted typed, in English language and following the Times New Romans font size 12 and double spacing formatting style.
6. Plagiarism will result in an automatic disqualification.
7. Entries are to be submitted to olumidebabalolaessay@gmail.com
8. The deadline for submission is March 4, 2021.

Prizes

1st Position: ₦100,000

2nd Position: ₦70,000

3rd Position: ₦50,000

Internships, Fellowships, and Job Opportunities

1. IMF Fund Internship – Legal Department

Every year, the International Monetary Fund accepts summer interns. These interns gain an insider’s view of the member-country-focused mandate and critical international work of the IMF. Interns also get to opportunity to build professional networks while applying their research and analytical skills to help the IMF explore questions of real importance to member countries and to global economic stability.

Whether you see a future for yourself in international organizations or are simply curious about policy and operational work, this is an ideal opportunity to familiarize yourself with both while leveraging your cutting-edge skills and expanding your research experience.

The IMF recruits for the FIP on a global basis with approximately 50 students from around the world joining us each year at IMF headquarters in Washington, D.C. These paid internships take place between June and October and run for 10 to 12 weeks.

You will work closely with an experienced IMF colleague on a current issue or research question of importance to our members. The results of your work may be presented to IMF staff at the end of your internship, and many of IMF former interns have had their work published by the IMF.

To apply for the IMF Fund Internship Programme, you must be:

• Within one to two years of completing an LLM, J.D, or equivalent advanced degree in law
• Below the age of 32 at the commencement of the internship

To apply, visit the application portal, complete the fields and enter 1800904 in the field titled “Job Number” to begin the process.

2. World Intellectual Property Organization Internships

The WIPO Internship Program provides an opportunity for interns to complement their educational experience and to develop their professional skills and experience through participation in work in an international context. WIPO also benefits from the contributions of interns, who bring fresh perspectives and knowledge of the latest research in their specialist fields.

Requirements

1. Internship positions are available to the following set of people.

Category I:

(a) Individuals pursuing a first-level university degree who are in their third or fourth year of study and/or need to complete an internship as part of their degree requirements; or

(b) Individuals who have obtained their first-level university degree less than two years from the date of the internship application; or

(c) Individuals pursuing an advanced university degree who have neither completed the coursework nor the final thesis.

The length of Category I internships shall be between three to six months. Interns in Category I shall receive a monthly stipend of 1,570 Swiss francs including local transportation allowance.

Category II:

(a) Individuals pursuing their advanced university degree who have completed their coursework but not the final thesis; or

(b) Individuals who have obtained their most recent advanced university degree less than two years from the date of the internship application.

(c) Individuals who obtained an advanced university degree more than two years ago, and are currently enrolled in subsequent post-graduate studies.

The length of Category II internships shall be between three and twelve months. This category of interns shall receive a monthly stipend of 2,070 Swiss francs including local transportation allowance.

2. WIPO offers internships in the following fields:

Law / IP Law, Economics / Statistics, Information Technology, Technical Cooperation Services, Project Administration, Administration (Finance, Human Resources, Procurement, Program planning), Patent/Trademark examination, Copyright, Translation, and Other areas (Communications / Conference Services/Security)

3. For individuals pursuing a first-level university degree, candidates must be in their third or fourth year of study and/or in a program that requires the completion of an internship as part of the degree requirements;

4. Graduates will be eligible to apply for an internship no more than two years after completion of their most recent university degree or postgraduate studies.

5. Candidates must possess proficient computer skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other relevant IT programs/applications).

6. Candidates are expected to have good analytical skills.

7. Applicants must also possess excellent knowledge of English. For most internships, excellent drafting skills in English are required.

8. Knowledge of any of the following WIPO working languages would be an advantage: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

9. Qualified candidates from unrepresented member states of WIPO and underrepresented geographical regions are encouraged to apply.

10. Candidates are required to add a cover letter / letter of motivation to their applications.

11. Interns are expected to work full time.

Overview of the selection process:

Your profile will be reviewed against specific internship opportunities, as and when they arise throughout the year. If your profile is found to be a potential fit for one of our internship opportunities, you will be contacted and invited for an interview.

Interviews may be conducted by telephone, videoconference, or in person. The selection process may also include a written test. Once a candidate has been contacted for an opportunity, it normally takes several weeks to finalize the selection and inform all short-listed candidates of the outcome.

Interested applicants can visit the official vacancy webpage of WIPO for additional information. To apply, visit the Internships portal to get started.