UA LAW STUDENT WINS $25,000 IN SOFTWARE CONTEST

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Erin Royston, a third-year law student at the University of Arkansas, has won a $25,000 cash prize for a brief she entered into a nationwide contest sponsored by The West Group, developers of the WestMate Research Software, of St. Paul, Minn.

Royston said the WestLaw official told her she had beat out both Harvard and Yale Law Schools for the grand prize.

Royston’s brief compared KeyCite to Shepard's PreView; both are legal databases that allow lawyers and students to quickly pull up information on court cases and law.

Law School Dean Leonard Stickman said Royston is an outstanding law student and member of the law school community. "She is a fine person and is well liked by students and faculty alike," he said. "Her major contributions in drafting a problem and preparing a brief for the judges in the recent moot court competition were outstanding."

Strickman said Royston is a reflection of the quality of the law school. "Whenever a UA law student wins a national competition, going up against students from America's great law schools, it reflects well not only on her, but the academic endeavors and law school from which she comes," Strickman said. " We are most proud of Erin for her achievement."

Royston saw a flyer on the contest, but didn't enter until a friend suggested she do so. "I knew I was going to win!" she said. "It became a joke around the school because I kept telling everyone I would win."

She plans to use her prize money to pay off student loans.

West Group Vice President, Forrest Rhoads said a three-judge panel evaluated all the entries and found hers to be outstanding. "While I wasn't one of the judges, I did get to read the paper. It was excellent," Rhoads said.

The contestants had to answer the question, "Why KeyCite is the most current, accurate legal software service available?"

Royston gave 12 comparisons between the two software packages. "In all but one or two of the comparisons KeyCite came up with more information in less time." In many instances KeyCite only took one keystroke to pull up information instead of two or three keystrokes for Shepard's, Royston said.

The contest served two purposes, according to Rhoads. "We wanted to show our support for those students getting a law degree. It was also important to our company for students to understand that the old way of doing things isn't always the most effective method."

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