Saluda Law Liberty Scholarship

For Spring 2020

June 2, 2020 UPDATE: Saluda Law is proud to announce Madison Pollock as the winner of the 2020 Saluda Law Liberty Scholarship. Madison is graduating this year from Dutch Fork High School. She will be attending Clemson University this fall. The firm is glad to be able to fulfill our commitment to the community by investing in education and supporting students.

Saluda Law is pleased to announce that the firm will be offering the opportunity to compete in the 2020 Saluda Law Liberty Scholarship essay competition to high school juniors and seniors who live in or attend a school in the 11th SC Judicial Circuit (which is comprised of the following South Carolina counties: Saluda, McCormick, Edgefield, and Lexington). The firm will award a $250.00 scholarship to the winning entry.

As a criminal defense law firm, Saluda Law is well aware of how the foundational ideal of liberty and its importance has positively impacted South Carolina and the United States. Be it in General Sessions State Court or Federal Court, as an experienced criminal attorney, Judah VanSyckel has seen how cherished people’s liberty is, and seen the protections in place to ensure liberty. With an office located in walking distance from the Magistrate Court in Lexington, SC, and the Lexington County Courthouse not even a full block further, the firm office is in close proximity to where decisions are made regarding people’s liberty on a daily basis.

Information regarding eligibility for this scholarship is listed below:

Applicant must submit an essay on the topic of Liberty and answer the following prompt for the essay: How has the ideal of liberty positively affected American society and how should this ideal best be celebrated and preserved?

Essay should be 5 pages, 12 point font, double spaced, 1inch margins and a minimum of 1250 words. Essay must be original. Paper should follow MLA, APA, Turabian, or Bluebook citation guidelines.

Each essay will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Profundity of thought,
• Clarity and organization of essay,
• Spelling and Grammar.

Applicants are encouraged to look to historical sources for reference material.

Essay submissions must be received by 5:00 PM on April 30, 2020. Submissions should be sent to . Applicants must submit both a .pdf and a .doc version of the essay. Failure to submit both copies in the same email will result in automatic disqualification. The winner will likely be announced in mid to late May.

No applicant may submit more than one essay. The applicant must include their name, email, phone number, address, class year, and high school in both the email with their submission and on the first page header of their essay. In order to be named the winner, the applicant, and their parents or guardian, if under 18, must agree to allow Saluda Law, LLC to publish their name, class year, photo, and high school, if the applicant is selected as the contest winner. Additionally, the winning applicant must allow Saluda Law, LLC to verify their enrollment and address through their school and other means. Participation in the Scholarship contest does not create an attorney client relationship between the applicant and the firm.

Saluda Law, LLC reserves the right to end the competition period early. Saluda Law, LLC also reserves the right to determine the winner at its own discretion. Attempts to commit fraud or acts of plagiarism will result in disqualification and may result in referrals to law enforcement.

Applicants are encouraged to seek formatting help from their teachers, librarians, and guidance counselors. Applicants must be the sole original author of the essays and may not receive help on the portions of the essay that are listed as being part of the evaluated part of the essays.