LEC Fall 2024 Judicial Education Opportunities
MANNE MADNESS TOURNAMENT
The Law & Economics Center’s Fiftieth Anniversary BASH!
$50,000 CHAMPIONSHIP PRIZE
$164,000 Total Purse
“You be the Judge!”
Our celebratory educational programming lineup for Fall 2024 is now open for registration!
The Law & Economics Center (LEC) at George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School was founded by Henry G. Manne at the University of Miami in 1974. The LEC moved to Emory University in 1980, and then to George Mason in 1986 when Henry Manne became dean (that historic move is described here). The LEC will be celebrating this remarkable milestone with numerous special events during the 2024-25 academic year.
The headline event of the LEC’s 50th Anniversary is the Manne Madness Tournament – a competitive program that will gather judges from across the country for core courses on law and economics while identifying and rewarding outstanding lecturers in the field of law and economics.
Federal and state judges will serve as the tournaments’ officials – striped shirts are not required.
We invite you to apply to officiate! No one knows better than you what constitutes great judicial education! And, we want all of you who have been with us on our 50-year journey to join in the celebration and fun!
You will learn and officiate in the mornings, while you and your guest can enjoy the venue in the afternoons. (Only one afternoon will include lectures, ending at 2:30 pm; all other days’ official programs end at 12 noon.) We will also reminisce about past LEC programs and share good company throughout the week, including when judges and their guests dine together as a group on the opening and closing nights.
As you know, LEC programs are provided free of charge as a public service. There is no tuition, we arrange and cover your hotel room and group meals, and the LEC will reimburse reasonable transportation expenses.
Voting on the best lecturers is not a requirement to participate in these programs. Judges who participate may choose to attend and anonymously vote or refrain from voting, at their discretion; and there is no need to inform the LEC of that choice in the application or on site.
At the application site, you can rank your preferences to attend any of the four regional tournaments and apply for the Championship in Miami at the same time.
Manne Madness Regional Tournament Schedule
(The application form will request you order your preferences for which to attend.)
- Chicago Regional Tournament, Sunday, August 4 to Friday, August 9, 2024, at InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile in Chicago, IL
- Las Vegas Regional Tournament, Sunday, September 15 to Friday, September 20, 2024, at The Four Seasons in Las Vegas, NV
- San Diego Regional Tournament, Sunday, October 20 to Friday, October 25, 2024 at Hotel Republic in San Diego, CA
- Nashville Regional Tournament, Sunday, November 10 to Friday, November 15, 2024 at Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN
With the Championship tournament in Miami:
- Manne Madness Miami Elite Eight Championship, Sunday, December 8 to Friday, December 13, 2024 at Eden Roc in Miami Beach, FL
APPLY HERE!
To recap and offer a bit more detail:
- The Manne Madness Tournament will consist of a series of four regional double-elimination tournaments (with eight contestants in each regional, thirty-two professors in total).
- “ELITE EIGHT”– the top two lecturers from each regional will advance to the Manne Madness National Championship which will occur as a single-elimination final round of the tournament in December 2024 in Miami – the birthplace of the Law & Economics Center – at the famous (at least in Law & Economics circles) Eden Roc Hotel.
- The Champion of Manne Madness will receive a $50,000 Championship Prize.
- The normal LEC scheduling format will be followed – with useful educational programming concentrated in the mornings and one afternoon, followed by ample opportunity to relax, reflect, and enjoy the venue and catch up with friends in the afternoons and evenings.
- Judges will have their lodging covered and reasonable travel expenses reimbursed.
- Federal and state judges will evaluate the contestants. The goal is to have professors use economic concepts to analyze interesting legal and public policy issues in a manner that provides lasting impact on judges. Judges will be asked to rate the professors on the preceding goal – with an appreciation of each professor’s style, substance, entertaining manner, ability to create a memorable learning experience, and humor in achieving that goal.
- Voting on the best lecturers is not a requirement to participate in these programs. Judges who participate may choose to attend and anonymously vote or refrain from voting, at their discretion; and there is no need to inform the LEC of that choice in the application or on site.
Questions? Contact MasonJEP@gmu.edu or 703.993.8008
