essay writing competition for law students

Writing Competition

The  Harvard Law Review  is composed of second- and third-year law students who are selected via a six-day writing competition at the end of each academic year. The Review strongly encourages all students to participate in the writing competition, which consists of two parts:

• Subcite: this portion, worth 50% of the competition score, requires students to perform a technical and substantive edit of an excerpt from an unpublished article
• Case Comment : this portion, also worth 50%, requires students to describe and analyze a recent case

The competition uses a closed universe of materials provided to all competition-takers; no additional outside research of any kind is allowed or required. The use of any form of Artificial Intelligence during the competition is also strictly prohibited.

Based on the competition, fifty-four second-year students are invited to join the Review each year, including:

• Twenty selected based solely on competition scores
• Seven (one from each 1L section) selected based on an equally weighted combination of competition scores and first-year grades
• Three (from any section) selected based on an equally weighted combination of competition scores and first-year grades
• Twenty-four selected through an anonymous holistic review (see below for details)

The  Review  is committed to a diverse and inclusive membership and encourages all students to participate in the writing competition. Harvard Law School students who are interested in joining the  Review  must write the competition at the end of their first year, even if they plan to take time off during law school or are pursuing a joint degree and plan to spend time at another graduate school.

Timeline & Resources

The 2024 Competition will take place from Sunday, May 12 to Saturday, May 18 . Writing competition tips and Q&A sessions will be held in early and mid-April.

Registration will open in April 2024. We expect to invite editors to join Volume 139 over the course of several days in late July. Orientation for new editors is scheduled for the week of July 22nd and will take place remotely. Volume 139 will resume a past practice of an in-person Orientation for half a day near the start of the Fall 2024 Semester. Editors are expected to be fully available during this time. In August, editors will have Law Review assignments, but these assignments can be completed simultaneously with other commitments (internships, events, travel, etc.).

For more information about the competition, the following resources are available:

• The 2024 Application and Information Packet . The application information packet is designed to provide some specific guidance about approaching the case comment and subcite portions of the competition. Please note that the sample competition submissions included in the packet are merely representative and are by no means definitive examples.
• Tips Session and Q&A. Video of our April 1, 2024 writing competition tips session and our April 11, 2024 subcite Q & A session is available on our YouTube channel. The. This questions and answers document summarizes the Q&A portion of the April 13, 2023 session.
• Factsheet: This document responds to common questions and concerns we have heard.
• Sample Schedules: This includes a variety of writing competition schedules used by current editors.
• FAQ on Accommodations . See below for more information on disabilities and accommodations.

Competition & Membership Policies

Holistic consideration.

Applicants will have the opportunity to convey aspects of their identity which have led to the development of character qualities or unique abilities that can contribute to the Law Review , including but not limited to their racial or ethnic identity, disability status, gender identity, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. Applicants can do so by submitting an additional expository statement.  Statements will be considered by the Selection Committee only after grading of the competition has been completed. Statements will remain anonymous and will not be evaluated for quality of writing or editing, nor will they be assigned a numerical score.

Applicants are welcome to draft their expository statements before the competition week begins, and the prompt for the 200-word statement is as follows:

“You are strongly encouraged to use the space below to submit a typed expository statement of no more than 200 words. This statement may identify and describe aspects of your identity which have impacted your development of certain character qualities or unique abilities that can serve as an asset to the Law Review and are not fully captured by the categories on the previous page, including, but not limited to, racial or ethnic identity, socioeconomic background, disability (physical, intellectual, cognitive/ neurological, psychiatric, sensory, developmental, or other), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, country of origin or international status, religious identity or expression, undergraduate institution(s), age, academic or career trajectory prior to law school, military status, cultural background, or parental/caretaker status. Additionally or alternatively, you may use this statement to identify and describe areas of academic or scholarly interest, career goals, or any other element of your identity that you would bring to your work on the Law Review .

Statements will be considered only after grading of the subcite and case comment sections of the competition has been completed. Statements will not be evaluated for quality of writing or editing, nor will they be assigned a numerical score. No applicant will be penalized in any way for not submitting an optional statement, and all optional statements are completely confidential.”

Deferral & Leave

Harvard Law Review will invite students to join Vol. 139 in mid-July. Students invited to join Vol. 138 who are taking a full-year leave of absence from HLS will be allowed to defer their membership in Law Review for the year. They may then join the Law Review as members of Vol. 140 in fall 2025 and serve as editors for two years. Editors typically serve for two full academic years to ensure ample time for training, acclimation to their roles on the Review , and opportunities to make collective decisions about our work.

Students invited to join Vol. 139 who are taking a fall-semester leave of absence from HLS are encouraged to still join as editors with Vol. 139. If joining with Vol. 139, editors will be expected to complete Law Review work during the fall, even though they are on leave from HLS. They will then serve as editors for two years. Alternatively, students taking a one-semester leave may wait to join until fall of the following year (fall 2025); in that case, they will have no Law Review obligations during the 2024-2025 academic year and will participate as Law Review editors for a single year.

Transfer Students

Prospective transfer students may take the competition at the same time as Harvard Law School 1Ls. Prospective transfer students are selected on the same anonymous grading basis as Harvard 1Ls and are eligible for 44 of the spots on the Review (in other words, all spots besides the 10 allotted to Harvard 1Ls for whom first-year grades play a role). Prospective transfer students may submit an anonymized, unofficial transcript when their 1L grades are released if they would like their grades to be considered in the Law Review ’s holistic review process. The Review ’s membership decisions do not affect the admissions decisions of Harvard Law School.

Recognizing that the competition schedule poses unique challenges to prospective transfer applicants, the Review also allows transfer students to take the competition at the end of their 2L year. Up to four spots are available for such students. However, no student may attempt the competition more than once, and this option is only available to transfer students who did not previously take the competition. Like prospective transfer students, rising third-year students may submit their grades, but they will not be eligible for the 10 slots that incorporate first-year grades.

Prospective 1L transfer students should email [email protected] for information about registering.

SJD Students

SJD students at Harvard Law School may serve as editors of the Law Review . To join, SJDs take the same writing competition as JD students and are eligible for 44 of the editorial positions (all spots besides those allotted to JD 1Ls for whom first-year grades play a role). SJDs should take the competition only if they are certain they have at least two years remaining in their program of study. Additionally, as with all candidates, SJDs are permitted to participate in the writing competition only once.

Disabilities & Accommodations

The Harvard Law Review is firmly committed to providing accommodations for students with disabilities and handles requests on a case-by-case basis. The Law Review is an independent entity and thus has its own accommodations system separate from Harvard Law School’s Dean of Students Office.

Accommodations requests can be submitted between Monday, March 11th and Friday, April 12th and will be processed on a rolling basis. Students are strongly encouraged to submit their accommodation requests as soon as possible even if they are not yet certain they will take the competition. Please see our answers to FAQ on accommodations to learn more about what documentation is needed.

The Law Review strives to keep information regarding disabilities and accommodations as confidential as possible. Nothing about your accommodations application or your receipt of accommodations will be part of the Competition entry that is considered in the selection process. All Competition grading is doubly anonymized. Jennifer Heath, a non-student HLR staff member manages the logistics related to our accommodations process, and accommodations recommendations to the Law Review are made by our testing consultant, Dr. Loring Brinckerhoff.

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Law Student Writing Competitions: Writing Competitions

• Writing Competitions
• Other Links

Current/Upcoming Competitions

Competitions listed here are in order by submission deadline.  Click the links below for more specific details about each competition. 

• Health Law Writing Competition Sponsor: Epstein, Becker, & Green Submission Deadline: May 17, 2024 Topic: The competition is designed to encourage JD and LLM students in the preparation of scholarly papers on current topics of interest relating to health law.
• Annual Law Student Writing Competition Sponsor: NYSBA Submission Deadline: May 30, 2024 Topic: Eligible papers may address any topic of general interest to the to antitrust law community, including topics relating to civil and criminal antitrust law, competition policy, consumer protection and international competition law.
• 2024 Law Student Writing Competition Sponsor: American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Submission Deadline: May 31, 2024 Topic: Entries for the Competition should demonstrate original thought on a question of legal and/or policy significance relating to one of the following topics: (1) Air, Water, and Food, (2) Biodiversity, (3) Energy Law, (4) Indigenous Law, (5) Recycling.
• SEER Writing Competition Sponsor: American Bar Association (ABA) Environment, Energy, and Resources Section Deadline Submission: May 31, 2024 Topic: Entries should relate to one of the following topics: (1) Air, Water, and Food, (2) Biodiversity, (3) Energy Law, (4) Indigenous Law, (5) Recycling.
• The Judge John R. Brown Scholarship Sponsor: Brown Sims Submission Deadline: May 31, 2024 Topic: There is no restriction on the topic except that the writing must be on a legal subject.
• Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Student Writing Contest Sponsor: American Bar Association (ABA) Real Property, Trust & Estate (RPTE) Section Submission Deadline: May 31, 2024 Topic: Law Student Writing Competition The goal of the Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law student writing contest is to encourage and reward law student writing on the subjects of real property or trust and estate law.
• SEER Writing Competition Sponsor: American Bar Association (ABA) Environment, Energy, and Resources Section Submission Deadline: May 31, 2024 Topic: Entries for the Competition should demonstrate original thought on a question of legal and/or policy significance relating to one of the following topics: (1) Air, Water, and Food, (2) Biodiversity, (3) Energy Law, (4) Indigenous Law, (5) Recycling.
• Everytown Law Student Writing Competition Sponsor: Everytown Law Submission Deadline: May 31, 2024 Topic: This competition asks law students to consider how to advance gun violence prevention and gun safety through litigation in the civil and criminal justice systems. Though we encourage applicants to be creative, submission topics can range from reducing gun violence through representing survivors to emerging topics in Second Amendment jurisprudence.
• The Judge John R. Brown Scholarship Sponsor: Brown Sims Submission Deadline: May 31, 2024 Topic: open
• ACEBC Employee Benefits Writing Competition Sponsor: The American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, Inc. Submission Deadline: June 1, 2024 Topic: Papers may be on any legal topic in the employee benefits field and may be up to 40 pages (including footnotes)
• Cornelius Vanderbroek Memorial Essay Competition For Graduate/"Older" Students (to age 30) Sponsor: Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) Submission Deadline: June 1, 2024 Topic: More and more conservative public officials, candidates and preachers are insisting that the United States is a “Christian nation,” that certain Christian views are privileged and that our laws must reflect their doctrines. Which statements and legislative actions concern you the most or present the greatest threats to our secular democracy? How dangerous is Christian nationalism and how does it adversely affect you and the country? Use examples. Be sure to define Christian nationalism and explain why you oppose it.
• Selma Moidel Law Student Writing Competition in California Legal History Sponsor: California Supreme Court Historical Society Submission Deadline: June 1, 2024 Topic: We encourage all those working on California legal history (NOT just the history of California courts) to apply. Papers may include elements of digital humanities and may also be co-authored.
• Georgetown Law Technology Review Student Writing Competition Sponsor: Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy Submission Deadline: June 3, 2024 Topic: Entries should explore ways in which emerging technologies and services interact with or challenge existing civil rights and consumer protection laws.
• H. Thomas Austern Writing Competition Sponsor: Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) Submission Deadline: June 3, 2024 Topic: This Writing Competition is intended to encourage law students interested in the areas of law affecting FDA-regulated industries: food, drugs, medical devices, biologics, dietary supplements, cosmetics, veterinary, cannabis, or tobacco and nicotine products.
• James B. Boskey Law Student Essay Contest Sponsor: ABA Dispute Resolution Section Submission Deadline: June 7, 2024 Topic: The essay may address any aspect of dispute resolution practice, theory, or research that the contestant chooses.
• Annual Law Student Writing Competition Sponsor: ABA Labor and Employment Law Section Submission Deadline: June 15, 2024 Topic: Current and relevant topics of labor and employment law.
• Gellhorn-Sargentich Law Student Essay Award Competition Sponsor: ABA Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice Section Submission Deadline: June 30, 2024 Topic: The entry must discuss any topic relating to administrative law.
• Mary Moers Wenig Student Writing Competition Sponsor: The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) Foundation Submission Deadline: June 30, 2024 Topic: The ACTEC Foundation is proud to support this annual legal writing competition to encourage law students to create scholarly works in the area of trusts and estates.

Past Competitions

• 2024 Past Competitions
• 2023 Competitions
• 2022 Competitions

Sponsor: The College of Workers' Compensation Lawyers Submission Deadline: January 15, 2024 Topic: The scope of permissible topics include any aspect of workers' compensation law.

Sponsor: Chicago-Kent College of Law's Institute for Law Submission Deadline: January 17, 2024 Topic: Judges will consider papers on any topic relating to the law governing the workplace, such as employment law, labor law, employee benefits, or employment discrimination.

Sponsor: Asian Pacific American Bar Association Educational Fund (AEF) Submission Deadline: January 19, 2024 Topic: Through this Writing Competition, AEF seeks to encourage legal scholarship on issues of importance to the Asian Pacific American community.

Sponsor: Ohio Bar Submission Deadline: January 26, 2024 Topic: This annual law student scholarship program focuses on recognizing outstanding writing on a litigation-related topic. The program is intended to encourage students to pursue a career in litigation and to become active in the Ohio Bar.

Sponsor: The Beverly Hills Bar Association and Bar Foundation Submission Deadline: February 1, 2024 Topic: his competition encourages law students to integrate Rule of Law concepts into their writings.

Sponsor: ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability and Long & Levit, LLP Submission Deadline: February 1, 2024 Topic: This essay contest is to encourage scholarship and innovative research and writing in the area of legal malpractice law, professional liability insurance, and loss prevention.

Sponsor: Scribes — The American Society of Legal Writers Submission Deadline: February 1, 2024 Topic: The topic should be timely and interesting.

Sponsor: Center for Alcohol Policy Submission Deadline: February 1, 2024 Topic: This national academic event is intended to foster debate, analysis, and examination of state alcohol regulation in the 21st Century.

Sponsor: American Constitution Society (ACS) Submission Deadline: February 5, 2024 Topic: Submissions should be focused on American regulatory or administrative law, broadly construed. Appropriate subjects include empirical or comparative analyses of the effectiveness of specific regulatory regimes or deregulation; doctrinal investigations of the development of administrative law rules or principles by courts and administrative agencies and the effects of that development; and normative analyses of how particular regulatory or administrative regimes or deregulation advance or fail to advance values of fairness, participation, and transparency.

Sponsor: American Bar Association (ABA) Business Law Section Submission Deadline: February 9, 2024 Topic: The competition encourages and rewards law students for their outstanding writing on business law topics.

Sponsor: American Bar Association- Antitrust Law Section Submission Deadline: February 10, 2024 Topic: This project provides an opportunity to expand the role of the ABA in the area of Consumer Protection among law students, professors and practitioners by inviting students to participate in a discussion on hot topics in consumer protection.

Sponsor: American Bar Association Submission Deadline: February 23, 2024 Topic: The goal of the Competition is to encourage and reward law student writings on antitrust law and competition law subjects of general and current interest.

Sponsor: New York Intellectual Property Law Association Submission Deadline: February 25, 2024 Topic: The Honorable William Conner Writing Competition was established to recognize exceptionally written papers that are submitted by law students.

Sponsor: American Indian Law Review (AILR) Submission Deadline: February 29, 2024 Topic: Papers will be accepted on any legal issue specifically concerning American Indians or other indigenous peoples.

Sponsor: The Blanch Law Firm Submission: March 1, 2024 Topic: The goal of the competition is to find an excellent writer to contribute an outstanding article to their online publication.

Sponsor: NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund Submission Deadline: March 1, 2024 Topic: Research and write a scholarly article suitable for publication on one of two cutting edge Second Amendment issues - or you can write separately on both questions for two chances to win.

Sponsor: The Center for Legal and Court Technology Submission Deadline: March 1, 2024 Topic: Focus on at least one application of these technologies (e.g., Internet of Medical Things devices, facial recognition technology, autonomous systems, social media monitoring, etc.); Explain whether regulation of the application is needed and to what extent; and Propose means to regulate this application (proposals may range from traditional regulation to reliance on soft governance, and anything in between).

Sponsor: Notre Dame Submission Deadline: March 1, 2024 Topic: Any topic related to the intersection of church, state & society, and in particular how the law structures and governs that intersection.

Sponsor: Health Law Institute at Mitchell Hamline School of Law and the Health Care Compliance Association Submission Deadline: March 13, 2024 Topic: Students must analyze the facts presented in the Competition Problem, identify any and all regulatory/compliance concerns, and advise the recipient of the memorandum.

Sponsor: The Freedom From Religion Foundation Submission Deadline: March 15, 2024 Topic: If you could create a 28th Amendment what would it be?

Sponsor: American Bar Foundation Submission Deadline: March 15, 2024 Topic: Papers must be on topics within the field of law and social science.

Sponsor: Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems and the University of Iowa College of Law Submission Deadline: March 17, 2024 Topic: Any contemporary international business or economic concern.

Sponsor: International Insolvency Institute (III) Submission Deadline: March 31, 2024 Topic: The article or research must be on an international or comparative insolvency topic.

Sponsor: Berkeley Technology Law Journal University of California Submission Deadline: April 2, 2024 Topic: Submission will be accepted on a wide variety of topics at the intersection of law and technology, including but not limited to: technology and the public interest, privacy, internet law, intellectual property, antitrust, First Amendment issues, entertainment and news media, telecommunications, biotechnology, and cybercrime.

Sponsor: Law Student Division of the American Bar Association Submission Deadline: April 5, 2024 Topic: Original essays on any aspect of family law.

Sponsor: Notre Dame Law School Submission Deadline: April 15, 2024 Topic: Entries should concern any issue within the general category of legal ethics.

Sponsor: Smith, Born, Leventis, Taylor & Vega LLC Injury Lawyers Submission Deadline: April 29, 2024 Topic: Submit a creative thoughtful, and well-written response regarding the pros and cons of undocumented employees being entitled to workers’ compensation benefits despite their immigration status.

Sponsor: Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association Submission Deadline: April 30, 2024 Topic: Submit a 20-page paper addressing a recent development in admiralty and maritime law.

Sponsor: American University Washington College of Law Submission Deadline: May 5, 2024 Topic: This competition is designed to encourage law students to write scholarly papers on current topics of interest relevant to health law and/or food and drug law.

Sponsor: The Criminal Law Section of the California Lawyers Association Submission Deadline: April 30, 2023 Topic: The paper must pertain to criminal law and/or to criminal procedure, with a particular focus on contemporary issues of concern in the State of California.This is a nationwide competition; while the focus is on California law, past winners have included students attending schools from coast to coast.

Sponsor: American University Submission Deadline: May 7, 2023 Topic:This competition is designed to encourage law students to write scholarly papers on current topics of interest relevant to health law and/or food and drug law.

Sponsor: ABA Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Submission Deadline: May 31, 2023 Topic: Submissions must be on a current topic dealing with real property, trust, and estate law.

Sponsor: ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (SEER) Submission Deadline: May 31, 2023 Topic: SEER sponsors up to eight law student writing competitions each year. Topics vary.

Sponsor: Brown Sims Submission Deadline: May 31, 2023 Topic: The Award honors excellence in legal writing in American law schools.

Sponsor: Freedom from Religion Foundation Submission Deadline: June 1, 2023 Topic: In short, the essay should seek to answer the question of whether secularism is the "savior" of American democracy.

Sponsor: The American College of Employee Benefits Counsel Submission Deadline: June 1, 2023 Topic: Papers may be on any legal topic in the employee benefits field.

Sponsor: American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution Submission Deadline: June 9, 2023 Topic: The essay may address any aspect of dispute resolution practice, theory, or research that the contestant chooses.

Sponsor: Mercer University School of Law and the American Bar Association Commission on Disability Rights Submission Deadline: June 9, 2023 Topic: The submission may address any aspect of disability law, theory, or practice the contestant chooses. Other permissible topics include issues arising under any of the following statutes: Civil Rights Act of 1964; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; Age Discrimination in Employment Act; Family and Medical Leave Act; or any state statutes or municipal ordinances prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Sponsor: Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) Submission Deadline: June 12, 2023 Topic: Papers should focus on the areas of law affecting FDA-regulated industries: food, drugs, medical devices, biologics, dietary supplements, cosmetics, veterinary, cannabis, or tobacco and nicotine products.

Sponsor: ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law and The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers Submission Deadline: June 15, 2023 Topic: Papers should be written on current and relevant topics of labor and employment law.

Sponsor: American Bar Association Infrastructure and Regulated Industries Section Submission Deadline: June 30, 2023 Topic: The section seeks entries for its writing competition from all law students who are enrolled in ABA-approved law schools and are members of the ABA Law Student Division.

Sponsor: The ACTEC Foundation Submission Deadline: June 30, 2023 Topic: The paper must relate to the area of trusts and estates, broadly defined

Sponsor: The American Inns of Court Submission Deadline: July 1, 2023 Topic: This writing competition is designed to promote scholarship in the areas of professionalism, ethics, civility, and excellence.

Sponsor: ABA Criminal Justice Section Submission Deadline: July 1, 2023 Topic: By reversing Roe v. Wade (1973), the Supreme Court of the United States in Dobbs v. Jackson (2022) opened the door for states to initiate criminal investigations and prosecutions relating to women obtaining abortions. What role do federal Constitution rights, such as the Fourth Amendment, as well as parallel state constitutional protections, play in protecting access to potential evidence?

Sponsor: Federal Circuit Bar Association Submission Deadline: July 1, 2023 Topic: Papers must deal with a topic that lies within the substance, procedure, or scope of the specialized jurisdiction of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Sponsor: Zimmerman Law Firm Submission Deadline: August 1st, 2023 Topic: Describe why you chose to pursue law and what do plan to do with your law degree once you graduate.

Sponsor: Philadelphia Bar Association Deadline: August 1, 2023 Topic: Candidates may submit a law review quality submission on any topic relating to rights, privileges, and responsibilities under federal law.

Sponsor: NYSBA Business Law Section Deadline: August 15, 2023 Topic: The topic of submitted articles should be relevant to the Journal's audience (New York business lawyers), should be timely, original, clear, and concise.

Sponsor: American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section Deadline: September 8, 2023 Topic: Submissions should address a recent development in any area of aviation or space law or discuss an area of aviation or space law where a controversy or disagreement exists. Entrants are encouraged to write on subjects of national interest, rather than state-specific issues.

Sponsor: Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association Deadline: September 15, 2023 Topic: Any aspect of Securities Law; Securities Arbitration; The Federal Arbitration Act, Title 9, US Code, Section 1-14; or FINRA Code of Arbitration

Sponsor: The International Fiscal Association (USA Branch) Deadline: September 30, 2023 Topic: Any topic relating to U.S. taxation of income from international activities, including taxation under U.S. tax treaties.

Sponsor: American Bar Association (ABA) Public Contract Law (PCL) Section Submission Deadline: September 30, 2023 Topic: Papers should address a topical issue of interest to the public contract and grant law community.

Sponsor: American Agricultural Law Association Submission Deadline: October 13 Topic: The entry must discuss a modern and relevant topic related to agricultural law.

Sponsor: Center for Reproductive Rights, and the Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice Submission Deadline: October 16 Topic: The suggested theme for this year is “A Different World Is Possible: Repro Health, Rights, and Justice Post-Dobbs.” With the constitutional protection for abortion overturned by the Supreme Court, we encourage students to envision creative and expansive approaches to securing reproductive health, rights, and justice for all people. Submissions might explore topics that intersect with If/When/How’s strategic initiatives, such as removing barriers to abortion access and supporting those who seek reproductive care outside the clinical setting, combatting criminalization, strategies for securing reproductive rights at the state or local level, and public funding of reproductive health care through an intersectional, reproductive justice lens. All submissions on other reproductive rights and justice topics are welcomed.

Sponsor: New York Bar Association Deadline: November 3, 2023 Topic: Any area of public or private international law or practice

Sponsor: ABA Submission Deadline: November 10, 2023, Topic: Entries for the Writing Contest must focus on the military’s application of criminal law—also known as military justice. Submissions may advocate a position, educate the reader, or analyze one or more cases.

Sponsor: ABA Taxation Section Submission Deadlines: September 1, 2023: J.D. and LL.M. problems released November 1, 2023: Work products submission deadline, due by or before 5pm ET Topic: An alternative to traditional moot court competitions, the Law Student Tax Challenge (LSTC) is organized by the Section’s Young Lawyers Form. The LSTC asks two-person teams of students to solve a complex business problem that might arise in everyday tax practice.

Sponsor: American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers Submission Deadline: November 1, 2023 Topic: Eligible entries must discuss some aspect of U.S. consumer financial services law. Topics that relate principally to securities regulation, bankruptcy, insurance, or the safety and soundness aspects of banking regulation are not eligible, but works on subjects within these (or other) areas will be considered if they bear directly on U.S. consumer financial services law.

The Blanch Law Firm Scholarship Award Sponsor: The Blanch Law Firm Submission: Rolling Deadline; Submission are due within 14 days of receipt of assignment. Topic: The goal of the competition is to find an excellent writer to contribute an outstanding article to their online publication.

Sponsor: New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Labor and Employment Law Section Submission Deadline: November 30 Topic: Submissions should focus on any timely, compelling aspect of labor and employment law.

Sponsor: Video Game Bar Association Submission Deadline: December 1, 2023 Topic: Applicants will submit an original paper on a legal issue in the video game industry.

Sponsor: American Journal of Mediation Submission Deadline: December 15, 2023 Topic: Subject matter focus for entries can embrace the full range of the alternative dispute resolution field– consensus-based dispute resolution (e.g., negotiation, mediation), adjudicative processes (e.g., early neutral evaluation, binding or non-binding arbitration and private judging), or mixed processes (e.g., arb-med, med-arb, high low arbitration, baseball arbitration). Papers can also focus on ADR process design, practice techniques, specific case studies, related legislation, and ethical dilemmas and standards for dispute resolution professionals.

Sponsor: Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law Submission Deadline: December 18, 2023 Topic: TThe Dukeminier Awards annually recognize the best law review note written by a student in the field of sexual orientation and gender identity law.

Sponsor: Armstrong, Lee & Baker LLP Deadline: December 31, 2023 Topic: In your essay submission, we want to hear about: What compelled you to become a lawyer? Are there any meaningful reasons that you wanted to enter the legal field that you feel are unique? Are there any special areas of law that you would like to target? What are the goals through your first years as an attorney that you would like to accomplish?

Sponsor: New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Business Law Section Submission Deadline: August 15, 2022 Topic: The competition is open to all students who are candidates for the JD or LLM degree at an accredited law school during the year in which the article is submitted. All articles submitted will be judged on relevance to the Journal's audience (New York business lawyers), timeliness of the topic, originality, quality of research and writing, and clarity and conciseness.

Sponsor: Ohio State Bar Association Corporate Counsel Section Submission Deadline: September 6, 2022 Topic: The goal of the competition is to explore relevant and innovative scholarly work from Ohio's law students in one specific area of corporate governance challenges, specifically the pandemic's accelerated transformation to a remote workforce in almost every industry and profession.

Sponsor: Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA) Submission Deadline: September 16, 2022 Topic: The submission may address any aspect of Securities law; Securities arbitration; The Federal Arbitration Act, Title 9, US Code, Section 1-14; or FINRA Code of Arbitration, effective April 16, 2007 and any changes or proposed changes to that Code. The writing can be based in theory or practice, but should ultimately advocate a position on the topic area chosen.

Sponsor: International Fiscal Association (USA Branch) Submission Deadline: September 30, 2022 Topic: Submissions will be accepted on any topic relating to U.S. taxation of income from international activities, including taxation under U.S. tax treaties.

Sponsor: American Bar Association (ABA) Public Contract Law (PCL) Section Submission Deadline: September 30, 2022 Topic: Papers should address a topical issue of interest to the public contract and grant law community.

Sponsor: New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) International Law Section Submission Deadline: November 5, 2022 Topic: Submissions must concern one area of public or private international law or practice.

Sponsor: Brooks Kushman Submission Deadline: November 16, 2022 Competition Date: November 19, 2022 Topic: Brooks Kushman will present an award, based on excellence, to a law student who drafts claims consistent with the instructions given during the competition.

Sponsor: ABA Submission Deadline: November 11, 2022 Topic: Entries for the Writing Contest must focus on the military’s application of criminal law—also known as military justice. Submissions may advocate a position, educate the reader, or analyze one or more cases.

Sponsor: ABA Taxation Section Submission Deadline: November 7, 2022 Topic: An alternative to traditional moot court competitions, the Law Student Tax Challenge (LSTC) is organized by the Section’s Young Lawyers Form. The LSTC asks two-person teams of students to solve a complex business problem that might arise in everyday tax practice.

Sponsor: American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers Submission Deadline: December 1, 2022 Topic: Eligible entries must discuss some aspect of U.S. consumer financial services law. Topics that relate principally to securities regulation, bankruptcy, insurance, or the safety and soundness aspects of banking regulation are not eligible, but works on subjects within these (or other) areas will be considered if they bear directly on U.S. consumer financial services law.

Sponsor: Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law Submission Deadline: December 18, 2022 Topic: Student Writing Competition annually recognizes the best law review note written by a student in the field of sexual orientation and gender identity law.

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Law Student Writing Competitions & Associated Scholarships

This page provides links to writing competitions and associated scholarships for law students. Details and submission criteria for most of the competitions listed here as well as other competitions are available in the Academic Affairs office. You can also meet some of our competition winners .

Contact the Student Affairs Office ( [email protected] ) with questions.

AccessLex, who we partner with for the MAX program (which provides education and support regarding financial matters, including managing student debt) has created a databank that includes nearly 800 scholarship opportunities and writing competitions. The databank includes scholarships for incoming and returning law students, as well as a few that will help with bar study costs. You can search the databank through this link: AccessLex.org/databank .

Business Law

Deadline: January 16, 2024

Submission Deadline: November 1, 2024

Environmental Law

Deadline: May 31, 2024

Deadline: November 3, 2023

Deadline: February 29, 2024

Annually in early April

Deadline: July 1 annually

Deadline: February 1, 2024

Deadline: April 15, 2024

Deadline: June 1, 2024

Deadline June 15, 2024

Student Affairs is located in Legal Research Center (LRC) on the Law Campus. MSC: 51

email   [email protected]

fax   503-768-6671  

Associate Dean of Student Affairs - Libby Davis Assistant Director of Student Affairs - Alyssa Salstrom

Director of Equity, Inclusion & Academic Resources - Lexie Zirschky

Student Affairs Lewis & Clark Law School 10101 S. Terwilliger Boulevard  MSC 51 Portland   OR   97219

• Financial Aid

Law Student Writing Contest: Intersection of Law and Technology

By Rebecca Baker

Do you have an original take on the law—but you’re not a lawyer yet? Our student writing competition is the perfect opportunity to show off your work.

We invite students to choose an area of law and example of technology, then describe how that technology might be tested in courts—based on state or federal laws, regulations, or court precedent—and how those developments could update past practices or force a rethinking of the legal landscape entirely.

For instance, you might consider how cryptocurrency impacts securities law, how AI transforms or challenges employment law, how face-reading technology intersects with privacy rights, or the role biometrics plays in health-care law.

We’ll publish the winning entry—and maybe some other standouts—in December. The chosen entries will appear outside the paywall so it can be shared far and wide. The student with the winning entry will also get a swag bag of Bloomberg Industry Group products.

Here’s what else you need to know:

• You must be a part-time or full-time law student at an accredited US law school or foreign equivalent
• Essays must not exceed 750 words
• Works must be original—they can’t have been published anywhere else
• We don’t publish footnotes or endnotes, but you can hyperlink to sources
• Be sure to credit any sources or quotes
• You can submit charts or graphs to make your article more compelling, but you’re not required to do so
• No more than two authors per entry
• The deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. EDT on Nov. 1, 2023

Judging Process

Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax editorial staff—along with some expert judges—will review entries without your identifying information. We’re looking for a fresh point of view that shows a clear understanding of the topic. Your paper should be convincing and thoroughly researched.

How to Enter

Please include your full name, your school’s name, and your email address at the end of the entry—we’ll redact this information for our judges, so this placement is critical.

Email all entries with “Student Submission” in the subject line to [email protected] . Send the entry in a Word document or typed directly into the body of the email.

By entering the contest, you agree that we may post part or all of your submission, including your name and school, as a part of the contest announcements or promotions.

Have questions? Email Rebecca Baker at [email protected] .

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Writing Competitions for Law Students: Summer (June - Aug.)

• Writing Resources
• Fall Semester (Sept. - Dec.)
• Spring Semester (Jan. - May)
• Summer (June - Aug.)
• Admiralty & Maritime Law
• Affordable Housing & Community Development Law
• Alcohol Regulation
• Antitrust Law, Consumer Protection Law & Data Privacy
• Armed Forces Law & National Security Law
• Aviation & Space Law
• Business Law
• Church/State Relations, Law & Religion
• Climate Accountability & Environmental Law
• Constitutional Law
• Construction Law
• Consumer Financial Services Law
• Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure & Criminal Justice Reform
• Disability Law & Rights
• Dispute Resolution
• Employee Benefits Law & Workers' Compensation
• Entertainment Law
• Gun Violence Prevention & Gun Safety
• Health Care Compliance & Health Law
• Human Rights
• Intellectual Property Law
• International Arbitration
• International Energy Negotiation
• International Insolvency
• International Law
• International Refugee Law
• International Trade Law & Customs Law
• Labor & Employment Law
• Law & Social Inquiry
• Law & Technology
• Law Affecting FDA-regulated Industries
• Law Librarianship
• Legal Ethics
• Legal History
• Legal Issues Concerning Indigenous Peoples
• Legal Malpractice Law & Lawyers' Professional Liability
• Legal Medicine
• Legal Scholarship on Issues of Importance to the Asian Pacific American Community
• Legal Short Fiction
• Pharmacy Law
• Planning & Law
• Public Contract Law
• Real Property Law
• Regulatory & Administrative Law
• Reproductive Rights & Justice (New Student Scholarship)
• Rule of Law
• Securities Arbitration & Securities Law
• Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Law
• Social Justice & Public Interest Law
• State & Local Government Law
• Trust & Estate Law
• Video Game Industry/Law
• Women & Law
• World Affairs
• Additional: Awards for Excellence in Legal Writing
• Additional: Opportunities for Law Students to Present Scholarly Work

Description

This page lists law student writing competitions by the deadline(s) established for each competition.

Competitions with Summer (June - Aug.) Deadlines

2024 CSCHS Selma Moidel Smith Student Writing Competition in California Legal History

• Deadline: "Submissions are due by June 1, 2024."

James B. Boskey Law Student Essay Contest on Dispute Resolution (annual)

• Deadline: "Details about the 2024 essay contest will be forthcoming."  This ABA page states: "Applications typically close each year in June."

Twentieth Annual Employee Benefits Writing Competition

• Deadline: June 1, 2024.  "[Papers] must be received no later than Midnight in the submitting student’s time zone on the Deadline."

Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy + Georgetown Law Technology Review Writing Competition (annual)

• Deadline for submission: "Please submit papers via email to [email protected] .  Submissions are due on June 3, 2024."

H. Thomas Austern Writing Competition   [Topical focus should be on FDA-regulated industries:  food, drugs, animal drugs, biologics, cosmetics, diagnostics, dietary supplements, medical devices, veterinary devices, cannabis, or tobacco and nicotine products.]

• Deadline: "Papers must be submitted no later than 11:59 PM ET on Monday, June 3, 2024."

National Sports Law Student Writing Competition

• Deadline: "All submissions to the 2024 competition must be received by ... June 3, 2024."

2024 Professor William R. Ginsberg Memorial Essay Contest [environmental law]

• Deadline: June 3, 2024.  [Note: Allocate sufficient time to submit a hard copy AND an electronic copy.]

Andrew P. Vance Memorial Writing Competition (annual) [customs and international trade law]

• Deadline for 2023 competition was: June 12, 2023.  Feb. 22, 2024: Wrote to ask when material about the Twenty-Fifth Annual (2024) Andrew P. Vance Memorial Writing Competition might become available.

Adam A. Milani Disability Law Writing Competition

• Deadline: "Submissions must be emailed no later than   11:59 p.m., June 14, 2024 ."

The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law Annual Law Student Writing Competition

• Consult the 2024 competition's announcement/rules and Judges' Scoring Guide .  The rules state: "Students are required to confer or consult with a labor or employment law professor or practitioner on topics." 
• Deadline: "[B]y midnight (EDT) on June 15, 2024 ."

American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law: 2024 Writing Competition

• Deadline: "Entries must be submitted by e-mail on or before June 30, 2024 by 11:59 p.m. (central)."

Gellhorn-Sargentich Law Student Essay Award Competition (annual) [administrative law]

• Deadline: "Entries must be received by 7:00 pm Eastern time on June 30, 2024."

Larry M. Simonsmeier Writing Award [pharmacy law]

• Deadline: "Interested parties are invited to nominate published papers written by themselves or other authors."   " The deadline for submission of nominations for the Larry M. Simonsmeier Award is June 30, 2024."

Mary Moers Wenig Student Writing Competition [the area of trusts and estates]

• Deadline: "June 30, 2024."

Robert C. Watson Award (annual) [ a subject relating to the protection of intellectual property]

• Deadline: "The 2024 submission window is open. The deadline for submission is June 30, 2024."

Smith-Babcock-Williams Student Writing Competition (annual)

• Deadline for submission in 2023 Competition was: June 30, 2023 .  A March 4, 2024 email reply stated that information about the 2024 Competition "will be available on or before April 16 [2024] (The American Planning Association’s National Conference) with an end of June deadline similar to last year’s."  "Details will be available at https://www.planning.org/divisions/planningandlaw/writingcompetition ."  Checked site on May 6, 2024 - details about 2024 Competition were not yet available.

Tax Notes Student Writing Competition

• Deadline: "The 2024 submission period is now open.  Entries must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. EDT on June 30, 202 4 ."

[Fourth] Annual Health Law and Anti-Racism Graduate Student Writing Competition

• Deadline: "Please submit your paper and abstract (in one file), as well as a resume/CV for all authors, by July 1, 2024 to Holly Fernandez Lynch at [email protected] with the subject line reading “ASLME Writing Competition."

2024 George Hutchinson Writing Competition (annual) [subject matter areas within the Federal Circuit’s jurisdiction] + online application

• Deadline:   " The submission window opens on April 19, 2024."   "Entries must be postmarked no later than July 1, 2024."

2024 Honorable Frederick E. McKelvey Writing Competition [U.S. patent law]

• Deadline: " Candidates shall submit essays for consideration on or before Monday, July 1, 2024, by email to  [email protected]  (include “ McKelvey  Writing Competition” in the subject line)."

National Student Writing Competition on Criminal Justice Reform

• Deadline: Arizona State Law Journal's website states: " Submissions for the 2023 contest are now closed and a winner has been notified. Keep an eye out for next year's contest."  Deadline for 2023 contest was: July 1, 2023.  

Warren E. Burger Prize [ a topic of your choice addressing issues of professionalism, ethics, civility, and excellence]

• Deadline: " Send the completed cover page and essay no later than July 1 by e-mail to Cindy Dennis."  March 3, 2024 email reply stated: "[D]eadline for submission is no later than July 1, 2024."

William W. Greenhalgh Student Writing Competition [criminal justice]

• Deadline: " All entries must be received by the editor no later than July 1, 2024, 11:59 pm CST."

Committee on Animals and the Law of the New York State Bar Association: Student Writing Competition (annual)

• Deadline: "The deadline for submission is Friday, July 5, 2024."

2024 Tannenwald Writing Competition [papers on any federal or state tax-related topic may be submitted in accordance with the  Competition Rules .]

• Deadline for submitting papers:   "9:00 p.m. EDT, July 10, 202 4."

American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section Aviation and Space Law Committee: 2024 Annual Law Student Writing Competition

Deadline: "Entries must be submitted by e-mail no later than 11:59 PM Central Time, August 8, 2024."

New York State Bar Association Business Law Section: Annual Student Writing Competition

• Requirements stated at website above include: "All submissions become the property of the NYSBA and the Business Law Journal . By submitting an article, the student is deemed to consent to its publication, whether or not a cash prize is awarded. To enter, the student should submit an original, unpublished manuscript in Word format to David L. Glass , editor in chief, NYSBA New York Business Law Journal ( [email protected] ).  The student should include a brief biography, including law school attended, degree for which the student is a candidate, and expected year of graduation."
• Deadline:  Submissions should be made by August 15 for the Fall issue of the New York Business Law Journal . 

Writing Prize for New Student Scholarship in Reproductive Rights & Justice (annual) - In future, check the website of If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice .

• Deadline: 2023 Writing Prize Call for Submissions is closed.  A Feb. 29, 2024 email reply stated: "The Call for Submissions typically opens in August."
• << Previous: Spring Semester (Jan. - May)
• Next: Admiralty & Maritime Law >>
• Last Updated: May 17, 2024 3:29 AM
• URL: https://guides.brooklaw.edu/writing_competitions

Seventh Annual Student Essay Competition

Hayek goes to family court.

Applying Hayek’s theory of law and liberty to contemporary American family law, this Essay concludes that family-law scholars—especially those undertaking distributional analyses—would benefit from greater attention to the Hayekian values of predictability, adaptation, and equal application.

Facilitating Future Workforce Participation for Stay-at-Home Parents: Mitigating the Career Costs of Parenthood

Current policies help parents stay in the workforce after having children. But what about the quarter of American mothers who choose to become stay-at-home moms, then later face employment obstacles? This Essay proposes expanding worker opportunity tax credits and Title VII to help stay-at-home pare…

Volume 133’s Emerging Scholar of the Year: Robyn Powell

Announcing the eighth annual student essay competition, announcing the ylj academic summer grants program, featured content, lock them™ up: holding transnational corporate human-rights abusers accountable, administrative law at a turning point, law and movements: clinical perspectives.

• Student Legal Writing Competitions - June 2024
• March 27, 2024
• Announcements

The following are writing competitions to which law students may be eligible to submit their writings. For future writing competition deadlines and competitions by subject, see the Library’s Student Legal Writing Competitions Guide .

Cornelius Vander Broek Essay Contest for Ongoing College Students The Freedom From Religion Foundation offers five 2024 essay competitions for freethinking students — awarding more than $65,000 in total scholarships. Check the link for current topics and deadlines.

National Sports Law Student Writing Competition The goal of the National Sports Law Student Writing Competition is to encourage law student scholarship on current topics in sports law. Check the link for updated topics and deadlines.

A More Perfect Union - Chicago-Kent Annual Racial Justice Writing Competition As pledged in the 2020 Faculty Antiracism Statement, Chicago-Kent College of Law presents the second annual writing competition to encourage and honor excellent student scholarship on racial justice. The Law Library is excited to be the new sponsor of this writing competition.

Adam A. Milani Disability Law Writing Competition The purposes of the competition are to promote greater interest in and understanding of the field of disability law and to encourage excellent legal writing skills in law students.

American Bar Association James B. Boskey Law Student Essay Contest on Dispute Resolution The essay may address any aspect of dispute resolution practice, theory, or research that the contestant chooses.

H. Thomas Austern Writing Competition "intended to encourage law students interested in the areas of law affecting FDA-regulated industries: food, drugs, medical devices, biologics, dietary supplements, cosmetics, veterinary, cannabis, or tobacco and nicotine products."

Tax Notes Student Writing Competition "Our annual student writing competition recognizes superior student writing on unsettled questions in tax law or policy."

College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and ABA Section of Labor & Employment Lawyers "Current and relevant topics of labor and employment law."

ChapmanAlbin Scholarship for Law Students "Since 2015, ChapmanAlbin has sponsored a yearly $1000 scholarship for incoming and current law students. To apply, a U.S. law student must write a 300-500 word essay on a specific topic and meet a few other criteria for consideration."

Funk & Associates Annual Scholarship $1000 scholarship. "The original essay should be 500-1000 words and should describe how you plan on helping others with your legal career."

American Intellectual Property Law Association Robert C. Watson Award "Law students are encouraged to submit an article on an IP topic, written on or before June."

American Association of Patent Judges (AAPJ) Hon. Frederick E. McKelvey Writing Competition "Candidates shall submit essays concerning any subject relating to U.S. patent law. The first-place essay will be published in the Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society (JPTOS) (subject to editorial discretion and review, as explained below) and the author will receive an award and $1,000. The author of the runner-up essay will receive an award and $500." [2024 Information Forthcoming - Check AAPJ website.]

American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Mary Moers Wenig Student Writing Competition "Consistent with ACTEC’s purposes, the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Mary Moers Wenig Student Writing Competition was created to encourage and reward scholarly works in the area of trusts and estates."

American Society for Pharmacy Law (ASPL) Larry M. Simonsmeier Writing Award "ASPL recognizes outstanding scholarship related to Pharmacy Law with the Simonsmeier Award."

Gellhorn-Sargentich Law Student Essay Competition "Any topic relating to administrative law."

American College of Employee Benefits Counsel Writing Compeition Prize Papers may be on any topic in the employee benefits field.

• Academic and Student Programs
• Career Services and Internships/Externships
• General Announcements
• Student Organizations
• Student Services and Administrative Offices

Essay Competitions

• Essay Competitions Opportunities

Essay Competition by IDIA- NLU Jodhpur [Cash Prizes Worth Rs 50K]: Register by May 10

• May 6, 2024

Memorial National Article Writing Competition, 2024 by CUSAT [Cash Prizes Worth Rs 17.5K]: Submit by May 25

• April 13, 2024

• Call for blogs Essay Competitions Opportunities

National Blog Writing Competition by CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Cash Prizes Worth Rs 11K: Register by April 10

• April 4, 2024

Article Writing Competition at Integral University: Register by April 14

• March 28, 2024

Essay Writing Competition | Consumer Protection in the Digital Age by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University, Sonipat: Register by Mar 15

• March 7, 2024

1st Fox & Mandal – NUJS National Article Writing Competition [No Fees, Cash Prizes Worth Rs 60K]: Submit by Mar 20

• February 22, 2024

1st State Level Online Essay Competition on Women’s Rights and Their Protection by New Law College: Register by Feb 25

• February 19, 2024

Aman & Sonam Associates & Co’s 4th National Online Essay Writing Competition 2024: Register by Feb 15

• February 1, 2024

Law Audience’s 7th National Online Essay Writing Competition 2024: Register by Feb 19

• January 25, 2024

Article Writing Competition – Vision of Youth for Bharat by Think India NLUJA Assam: Submit by Jan 25

• January 16, 2024

8th Gary B. Born Essay Competition on International Arbitration, 2023 by NLU Jodhpur [Cash Prizes Worth USD 775]: Register Now!

• January 15, 2024

8th Pranita Mehta Memorial Essay Writing Competition by NLU Jodhpur [Cash Prizes Worth Rs 50k]: Submit by Jan 9

• January 4, 2024

3rd LS-National Essay Writing Competition by Lawsymptoms: Register by Jan 5

• January 2, 2024

Legal Writing Competitions: By Due Date

• By Due Date
• Additional Resources

Legal Writing Competitions

Legal writing competitions are a great way to earn recognition, get your work published, and even earn cash! The Legal Research Center has compiled a list of legal writing competitions, which you can browse by topic or by deadline month.

Some competitions require you to compose a new paper, while others call for the submission of a recently published paper, such as a law review article. Need help developing a topic? See our guides on  Developing a Topic for Research Papers and  Law Review Resources for more information.

This list is updated as new information is received, but note that deadlines and writing topics often change from year to year. Make sure to check each link for the most up-to-date information.

Writing Competitions: By Due Date

• Grammy Entertainment Law Initiative Student Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $10,000 tuition-based scholarship, tickets to GRAMMY Awards Topic: Legal issues facing the music industry
• Harvard Journal of Law & Technology (JOLT) Student Note Competition Deadline: June 9, 2023 Prize: $1700 Topic: Topics may include, but are not limited to, cybercrime, biotechnology, space law, entertainment and news media, comparative legal approaches to intellectual property, the law of the Internet, and technology in the public interest.
• Asian Pacific American Bar Association Educational Fund Robert T. Matsui Annual Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 ; contact [email protected] Prize: $5,000 Topic: Submissions should address a legal topic of importance to the Asian Pacific American community. Eligibility: The Competition is open to all law students and anyone who graduated from law school within the last five years (i.e., 2018 or later) in the United States.
• NYIPLA Honorable William Conner Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $1,500 Topic: An entry must be directed to any of the following subject areas related to intellectual property, i.e., patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, unfair trade practices, antitrust, and data security/privacy issues. Eligibility: All entrants must be law school students currently enrolled in a J.D. or LL.M. program (day or evening) in an accredited law school in the United States.
• International Refugee Law Student Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $100 Topic: Papers may address any topic related to international law and refugees, stateless persons, internally-displaced persons (IDPs), and/or forced migrants. Eligibility: Student authors must be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program at an accredited university at the time of submission.
• University of Pennsylvania Law Review Dorothy E. Roberts Public Interest Essay Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $1,000 cash prize; $5,000 grant to support public interest work or the work of a non-profit organization or pro bono clinic Topic: Submissions must focus on a specific legal issue within the realm of public interest law, including any issue relating to social justice or advancing the general welfare and good of the public. In addition, the author must include a brief grant proposal for $5,000 to support public interest work related to the essay topic. Topics can be local, state, national, or international in breadth or impact. Eligibility: The competition is open to all current law students (Classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025) from any ABA-accredited American law school as well as recent graduates of such institutions from the classes of 2015 – 2022. Submissions are limited to one per person and must be an original, unpublished academic essay.
• Brooks Kushman Law Student Intellectual Property Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $5,000 Topic: Trademark or patent law Eligibility: Open to any law student in good standing and currently enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school, and who is a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States.
• ABA Business Law Section Mendes Hershman Writing Contest Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $1,000 Topic: "Business Law" is a broad category. Without attempting to define the area precisely, the subject is intended to include matters within law school curricula in courses entitled: Eligibility: Author of the paper must be a student enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school’s J.D. program, in good standing, at the time of submission more... less... Agency; Bankruptcy; Business Law; Business Organizations; Commercial Law; Consumer Law Contracts; Corporate Finance; Corporate Governance; Corporations; Creditors Rights; Employment Law; Financial Institutions; Insurance Law; Oil and Gas Law; Professional Responsibility; Remedies; Secured Transactions; Securities Regulations; Uniform Commercial Code
• Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Human Rights Essay Award Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: A scholarship to cover tuition for the Program of Advanced Studies in Human Rights and Humanitarian Law for either the Diploma or Certificate of Attendance options Notes: Essay Award Topic for 2023: Equality and Human Rights: Confronting Racial Discrimination Eligibility: Applicants for the Award must hold a law degree and have a demonstrated experience or interest in international human rights law.

Typically Held in January

These competitions have been held in January in prior academic years. Check each link for the latest information.

• National Native American Law Students Association Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Topic: All students are encouraged to submit scholarly articles between twenty (20) and fifty (50) pages, either individually or jointly with other students, about Native American legal issues. Eligibility: Competitors must be active, dues-paying members of National NALSA.
• American Society of Legal Writers Scribes Law-Review Award Deadline: January 15, 2023 Notes: Since 1987, Scribes has presented an annual award for the best student-written article in a law review or journal. The Scribes Law-Review Award is presented at the Scribes annual CLE, which is usually held in April.
• Louis Jackson Memorial National Student Writing Competition in Employment and Labor Law Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $3,000 Topic: Employment and labor law
• American College of Legal Medicine Student Writing Competition Deadline: January 28, 2022 Eligibility: All students studying Medicine, Law, Dentistry, Podiatry, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Science, Healthcare Administration or Public Health are encouraged to compete.
• Center for Alcohol Policy National Essay Contest Deadline: January 28, 2022 Prize: $5,000 Topic: After Prohibition, states generally issued licenses for on-premise and off-premise sale of alcohol. Drinking was thus largely confined to bars, restaurants, the home, and private clubs. Alcohol is now regularly offered in places like salons, grocery stores, clothing stores, and galleries. Is this trend towards ubiquitous availability of alcohol a good one? And is there a new regulatory regime needed to address this trend?
• ABA Section of Antitrust Law Robert Pitofsky Law Student Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $2,500 Topic: Antitrust or consumer protection law Eligibility: Open to any law school student in good standing, over the age of 21, who is currently attending an ABA-accredited law school within the United States and its possessions, and who is a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States. Entrants must submit an original article, which has already been published or which is scheduled to be published.
• ABA Antitrust Law Section Harvey Saferstein Consumer Protection Essay Contest Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $5,000 Topic: Consumer protection law
• Federal Bar Association Donald C. Alexander Tax Law Writing Competition Deadline: January 31, 2022 Prize: $2,000 Topic: Federal taxation
• International Trademark Association Ladas Memorial Award Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $1,250 Topic: Subject of the paper must be trademark law or a matter that directly relates to, or affects, trademarks. Eligibility: Eligible students must be enrolled as either full- or part-time law or graduate students. Eligible papers may include both original unpublished manuscripts and published articles that are submitted to INTA by the submission deadline.
• Baxter Family Competition on Federalism Deadline: TBA for 2025 Prize: $5,000 (CAD) Topic: Federalism: What makes it work (or not!). This broad theme welcomes reflections about the institutional, political and cultural elements that explain successes and failures of federalism, whether small scale or at the macro level. We particularly welcome analyses which explore the potential and pitfalls of cooperative federalism. Cooperative angles are especially encouraged. Eligibility: All undergraduate or graduate students in law or political science students, as well as junior scholars, lawyers or practitioners who graduated in these disciplines with five (5) years of working experience or less, from anywhere around the world.
• Georgetown Institute of International Economic Law Greenwald Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $2,500 Topic: Current issues relevant to international trade law, the jurisprudence of the WTO or regional trade organizations, jurisprudence concerning U.S. trade organizations, an issue relating to the political economy or the efficacy of U.S. or international trade regimes. Eligibility: JD, LLM, and SJD students
• American Constitution Society Constance Baker Motley National Student Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $3,000 Topic: ACS welcomes all student papers furthering and promoting a progressive vision of the Constitution, law, and public policy. Entrants are encouraged to view this topic broadly, and we welcome submissions on a variety of substantive areas. Examples of possible topics include: census report, civil legal aid, civil liberties, constitutional convention, consumer rights, criminal justice, disability rights, freedom of speech, immigration, indigent defense, money in politics (including judicial elections), labor law, LGBTQ+ rights, privacy, protection of health, safety, and the environment, racial equality, religion, role of state attorneys general, second amendment and guns, separation of powers and federalism, women’s reproductive rights and reproductive freedom, voting and political process, and whistleblower protection. Eligibility: The competition is open to all law students who are current, dues-paying ACS National members.
• American Constitution Society Richard D. Cudahy Writing Competition on Regulatory and Administrative Law Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $1,500 Notes: Submissions should be focused on American regulatory or administrative law, broadly construed. Appropriate subjects include empirical or comparative analyses of the effectiveness of specific regulatory regimes or deregulation; doctrinal investigations of the development of administrative law rules or principles by courts and administrative agencies and the effects of that development; and normative analyses of how particular regulatory or administrative regimes or deregulation advance or fail to advance values of fairness, participation, and transparency. Eligibility: The competition is open to all lawyers and law students. Practicing lawyers, policymakers, academics, and law students all are encouraged to participate. To be considered for the law student category the author(s) must be currently enrolled in a J.D. or LLM program at a U.S. law school.

March Competitions with February Registration Deadlines

Paper submissions for these competitions are due in March, but registration is required and due in February.

• American College of Coverage Counsel Insurance Law Writing Competition Registration Deadline: TBA for 2024 Submission Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $2,000 Topic: This year’s writing competition asks students to choose one of two sides in a case involving an insurance company and a Texas based business in preparing a motion for partial summary judgment on a specific set of grounds as presented by each party.
• Roy Snell Health Care Regulatory and Compliance Writing Competition Registration Deadline: TBA for 2024 Submission Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $5,000 Notes: In keeping with Roy Snell’s keen interest in practical, realistic, and user-centered communication, as well as a commitment to efficiency and clarity in writing, this demanding competition requires students to analyze a hypothetical fact pattern (the Competition Problem) involving an organization facing multifaceted health care regulatory/compliance matters and draft two separate internal memoranda to two different recipients within the organization. Students must analyze the facts presented, identify any and all regulatory/compliance concerns, and advise the recipient of the memorandum. Eligibility: The competition is open to all full and part-time law students in J.D. programs who have completed their 1L year. The competition is also open to any student currently enrolled in a Compliance Certification Board (CCB) accredited program.

Typically Held in February

These competitions have been held in February in prior academic years. Check each link for the latest information.

• Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts Law Student Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $5,000 Topic: Open to 2L and 3L students at any Pennsylvania law school and Rutgers Law. Topic: Under the existing rules of judicial conduct, how might Pennsylvania's courts utilize current communication tools, such as social media, to engage the people of Pennsylvania to instill confidence in the workings of the judicial branch and its decisions?
• ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers’ Professional Liability Ed Mendrzycki Essay Contest Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $5,000 Topic: This year's hypothetical involves multiple ethical and professional liability concerns that arise when a partner in a law firm is retained to represent a client in several business and real estate matters regarding a series of land acquisitions, and the law firm is contacted by the Department of Justice to assist in the investigation of potential money laundering allegations against the client.
• ABA Antitrust Law Section Privacy and Information Security Committee Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Writing Competition Deadline: February 24, 2024 Prize: $5,000 Topic: Participants are required to submit an original written work on data privacy or cybersecurity law. Eligibility: Contestants need not be a member of the American Bar Association (“ABA”), the Antitrust Law Section ("Section") or the Privacy and Information Security Committee ("Committee") although membership in all is encouraged.
• Epstein Becker Green Health Law Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $4,000 Topic: Papers may address any traditional area of the law as applied to health care (e.g., antitrust, tax, corporate) or areas of law unique to health care (e.g., fraud and abuse, managed care, Medicare/Medicaid, clinical trials, telehealth/telemedicine).
• American Indian Law Review National Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $1,500 Topic: Any legal issue specifically concerning American Indians or other indigenous peoples. Eligibility: The competition is open to students enrolled in J.D. or graduate law programs at accredited law schools in the United States and Canada as of the competition deadline of Monday, Feb. 28, 2022.
• Sports Lawyers Association Student Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $5,000 Notes: Each entrant must be a current law or LLM student and 18 years of age or older, and a member in good standing of the Sports Lawyers Association.
• Society of International Economic Law/JIEL/OUP Essay Prize Deadline: February 28, 2022 Prize: £200, as well as £400 of Oxford University Press book vouchers Topic: Any topic in the field of international economic law
• ABA Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law Student Legal Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $1,000 Topic: Entries should address any legal issue regarding affordable housing, fair housing and/or community development law. Eligibility: Open to all law students who are at the time of entry, (a) enrolled in a law school that is at the time of entry, ABA Accredited, (b) member of the ABA and the Forum, (c) at least 21 years old, and (d) U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.
• Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems Trandafir Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $2,000 Topic: Any contemporary international business or economic concern. Recent winning submissions have included such topics as recommendations the United States should follow to update its privacy laws to harmonize with international general data protection regulation commitments, why international labor organizations should adopt fair trade as an enforcement mechanism to end labor violations, and why the United States Treasury should wait for Congress to end corporate tax sheltering tactics. Eligibility: All students currently enrolled in law or graduate degree programs.

Typically Held in March

These competitions have been held in March in prior academic years. Check each link for the latest information.

• Access To Justice Tech Fellows Legal Tech Fictional Writing Competition Deadline: March 1, 2022 Prize: $1,000 Topic: We’re seeking short fictional stories (1,500 words or less) about how technology is or will impact the legal field and access to justice. The stories are not meant to be academic articles designed for publication in a journal but rather an easily read work of fiction. The topic is fairly broad and can encompass any aspect of the interaction between the law and technological innovation.
• Judge Samuel G. DeSimone Legal Writing Competition Deadline: March 1, 2022 Prize: $3,000.00 Topic: “Given the sweeping ‘Me Too’ movement throughout the nation, should other states join New Jersey and adopt laws similar to S477/A3648, by expanding the two-year civil statute of limitations to seven years for all victims of sex assault, and make the expansion retroactive? Eligibility: The Judge Samuel G. DeSimone Legal Writing Competition is open to full-time and part-time law students who are enrolled in the 2021-2022 academic year in an accredited Law School, who reside in Southern New Jersey.
• Institute for Energy Law Hartrick Scholar Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $2,500 Topic: Any topic related to energy development. This includes, for example, topics concerning oil and gas law, alternative energy resources, energy regulation, and environmental regulation of the energy industries.
• Center for Legal & Court Technology Artificial Intelligence Writing Competition Deadline: March 1, 2022 Prize: $2,500 Topic: Papers must focus on at least one application of these technologies (e.g., Internet of Medical Things devices, facial recognition technology, autonomous systems, social media monitoring, etc.)
• Notre Dame Law School Program on Church, State & Society Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $3,000 Topic: Papers should be focused, broadly, on topics related to church, state & society. For guidance on selecting a topic, students may wish to view our Program website and mission statement: https://churchstate.nd.edu/
• White River Environmental Law Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $1,000 Topic: Any relevant topic in the fields of environmental law, natural resource law, energy law, environmental justice, land use law, animal law, and agricultural law. Eligibility: Current J.D. or LLM students at any ABA-accredited law school.
• Freedom From Religion Foundation Cornelius Vanderbroek Memorial Essay Competition Deadline: June 1, 2023 Prize: $3,500 Topic: As the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines has become vital to the global effort to end the pandemic, both government and private employers, as well as some schools, around the country have announced vaccine mandates. Historically, very few employees have claimed religious exemptions from required vaccinations. However, people who oppose COVID-19 vaccines for political or other reasons are now abusing religious exemptions in order to flout vaccine mandates. Against this backdrop lawsuits have surged, challenging vaccine requirements on religious grounds and arguing that religious exemptions to such requirements are required by the First Amendment. Craft an argument that religious exemptions from vaccine requirements are not legally required, addressing constitutional questions as well as other legal issues raised by such mandates.
• Berkeley Technology Law Journal Writing Competition Deadline: March 28, 2022 Prize: $1,000 Topic: A wide variety of topics at the intersection of law and technology, including but not limited to: technology and the public interest, privacy, internet law, intellectual property, antitrust, First Amendment issues, entertainment and news media, telecommunications, biotechnology, and cybercrime. Eligibility: The competition is open to all currently enrolled graduate-level law students (including J.D., L.L.M., and J.S.D. candidates, along with law students outside of the United States).
• ABA Section of Family Law Howard C. Schwab Memorial Essay Contest Registration Deadline: TBA for 2024 Submission Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $1,500.00 Topic: The subject may be any aspect of family law. Eligibility: Contestants must be J.D. students at ABA-approved law schools who are: second or third-year full-time students; second through fourth-year part-time students; or first-year students enrolled in schools where the subject of family law is part of the first-year curriculum; and citizens or legal permanent residents of the U.S. more... less... The primary focus of each essay should be an issue of law, although some interdisciplinary material may be useful in addressing a legal issue. Family law includes dissolution of marriage and other intimate relationships, relationships of persons of the same sex, parentage, custody, child support, division of property, alimony (maintenance), attorney's fees, adoption, dependency, termination of parental rights, rights pertaining to procreation, and alternative dispute resolution of Family Law issues. Family Law generally does not include Juvenile Justice, Probate, Labor, Immigration Law, and sociology topics unless those topics are related to more traditional Family Law subjects.

Typically Held in April

These competitions have been held in April in prior academic years. Check each link for the latest information.

• American Kennel Club Companion Animal Law Writing Contest Deadline: April 1, 2022 Prize: $2,500 Topic: Students are asked to choose between two topics: The impact of “lawyers for dogs” laws on animal cruelty cases or the constitutionality of mandatory spay/neuter laws. Eligibility: Entrants must be enrolled at an ABA-accredited law school in the United States.
• ABA Standing Committee on Armed Forces Law Keithe E. Nelson Distinguished Service Award Deadline: TBA for 2024 Topic: Military law or the status of lawyers in the Armed Forces
• UIC John Marshall Law School Center for Tax Law & Employee Benefits Paul Faherty Tax Law Writing Scholarship Deadline: April 13, 2021 Prize: $3,000 Notes: Please contact the Center for Tax Law & Employee Benefits for additional information.
• ABA Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee Law Student Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $1,000 Topic: Recent developments in admiralty and maritime law Eligibility: The Competition is open to any U.S. citizen law student or LLM candidate over the age of 21, currently attending an ABA-accredited law school within the United States and its possessions.
• Marshall M. Schulman Annual Competition for Student Papers in Criminal Law and/or Criminal Procedure Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $1,500 Topic: Criminal law and/or to criminal procedure, with a particular focus on contemporary issues of concern in the State of California Eligibility: This is a nationwide competition; while the focus is on California law, past winners have included students attending schools across the country.
• Pennsylvania Bar Association Intellectual Property Law Section Writing Contest Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $500 Topic: Patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets or trade dress Eligibility: Open to all law students enrolled in any law school in the United States who intend to take the Pennsylvania bar exam.
• American University Washington College of Law National Health Law Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $2,000 Topic: Papers must address and analyze health law and/or food/drug/device law issues. (Note that a paper that analyzes intellectual property or environmental laws/statutes, even if relating to health or the health care industry, will not be eligible.) Eligibility: Current 2L, 3L, and 4L (evening/part-time) JD and LLM students enrolled in a U.S. law school at the time of paper submission are eligible to participate.
• Public Citizen Law Hogan/Smoger Access to Justice Essay Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $5,000 Topic: Legal Remedies to Combat Climate Change
• National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees Law Student Writing Competition Deadline: April 30, 2021 Prize: $1,000 Topic: Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code
• AALL/LexisNexis Call For Papers Awards (Student Division) Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $650 Topic: A paper may address any subject relevant to law librarianship. It may be scholarly or practical in substance and tone, but the subject should be explored in depth with appropriate reference to sources and documentation of assertions. Eligibility: Those enrolled in library school, information management school or the equivalent, or in law school, during the Fall 2022 or Spring 2023 semester. Entrants in the Student Division need not be members of AALL.
• ABA Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Student Writing Contest Deadline: May 31, 2023 Prize: $2,500 Topic: Real property, trust and estate law.* Eligibility: Open to any law school student in good standing, over the age of 21, who is currently attending an ABA-accredited law school within the United States and its possessions, and who is a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States. more... less... *“Real property, trust and estate law” is a broad category containing numerous practice disciplines. Without attempting to define the area precisely, the subject is intended to include matters within law school curricula in courses entitled: Property; Estate and Gift Tax; Wills and Decedents’ Estates; Real Estate Development; Environmental Law; Land Use Planning; Federal Taxation; Real Estate Finance; Secured Transactions; Debtors and Creditors; Employee Benefit Plans; Planning, Drafting and Negotiating Commercial Transactions; Taxation and Regulation of Non-Profit Organizations; Business Succession Planning; Life Insurance and Other Insurance Products; Trusts and Trust Law; Wealth Management; Fiduciary Income Taxation; Estate Planning; and Probate and Estate Administration.

Typically Held in May

These competitions have been held in May in prior academic years. Check each link for the latest information.

• UNIDROIT Essay Competition Deadline: May 1, 2022 Prize: 2,500 € Topic: Any relevant current or future UNIDROIT instrument(s) such as the UNIDROIT Principles on International Commercial Contracts, the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and its Protocols, the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects, the UNIDROIT-FAO-IFAD Legal Guides on Contract Farming, and/or Agricultural Land Investment Contracts, among others.
• Chief Justice John B. Doolin Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $1,000 Eligibility: Open to any student enrolled in college, at any level.
• National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Bar Association Michael Greenberg Student Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $500 Topic: Legal issues affecting LGBTQ+ persons.
• AALL Morris L. Cohen Student Essay Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $500 Topic: Essays may be on any topic related to legal history, rare law books, or legal archives.
• National Crime Victim Law Institute Annual Law Student Victims’ Rights Writing Competition Deadline: May 20, 2024 Prize: $200 Topic: Victims’ rights (preference given to papers focusing on rights enforcement in the context of criminal justice systems) Eligibility: Authors/presenters must be enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school at the date of their submission or have graduated from such a school within the last 18 months.
• IDEA Student IP Writing Competition Deadline: May 28, 2021 Prize: $500 Topic: Intellectual property law
• ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Writing Competitions Deadline: May 31, 2023 Prize: $1,000 Topic: See link for details of eight separate writing competitions: Endangered Species, Energy Law, Forest Law, International Environmental and Resources Law, Native American Resources, Public Land and Resources, Superfund, Brownfields, and Resource Recovery, and Water Law
• American Association of Patent Judges Hon. Frederick E. McKelvey Memorial Scholarship Deadline: June 30, 2023 Prize: $500 Topic: For this year’s entry, an entrant must identify ways patents “promote the progress of … useful arts” (Const.; Art. I, Sec. 8, Cl. 8) and explain how the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) can encourage that. In your answer, please define “useful arts.” Eligibility: Students matriculated at and attending an ABA-accredited law school at least half-time as of February 28, 2022, are eligible to submit an entry for this competition.
• International Insolvency Institute Prize in International Insolvency Studies Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $3,000 Topic: Topics of international insolvency and restructuring significance and comparative international analysis of domestic insolvency and restructuring issues and developments. Eligibility: The Prize Competition is open to full and part-time undergraduate and graduate students and to practitioners in practice for nine years or less. Entries must not have been published.
• Judge John R. Brown Award for Excellence in Legal Writing Deadline: May 31, 2023 Prize: Up to $15,000 Eligibility: Any law student currently enrolled in an accredited law school in the United States seeking a J.D. or LL.B degree is eligible to submit a paper for the Award. The article must be accompanied by a letter of recommendation from a law school faculty member or legal professional other than the author of the paper.
• Georgetown Law Technology Student Writing Competition Deadline: May 31, 2023 Prize: $4,000 Topic: This year’s writing competition invites submissions on Personal Information, Power, and the Intersection of Technology and Society. Submitted papers should in some way address data-driven or data-intensive technologies. See link for further details and examples of potential topics. Eligibility: Papers will be accepted from students enrolled at any ABA-accredited law school in the United States during the 2021-2022 academic year. The paper must be the author’s own work, although students may incorporate feedback received as part of an academic course or supervised writing project. The paper must not have been published or committed for publication in another journal.
• Tax Notes Student Writing Competition Deadline: June 30, 2023 Topic: Submissions should focus on an unsettled question in federal, state, or international tax law or policy. Eligibility: The competition is open to any student currently enrolled in a law, business, or public policy program. Each student may submit only one paper. Co-authored papers will be accepted.

Typically Held in June

These competitions have been held in June in prior academic years. Check each link for the latest information.

• American College of Employee Benefits Counsel Writing Contest Deadline: June 1, 2023 Prize: $1,800 Topic: Employee benefits legal topics Eligibility: Any J.D. and graduate (L.L.M. or S.J.D.) law students enrolled at any time between August 15, 2021, and August 15, 2022, who have not at any time engaged in the practice of law.
• American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics Health Law and Anti-Racism Graduate Student Writing Competition Deadline: July 1, 2023 Prize: $500 Topic: Note that a wide variety of topics will be viewed as in scope, but papers must focus specifically on health law in the context of anti-racism. If you have questions about the suitability of your topic, please ask.
• Notre Dame Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition Deadline: June 1, 2022 Prize: $2,500 Topic: Any issue within the general category of legal ethics. Eligibility: Open to all law students at U.S. and Canadian law schools.
• CITBA/University of Miami School of Law Andrew P. Vance Memorial Writing Competition Deadline: June 3, 2022 Prize: $1,000 Topic: Current issues relevant to customs and international trade law. Eligibility: Entrants must be currently enrolled in a J.D. or L.L.M. program at any of the nation’s law schools.
• ABA Commission on Disability Rights Adam A. Milani Writing Competition Deadline: June 9, 2023 Prize: Up to $1,000 Topic: The submission may address any aspect of disability law, theory, or practice the contestant chooses. Other permissible topics include issues arising under any of the following statutes: Civil Rights Act of 1964; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; Age Discrimination in Employment Act; Family and Medical Leave Act; or any state statutes or municipal ordinances prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Eligibility: The competition is open to all students who attend a law school in the United States. Full-time students who are not law students but who write law-related papers as part of a course at an American law school are also eligible.
• Food and Drug Law Institute H. Thomas Austern Writing Competition Deadline: June 12, 2023 Prize: $750 Topic: Current legal issues concerning food, drugs, animal drugs, biologics, cosmetics, diagnostics, dietary supplements, medical devices, veterinary devices, cannabis, or tobacco
• ABA Section of Dispute Resolution James Boskey Essay Competition Deadline: June 9, 2023 Prize: $1,000 Topic: Any aspect of dispute resolution practice, theory or research that the contestant chooses. Eligibility: The competition is open to anyone, age 21 or older, who was a full-time or part- time J.D. law student, including students in joint J.D. degree programs, at an ABA-accredited law school during the 2020-21 academic year.
• American Journal of Mediation National Dispute Resolution Writing Competition Deadline: December 15, 2023 Prize: $5,000 Topic: Subject matter focus for entries can embrace the full range of the alternative dispute resolution field– consensus-based dispute resolution (e.g., negotiation, mediation), adjudicative processes (e.g., early neutral evaluation, binding or non-binding arbitration and private judging), or mixed processes (e.g., arb-med, med-arb, high low arbitration, baseball arbitration). Papers can also focus on ADR process design, practice techniques, specific case studies, related legislation, and ethical dilemmas and standards for dispute resolution professionals. Eligibility: The competition is open to all North American JD and LLM law students enrolled as of December 15, 2021.
• Chapman LLC Scholarship for Law Students Deadline: June 15, 2023 Prize: $1,000 Topic: Should collegiate athletes be paid? Argue for or against and provide at least 3 reasons for your position. Eligibility: Law student planning on attending, accepted to attend, or currently attending an accredited law school in the U.S.; U.S. citizen 18 years or older.
• Bloomberg Tax Insights Student Writing Competition Deadline: June 15, 2022 Prize: One-year subscription to Bloomberg Tax Topic: Tax policy Eligibility: You must be a part-time or full-time law student at an accredited U.S. law school or foreign equivalent, or a part-time or full-time student pursuing an undergraduate or graduate tax, accounting, or business degree. Co-authored or team papers are OK.
• College of Labor and Employment Lawyers Writing Competition for Law Students Deadline: June 15, 2022 Prize: $3,000 Topic: Labor and employment law
• ABA Forum on Construction Law’s Law Student Writing Competition Deadline: June 30, 2023 Prize: $2,000 Topic: Papers should address a topical issue of interest to the construction industry. Eligibility: The competition is open to any student age 21 years or older enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school during the academic years 2021 and 2022 of the competition who is a legal resident of the United States.
• ABA Infrastructure and Regulated Industries Section K. William Kolbe Writing Competition Deadline: June 30, 2023 Prize: $2,500 Topic: Papers should address a current topic of general interest in a legal area covered by the Infrastructure and Regulated Industries Section (communications, cable TV, internet, electricity, gas, oil pipelines, aviation, railroads, and water industries).
• American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Mary Moers Wenig Student Writing Competition Deadline: June 30, 2023 Topic: The paper must relate to the area of trusts and estates, broadly defined. Entrants should write on issues of general interest, rather than state specific issues. Eligibility: Any law student in good standing (full-time or part-time) who is currently enrolled at the time of submission or was a student within the past 90-day period prior to submission as a J.D. or LL.M. candidate in an ABA-accredited law school within the United States or its possessions. more... less... Any one or more of the following topics are appropriate for discussion: Business Planning; Charitable Planning; Elder Law; Employee Benefits; Fiduciary Accounting; Fiduciary Administration; Fiduciary Income Taxation; Fiduciary Litigation; Estate Planning and Drafting; Professional Responsibility; Substantive Laws for the Gratuitous Transmission of Property; Wealth Transfer Taxation (Estate, Gift and GST Tax)
• American Intellectual Property Law Association Robert C. Watson Award Deadline: June 30, 2023 Topic: Intellectual property law
• American Society for Pharmacy Law Simonsmeier Award Deadline: June 30, 2023 Topic: Pharmacy law (law related to pharmacists, pharmacies, the provision of pharmaceutical care, the manufacturing and distribution of drugs, and other food, drug, and medical device policy issues) Eligibility: Papers published in or accepted for publication in any English-language peer-reviewed journal (including law reviews) during the period from January 2020 through December 2021 are eligible.
• Journal of Law in the Middle East by LexisNexis Student Essay Competition Deadline: June 30, 2022 Prize: LexisNexis MENA Book Collection, valued at over USD $1000 Topic: Discuss the legal and ethical considerations of AI applications, with a focus on the Middle East. Eligibility: At the time of submission, the student must be an LL.B., LL.M., Ph.D. or S.J.D. candidate at any institution in the world.
• American Planning Association Smith-Babcock-Williams Student Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $2,000 Topic: Planning, planning law, land use law, local government law or environmental law Eligibility: Open to law students and planning students
• ABA Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Gellhorn-Sargentich Law Student Essay Award Competition Deadline: June 30, 2023 Prize: $5,000 Topic: The entry must discuss any topic relating to administrative law. Eligibility: The Competition is open to law students who are, at the time of entry, (a) enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school, (b) members of the ABA and the Section, (c) at least 21 years old, and (d) U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents.

Typically Held in July

These competitions have been held in July in prior academic years. Check each link for the latest information.

• ABA Criminal Section Justice Annual William W. Greenhalgh Student Writing Competition Deadline: July 1, 2023 Prize: $2,500 Topic: Technology-enhanced searches Eligibility: The contest is open to students who, on the date the entry is submitted, attend and are in good standing at an ABA-accredited law school within the United States and its possessions. Membership in the Criminal Justice Section is not a requirement. Entrants must be at least 21 years of age and legal permanent residents or citizens of the United States.
• American Inns of Court Warren E. Burger Prize Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $5,000 Topic: Authors should address one or more aspects of professionalism, ethics, civility, and excellence within the legal profession.
• Arizona State Law Journal Criminal Justice Reform National Writing Competition Deadline: July 1, 2023 Prize: $1,000 Topic: Criminal justice reform Eligibility: Applicants must be enrolled full-time at an ABA-accredited law school at the time of submission.
• INS/IYNA Neuroethics Essay Contest Deadline: July 7, 2023 Prize: $250 Topic: Essay submissions can cover any topic in neuroethics and should address a focused problem at the intersections of the mind and brain sciences, ethics, and law. Example topics include, but are not limited to: neuroenhancement, neurolaw, moral psychology, moral philosophy, brain stimulation, ethics of neurodegenerative illness, neurogenetics, neurotechnology policy and regulation, philosophy of mind, clinical ethics in psychiatry and neurosurgery, neural imaging, big data and neuroscience, brain–computer interaction, military applications of neurotechnology, and free will. Notes: Those included in the definition of ‘post-secondary student’ or ‘early career trainees’ during the Spring 2022 semester may submit an essay to either the Academic or General Audience categories. Authors may submit two different essays — one to each category. See Neuroethics Essay Contest website for more information on essay categories.
• Theodore Tannenwald, Jr. Foundation for Excellence in Tax Scholarship Writing Competition Deadline: July 10, 2023 Prize: $5,000 Topic: Submitted papers must focus primarily upon technical or policy-oriented tax issues relating to any type of existing or proposed U.S. federal or state tax or U.S. federal or state taxation system (including topics relating to tax practice ethical and professional responsibility matters). See Competition Rules for more information.
• Esports Bar Association Journal Top Student Submission Deadline: July 15, 2022 Prize: $3,000 Topic: Esports and the law Eligibility: Submissions are open to current law students, law school faculty, attorneys, and other practitioners over the age of 18. You do not need to be a member of the EBA in order to submit.
• NYSBA Committee on Animals and the Law: Student Writing Competition Deadline: July 7, 2023 Prize: $1,000 Topic: Animal law Eligibility: To be eligible for consideration, the submission must be written by a student currently enrolled (full time or part time) in an ABA-accredited law school. Students expecting to receive their degree in 2022 are eligible for consideration. The submission must be written by one, and only one student, i.e., papers jointly written by more than one student or that have been subjected to line editing by professors or advisors shall not be considered. No paper that has been previously published in any form shall be considered.
• Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Law School Writing Competition Deadline: July 15, 2022 Prize: $5,000 Topic: TAFEF wants to encourage the submission of articles that address topics in both federal and state False Claims Acts as well as the administrative programs that support whistleblowers and sanction fraudulent claims in government programs. Topics that fall within these parameters are eligible. Eligibility: For the 2022 competition, the article submitted to TAFEF must have appeared in a law journal or review during the 18-month period January 2021 through June 2022. If the law journal or review has not yet been published, you must certify that your submission has been accepted for publication in a law review or journal dated during that period.
• CLGI Global Climate Law and Governance Essay Competition Deadline: July 19, 2022 Topic: Essays can address any aspect of law and governance related to climate change or sustainable development, from local to global. This may include principles or provisions of the Paris Agreement and its Katowice Rulebook; recent trends in climate change dispute settlement and litigation; the challenges and opportunities of design, implementation and reform of legal and institutional frameworks for climate mitigation, adaptation/resilience or finance; climate aspects of trade and investment instruments; and human rights and climate justice. Eligibility: The competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students. Students from least developed countries are especially encouraged to apply. Submissions may be co-authored.
• National Institute of Military Justice Rear Admiral John S. Jenkins Writing Award for Law Students Deadline: July 31, 2023 Prize: $250 Topic: Military law Eligibility: Papers and/or published articles are eligible for this award if they were written by a candidate for the J.D. in the previous academic year.

Typically Held in August

These competitions have been held in August in prior academic years. Check each link for the latest information.

• Education Law Association George Jay Joseph Award Deadline: August 1, 2022 Topic: The subject matter must address one or more legal issues within any of the various contexts of education, including public and private K-12 schools and institutions of higher education, especially current and emerging issues.
• Philadelphia Bar Association Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Pursuit of Justice Legal Writing Competition Deadline: August 1, 2023 Prize: $2,500 Topic: Candidates may submit a law review quality submission on any topic relating to rights, privileges, and responsibilities under federal law. Eligibility: Open to full-time and part-time law students who completed their second or third year of study by the end of the 2021-2022 academic year at one of the following six institutions : Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, Rutgers Law School, Temple University Beasley School of Law, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law and Widener University Delaware Law School. Part-time law students who were in their third or later year of study during the 2021-2022 academic year are also eligible.
• National Association of Women Lawyers Selma Moidel Smith Law Student Writing Competition Deadline: February 1, 2024 Prize: $500 Topic: Entrants should submit a paper on an issue concerning, in your opinion, the most pressing issue related to advancing equality in the legal field. Topics can include but are not limited to, examining race, gender, sex, feminism, LGBTQIA+, pay equity, equal education, and employment opportunity, and or the Equal Rights Amendment, etc. Eligibility: Essays will be accepted from students enrolled at an ABA-accredited law school during the 2020-2021 school year. The essays must be the law student author’s own work and must not have been submitted for publication elsewhere. Papers written by students for coursework or independent study during the summer, fall, or spring semesters are eligible for submission. Notwithstanding the foregoing, students may incorporate professorial feedback as part of a course requirement or supervised writing project.
• Sarin McGill Annual Student Essay Contest on Aircraft Finance & Leasing Registration Deadline: TBA for 2024 Submission Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: Airfare and accommodations to tour McGill University's Institute of Air and Space Law. Topic: Following the Russian Federation’s re-registration, without the consent of the lessors or the states of registration, of aircraft leased to Russian operators, what are the implications for leasing and financing of aircraft, for the Chicago Convention, for the rule of law generally, and especially for third countries to which any such aircraft may be flown? Are there any precedents and, if so, how may they be compared and contrasted with the current situation? What solutions might there be? Eligibility Any student of law, enrolled in an undergraduate, graduate or doctoral programme in any law school or legal professional training school worldwide, at the time of submission of the entry, shall be considered eligible.
• Goettingen Journal of International Law Essay Competition Deadline: August 1, 2021 Topic: The pandemic continues to be omnipresent in our lives and gives rise to a number of legal questions, including in international law. GoJIL is seeking student contributions that explore such questions from novel and interesting perspectives.

Typically Held in September

These competitions have been held in September in prior academic years. Check each link for the latest information.

• Philadelphia Bar Association Law Student Essay Contest Deadline: September 6, 2022 Prize: $500 Topic: Advice for new or aspiring law school applicants Eligibility: Any rising 2L, rising 3L, or recently graduated law student attending a Philadelphia area law school (University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, Widener University Delaware Law School, Rutgers University Law School-Camden)
• ABA Aviation and Space Law Committee Writing Competition Deadline: September 9, 2022 Prize: $500 Topic: Submissions should address a recent development in any area of aviation or space law or discuss an area of aviation or space law where a controversy or disagreement exist. Eligibility The competition is open to all current U.S. citizen law student and LLM candidates. Membership in the ABA, TIPS or the Aviation and Space Law is not required for participation, though membership is free for all law students.
• PIABA Foundation James E. Beckley Student Writing Competition Deadline: September 16, 2022 Prize: $1,000 Topic: Any aspect of Securities Law; Securities Arbitration; The Federal Arbitration Act, Title 9, US Code, Section 1-14; or FINRA Code of Arbitration, effective April 16, 2007 and any changes or proposed changes to that Code. Eligibility: The competition is open to all students who attend a law school in the United States. Full-time students who are not law students but who write law-related papers as part of a course at an American law school are also eligible.
• International Fiscal Association International Tax Student Writing Competition Deadline: September 30, 2023 Prize: $5,000 Topic: Any topic relating to U.S. taxation of income from international activities, including taxation under U.S. tax treaties. Eligibility: All students during the 2021-22 academic year (including independent study and summer 2022 school courses) pursuing a graduate degree (J.D., L.L.M., S.J.D., M.S.T., MTA, Masters of Taxation, or similar program). Any appropriate papers written in fall 2021 or spring and summer 2022.
• ABA Section of Public Contract Law Student Writing Competition Deadline: September 30, 2022 Prize: $2,000 Topic: Papers should address a topical issue of interest to the public contract and grant law community. Eligibility: To be eligible to participate in the Competition, as of September 30, 2022 entrants must be 21 or over, U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents of the United States; and current members in good standing of the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Section of Public Contract Law (ABA and Section membership dues paid in full for the current bar year). more... less... Unpublished papers prepared for law school credit are eligible for entry in the Competition. Papers prepared for law school credit that have been submitted to or published by the Public Contract Law Journal are also eligible for the Competition. Papers that have been published in media other than the Public Contract Law Journal prior to September 30, 2022 are not eligible for the Competition. Papers submitted for publication in media other than the Public Contract Law Journal are not eligible for the Competition, unless the other publication agrees that the Public Contract Law Journal shall have the right of first publication of the winning essay.

Typically Held in October

These competitions have been held in October in prior academic years. Check each link for the latest information.

• American Agricultural Law Association Modern Agricultural Legal Issues Essay Contest Deadline: October 14, 2022 Topic: Agricultural law Eligibility: The competition is open to law students who are, at the time of entry, (a) enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school, (b) pursuing a J.D. degree; and (c) at least 18 years old.

Typically Held in November

These competitions have been held in November in prior academic years. Check each link for the latest information.

• NYSBA Albert S. Pergam International Law Writing Competition Award Deadline: November 3, 2023 Prize: $2,000 Topic: Public or private international law Eligibility: Law Students (including J.D., LL.M., Ph.D. and S.J.D. candidates) are cordially invited to submit to the International Section an article concerning any area of public or private international law or practice. Faculty members of any college or university are ineligible to participate.
• vLex International Law and Technology Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: £1,500 Topic: Can choose one of three topics: law, technology and sports; law, technology and climate; or law, technology and crypto. See competition page for more information. Eligibility: All current students and recent graduates can enter.
• American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers Writing Competition Deadline: November 1, 2023 Prize: $1,500 Topic: Eligible entries must discuss some aspect of U.S. consumer financial services law. Topics that relate principally to securities regulation, bankruptcy, insurance, or the safety and soundness aspects of banking regulation are not eligible, but works on subjects within these (or other) areas will be considered if they bear directly on U.S. consumer financial services.
• Video Game Bar Association David S. Rosenbaum Scholarship Deadline: Contact [email protected] Prize: $2,500 Topic: Video games and the law. Potential topics could include: developments in game accessibility; reputation management and user-creations (mods, skins, etc.); game developer unionization and labor rights.
• Dukeminier Awards Jeffrey S. Haber Prize for Student Scholarship Deadline: TBA for 2023 Prize: $1,000 Topic: Sexual orientation and gender identity law

Typically Held in December

These competitions have been held in December in prior academic years. Check each link for the latest information.

• ABA Health Law Section Student Writing Competition Deadline: December 31, 2021 Prize: $500 Topic: Any aspect of health law
• National Law Review Law Student Writing Competition Deadline: Monthly (reviewed September through May) Notes: The NLR Law Student Writing Competition offers law students the opportunity to submit articles for publication consideration on the NLR Web site.
• Houston Journal of International Law James Baker Hughes Prize Deadline: Information on the 2022 James Baker Hughes Prize coming soon. Prize: $500 Notes: The manuscript’s focus must be on international economic law.
• ABA Standing Committee on Law & National Security Writing Competition Deadline: TBD Notes: The Law Student Writing Competition will not be held for the 2020-2021 academic year.
• American Bankruptcy Institute Bankruptcy Law Student Writing Competition Deadline: TBD Prize: $2000 Notes: As of January 26, 2021, The Annual ABI Law Student Writing Competition will not be held this year. We hope to be able to resume the competition in future years.
• ELI Constitutional Environmental Law Writing Competition Deadline: TBD Prize: $2000 Topic: Any topic addressing developments or trends in U.S. environmental law with a significant constitutional, “federalism,” or other cross-cutting component.
• Hofstra Law School and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Family Law Writing Competition Deadline: TBA for 2024 Prize: $500 Topic: The subject of entries may be within any area of family law, although topics that focus on international or interdisciplinary subjects of family law are especially encouraged.
• If/When/How Sarah Weddington Writing Prize for New Student Scholarship in Reproductive Rights Law Deadline: TBD Prize: $750 Topic: Reproductive rights and justice issues in the U.S.
• International Association of Gaming Advisors Shannon Bybee Scholarship Award Deadline: TBD Notes: Each year IAGA awards prizes for the best scholarly research papers written by accredited law school students as part of their class work during the current school year. To be considered for the award, each submitted paper must either enhance the understanding of gaming law or recommend a beneficial gaming law change.
• LSAC Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Writing Competition Deadline: TBD Prize: $5,000 Eligibility: All currently enrolled law students pursuing a JD degree are eligible for the competition.

Related Guides

• Developing a Topic for Research Papers by Lindsay Steussy Last Updated Aug 18, 2022 10 views this year
• Law Review Resources by Lindsay Steussy Last Updated Sep 5, 2022 17 views this year

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Louis Jackson Memorial National Student Writing Competition

The Louis Jackson competition is sponsored by Jackson Lewis P.C . and administered by Chicago-Kent College of Law's Martin H. Malin Institute for Law and the Workplace. It recognizes the best legal writing in the field of labor and employment law among current law students.

Manuscripts are presently being accepted for the 2023-2024 competition. Judges will consider papers on any topic relating to laws governing the workplace, such as employment law, labor law, employee benefits, or employment discrimination. The panel of judges is constituted by law professors from across the US. They conduct an anonymous review. Their determination is final. Neither Jackson Lewis P.C. nor the Malin Institute is involved in judging the competition.

REQUIREMENTS & ELIGIBILITY Entries must be the law student author's own work. Authors must have completed or be currently taking coursework in employment or labor law and must be enrolled in an accredited law school in the US during the Spring 2024 semester. Only the first two submissions per law school will be accepted as entries for consideration.

FORMAT Entries must be suitable for publication in a law review. Citations must conform to current Bluebook style. Papers must not exceed 35 pages in length when printed on 8½ x 11-inch paper, including footnotes. Papers should be double spaced, with one-inch margins, and in 12-point Times Roman font (footnotes in 10-point font). Judging will be anonymous. No identifying information other than the title should appear on the paper.

SUBMISSION Submit manuscripts to [email protected]. In your email, include your name, school, year (e.g., 2L), and school email address (if different from the one you use to send the paper). Papers must be received by 11:59 PM (CST) on Tuesday, January 16, 2024.

AWARDS The first-place award is $3,000. Two $1,000 awards will be presented to two second-place winners. All awards are in the form of scholarships.

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Writing Competitions

Law students are eligible to enter writing competitions sponsored by organizations around the country. Many of these competitions award scholarships or cash prizes to the winning students.

Here are some you may be interested in:

For submissions examining theories of the state, economic sociology, or social inequality and motivated by a commitment to social justice. A nominating letter from a faculty member familiar with the student’s work is required. (award of $1,000; papers must be submitted between March 1 and April 15, 2024)

For entries concerning any issue within the general category of legal ethics (award of $2,500; deadline April 15, 2024)

For papers pertaining to criminal law and/or to criminal procedure, with a particular focus on contemporary issues of concern in the State of California (grand prize of $2,500 and three honorable mention prizes of $1,000; deadline May 12, 2024)

For papers on intellectual property law written by students at the University of Texas School of Law (award of $2,000; deadline May 31, 2024)

For papers addressing topics which are relevant, engaging, and useful to labor and employment lawyers in their practice (first, second, and third-place awards of $3,000, $1,000, and $500 respectively; deadline June 15, 2024). Rules available here , and rubric here .

For essays of 10,000–20,000 words on topics addressing issues of professionalism, ethics, civility, and excellence (winning essay will receive cash prize; deadline July 1, 2024)

Collections of Writing Competitions

Writing Competitions for Young Lawyers and Law Students

Law School Scholarship Databank: Writing Competitions

iCompete Writing: A Compilation of Legal Writing Competitions

A Guide to Legal Writing Competitions for Law Students

2024 Mason Institute Essay Competition

The Mason Institute (MI) is pleased to invite undergraduate and postgraduate students to submit an essay for its annual Essay Competition.

The essay competition has a submission deadline of 23:59 BST (UK time) on Friday 31 May 2024 . Winners will be announced by the end of June 2024.

For each of the undergraduate and postgraduate category, there will be a cash prize to the winning essays at the undergraduate and postgraduate level: £200 (Winner) . The winners and runners-up (i.e. the top 3) in both categories will be published on the  Mason Institute website . Winning essays and runners-up at the undergraduate and postgraduate level will be invited to publish their essays on the Mason Institute blog.

For the essay competition, you are invited to submit an essay, either newly written or previously written and submitted to one of your courses within the past academic year, that falls within the broad scope of the MI’s work  on ethics and law at the interface between health, medicine and the life sciences at a national and global scale.  You can read more about the MI’s work  here . 

To be eligible to participate in the MI Essay Competition, you must be either:

• Currently enrolled as an undergraduate at a University, or
• Currently enrolled as a postgraduate (e.g. Masters or PhD student) at a university

Essays must   be submitted through your institutional email account.

Please submit your essays via email to the Mason Institute administrator:  [email protected]

The essay should be accompanied with a cover note which clearly indicates: 

• your name as the essay competition entrant;
• the degree for which you are studying;
• your institution; and
• that the submitted essay is being entered into the competition either as part of the undergraduate or postgraduate essay category.
• All essays should be between 2,000 and 4,000 words, excluding essay title, cover note, and references/footnotes (note: the reference style is at your discretion) 
• All essays must be written in English
• Submitted work must be single authored
• Essays should be submitted as Word (.docx) or PDF (.pdf) files
• You are allowed to submit to the competition one paper only  in any given year

From the pool of submitted essays in each category, a shortlist of three candidates will be made based on an assessment by an academic panel (the MI Essay Panel). Both undergraduate and postgraduate essays will be judged on the level of knowledge and understanding of the relevant material, the clarity and style of writing, critical analysis and quality of argumentation, relevance, persuasive force, and originality of approach. The potential to significantly expand, challenge, or critique existing approaches of the topic which might lead to rethinking of the issue shall be considered a merit. The winner for each category will be decided by the MI Essay Panel. The Panel’s decision will be final; any feedback or comments will be at the Panel’s discretion.

The MI Essay Panel will consist of up to four members of the Mason Institute Executive Committee. The Panel will strive to have a gender balance and reflect different disciplinary backgrounds.

Any and all questions regarding the competition may be sent to the Mason Institute Administrator:  [email protected]

Mason Institute

About the Mason Institute

Student opportunities

Princeton Legal Journal

Spring 2024 High School Essay Competition

Central to the PLJ’s mission is to provide opportunities for students to explore their own legal interests and to develop their personal editing and writing skills. As a result, the PLJ runs a writing competition for high school students to extend this engagement and accessibility to the law.

Spring 2024:

Topic: The First Amendment in Public Life

Winners: Matt Berkery, Maclain Conlin, & Luke Hwang.

Honorable Mentions: Ekaterina Chasovnikova, Ellie Sohn, & Pranav Gorty.

Speak Up: Speech First, Inc v. Sands, the Supreme Court, and Free Speech on College Campuses

Limiting Corporate Speech without Coercion?

Online Defamation: First Amendment Rights and Legal Standards for Unmasking the Identities of Anonymous Defendants

Spring 2023:

Topic: Emerging Issues in Law and Technology

Winners: Beatrice Neilson, Caroline Quirk, & Kaylee Yang.

Honorable Mentions: Deirdre Chau, Carson Loveless, Erica Yip, & Yike Zhang.

Carpenter v. United States, the Stored Communications Act, & the Third Party Doctrine in the Digital Age

The High Stakes of Deepfakes: The Growing Necessity of Federal Legislation to Regulate This Rapidly Evolving Technology

Google Monopoly: Searching for a Tech Competition Precedent

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8th ILNU National Online Quiz Competition [April 16th & 18th]

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GNLU: Video Making Competition On “Consumer Protection Act And Its Significance For Persons With Disabilities

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De-Coding Indian Intellectual Property Law

Announcing the 2024 Shamnad Basheer Essay Competition on Intellectual Property Law

Celebrating our founder Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer’s 48th birth anniversary, SpicyIP is thrilled to announce the 2024 edition of the Shamnad Basheer Essay Competition on Intellectual Property Law!

As many would know, his intellectual passion and incessant curiosity continues to inspire and motivate the thousands of lives that he touched. The essay competition continues in this spirit, aiming to foster a culture of relentless inquiry and growth, as well as to celebrate his memory and his legacy of outstanding scholarship. A master with the pen, Prof. Basheer was a prolific writer. Apart from publishing extensively in academic journals (most of the publications can be accessed on his SSRN page ), he was also the rare Indian academic who wrote extensively for law students and the lay audience, through various media such as SpicyIP and mainstream newspapers. A collection of all his publications and public interest interventions can be found on SpicyIP here (also accessible from our Resources page ) as well as on shamnad.com (a website dedicated to him).

In his time, Prof. Basheer won prizes in three prestigious essay competitions. The first was an essay competition held by the Stanford Technology Law Review. He won the second prize in that competition for a great piece on the ‘Policy Style’ Reasoning of the Indian Patent Office . The second essay competition that he won was held by the International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property (ATRIP) for young academics. Shamnad won the very first edition of that competition for his essay on Section 3(d) of the Patents Act. The third was an essay competition held by CREATe on the topic of how Artificial Intelligence would change the practice of intellectual property law. Prof. Basheer won the second prize in that competition for his essay titled ‘Artificial Invention: Mind the Machine’ .

We are thrilled to announce that we once again have a fantastic panel of judges for the Competition, and incidentally all three of them have not only been huge supporters of the blog for several years now, but we’ve also had the pleasure of them having published on the blog! Please see below for further details! 

Submission Guidelines

The details of the competition are as follows:

Eligibility : The competition will be open to students currently enrolled in any LL.B. program (or its equivalent – meaning students enrolled in J.D. programs can take part) across the world, as well as to those who have completed their first law degree in 2022 or later.

Registration : There is no registration fee or registration process for the competition. You may e-mail us your essay whenever it is ready, within the deadline. 

Co-authorship : Only single author submissions will be accepted for the essay competition. A submission cannot have two or more authors. Submissions with more than one author will not be considered.

AI Tools: Usage of AI tools to contribute to the text of the submitted essay is not permitted and will lead to the entry being disqualified.

Selection of Topic : The topic of the essay can be anything related to intellectual property rights – the more creative the better. We encourage participants to take inspiration from Prof. Basheer’s work , which has challenged the orthodoxy of conventional IP wisdom by looking at the subject through the lens of the global south and its development needs. Two values that guided him through the course of his academic writing, were the need for transparency and democratic participation, during the process of making the law and implementation. His commitment to transparency in enforcement of India’s patent law led him to suing the Patent Office on two occasions in order to secure our right to information. He was also playful in his writing, never afraid to think and communicate unconventionally. He brought rigour and substance to his non-conforming ways and we encourage you to bring the same spirit into your entries.

Word Limit: The word limit for submissions is 5,000 words (inclusive of footnotes).

• Please submit the essays in a MS Word format, with 1.5 line spacing. Please do not submit essays in a PDF format.
• We are not prescribing any specific format for footnoting. As long as it is consistent, it should not be a problem.

Deadline and Other Details :

All submissions must be original and unpublished.

If the entry is published elsewhere prior to the announcement of the results of this essay competition, it will not be considered. 

The deadline for submissions is July 14, 2024 (23:59 IST).  

Please e-mail all submissions and queries to submissions[at]spicyip[dot]com (only).

Please submit a covering letter stating:

• the law school where you are enrolled as a student, along with your essay; or if you are a recent graduate, please mention the law school and year of graduation in the covering letter.
• A disclaimer that you have not used AI tools to write any part of your essay. 

Prizes for Winning Essays

Aside from getting published on the blog, the winning essays will receive the following additional prizes:

First prize : INR 25,000

Second prize: INR 15,000

Third prize: INR 10,000

Panel of Judges

The essays will be judged on the basis of the author’s creativity and analytical strength in articulating the arguments. Judges will also take into account entries that demonstrate the values Prof. Basheer displayed in his life and career. This does not mean you have to necessarily agree with everything he wrote. Judges reserve the right not to award the prize if it is considered that no entry is of sufficiently high standard or to divide the prize between two or more entries if they so decide. Judges’ decisions in this respect will be final. The SpicyIP team will shortlist essays to be submitted to an external panel of experts for the final decision.

This brings us to the fantastic panel of judges who have graciously agreed to judge the entries for this edition of the competition. This year the entries will be judged by a panel comprising Prof. (Dr.) Mrinalini Kochupillai, Mr. Murali Neelakantan, and Justice Gautam S. Patel (Retd.). We are grateful to them for sparing their time. Please see their brief profiles below:

Prof. (Dr.) Mrinalini Kochupillai 

Prof. (Dr.) Mrinalini Kochupillai is the founder of SIRN and is a former guest professor and core scientist at the Artificial Intelligence for Earth Observation (AI4EO) Future Lab, Technical University of Munich. In a career spanning over 17 years in academia, Prof. Kochupillai has donned many hats including that of a senior research fellow with the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition (2014-2018), Program Director (2014-2017) and lecturer at the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center. A graduate from the National Law Institute University, Bhopal, in 2003, Prof. Kochupillai pursued an LL.M. in Intellectual Property, Commerce & Technology from the University of New Hampshire, School of Law in 2006.  She completed her Ph.D. at the Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich as a full scholar and fellow of the International Max Planck Research School for Competition and Innovation (2009-13). Prof. Kochupillai’s areas of interest range from business law, patents, plant variety protection, sustainable innovations in agriculture, and business ethics. Prof. Kochupillai’s team is an ERC Starting Grant Winner (2023) for developing a novel system in the ReSeed Project to create a transparent, decentralized and digital marketplace where farmers can share their seeds and valuable know-how with other farmers and researchers around the world.

Prof. Kochupillai has been associated with the blog since its early days, having been a regular blogger with the team in 2007-08 (see here ), and relatively more recently, she and her team partnered with the blog to power an open, public consultation on a position paper on Sustainable Seeds Innovations .

Mr Murali Neelakantan 

Murali Neelakantan is the Principal Lawyer at amicus. He is a dual qualified lawyer (English solicitor and Indian advocate). His current area of research is healthcare policy. He worked with Cipla as global general counsel and with Khaitan & Co as senior partner. In London, he was a partner with Arnold & Porter, and later with Ashurst. Mr Neelakantan has been on the board of directors of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and TTK Prestige Ltd. As an expert on competition and IP, Mr Neelakantan has authored several incisive op-eds, focusing on the healthcare system, including for BloombergQuint, NDTV Profit, The Hindu, The Wire, Indian Express, Moneycontrol, Scroll, etc.

A 1996 graduate of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, Mr Neelakantan is also a co-editor for the book, “An Idea of a Law School- Ideas from The Law School”. His academic research has been published in the NLSIR, NLSBLR, Indian Public Policy Review and The Lancet Regional Health – South East Asia. He has been featured as an expert by numerous Indian and international media including Financial Times, British Medical Journal, as well as on numerous podcasts like the Firm, Shortcast over Coffee, and the Seen and the Unseen.

A long-time friend of Prof Basheer, IDIA and SpicyIP, Mr Neelakantan has regularly provided extremely useful advice and insights for us in many of our previous research endeavours, and has also co-authored a post on the issue of trademark protection on colours of medicines and medical devices. 

Justice Gautam S. Patel 

Justice G. S. Patel (Retd.) is known for being one of the finest IP judges the country has seen, with his orders and judgements being filled not only with judicial rigour, but also with scholarly, witty, and often humorous observations, captivating the minds of lawyers and laypeople alike. Some of the orders showcasing Justice Patel’s signature style include Go Holdings Pvt. Ltd. v. Interglobe Aviation Ltd. , Jagdish Kamath v. Lime and Chilli Hospitality Services , and Balaji Motion Pictures v. BSNL (see here for a list of 10 eloquent decisions by Justice Patel that depicted his creative and hard hitting writing style). 

A graduate of St. Xavier’s College and Government Law College, Justice Patel started practice in 1987 in Mumbai, focusing on commercial, corporate, and civil litigation while also partaking in various environmental and pro bono litigations like those relating to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Melghat National Park. He was a recipient of the First International Fellowship at Pacific Energy & Resources Center, Sausalito, California in environmental law in 1994-1995. Justice Patel was also a part time lecturer at the Government Law, Mumbai, prior to his elevation as a judge of the Bombay High Court in 2013, and taught administrative law, constitutional law, and environmental law. Justice Patel’s penmanship and witty observations extend even beyond his decisions and he has earlier contributed to Economic & Political Weekly, TimeOut Mumbai, the Mumbai Reader, etc. 

Long time readers of the blog will also remember that Justice Patel authored an incisive and thought provoking post on SpicyIP, that incited a discussion on whether the nature of the content of a work has an impact on its protection under copyright. Justice Patel was rated as one of the top 50 IP personalities by Managing IP, in 2014-2015. A testament to his contributions to the Bench, Justice Patel is the first judge to receive a full court reference on his retirement from the Bombay High Court.

Once again, we thank the judges for their time. And we eagerly look forward to your submissions!

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