Writing Competitions

The LRW program serves as a clearinghouse for student writing competitions.

If you are writing a comprehensive paper or a note this year, we urge you to review the material on this page. You're likely to find a competition that could publish your work and/or provide monetary rewards. Click here for news of one student's successful entry. Updates of students who have won competitions are linked to "UO Students Win Awards" in the right margin.

Many competitions take place annually. So that students can anticipate upcoming competitions, information on past competitions (whose deadlines have passed for this year) is located here. Click here for a very useful Blog of student writing competitions, maintained by Kathryn Sampson at the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville, AR.

Administrative Law

Richard D. Cudahy Writing Competition
American Constitution Society for Law and Society
Award - $1500
Topic - Topics in regulatory and administrative law
Deadline - February 12, 2010
Go to http://www.acslaw.org/node/5378 for further information.

Adoption Law

Nightlight Christian Adoptions
Award - First - $2500
Second - $1500
Third - $1000
Topic - Embryo donation and adoption
Deadline - February 1, 2010
See http://www.embryolaw.org/rules.asp for more information.

American Indian Law

American Indian Law Review Writing Competition
Award - First - $1000
Second - $500
Third - $250
Topic - Any area concerning American Indian law
Deadline - February 1, 2010
See http://www.law.ou.edu/lawrevs/ailr for more information.

Animal Law

Third Annual Student Writing Competition
Committee on Animals and the Law, New York State Bar Association
Award - First - $1000
Second - $500
Topic - any topic concerning animal law
Deadline - June 15, 2010
See http://www.nysba.org/Content/NavigationMenu45/StudentWritingCompetition/2010.Student.Writing.Competition.
Announcement.and.Rules.pdf for more information.

Appellate Practice and Procedure

Eisenberg Prize
The American Academy of Appellate Lawyers
Award - $2000
Topic - published articles on any topic concerning appellate practice and procedure
Deadline - July 16, 2010
Visit http://www.appellateacademy.org/eisenbergprize/index.cfm for more information.

Bankruptcy Law

American Bankruptcy Institute Law Student Writing Competition
Award - First - $1000 plus publication
Second - $750 plus publication
Third - $500 plus publication
Topic - issues regarding bankruptcy jurisdiction, bankruptcy litigation, or evidence in bankruptcy proceedings
Deadline - March 1, 2010
For more information, see http://papers.abiworld.org.

Second Annual Law Student Writing Competition
National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees
Prize - publication and travel to annual conference
Topic - Any issue in consumer bankruptcy and the law
Deadline - April 30, 2010
See http://www.nactt.com/seminars/LawStudentWritingCompetition2010.pdf for more information.

Business Law

Elliot A. Spoon Business Law Writing Competition
Journal of Business & Securities Law, Michigan State University College of Law
Award - $500 plus publication
Topic - any topic concerning business or securities law
Deadline - March 5, 2010
Go to http://www.nd.edu/~ndlaw/writing_competitions/Spoon.pdf for more information.

Trandafir Writing Competition
Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems journal of the Iowa College of Law
Award - $2000 plus publication
Topic - Any topic in international business or economic law
Deadline - February 1, 2010
Visit http://www.uiowa.edu/~tlcp/html/trandafir_competition.html for more information

Children and the Law

2010 Law Student Essay Competition
National Association of Counsel for Children
Award - $1000
Topic - Any topic advancing the legal interests of children
Deadline - August 1, 2010
See http://www.naccchildlaw.org/?page=Awards for more information.

Civil Rights

National Student Writing Competition
American Constitution Society for Law and Society and University of Pennsylvania Law School's ACS chapter
Award - First - $3000
Runners-up - $1000
Topic - Progressive vision on the Constitution
Deadline - February 19, 2010
See http://www.acslaw.org/chapters/studentcompetitions/writing for more information.

Criminal Procedure

2010 Competition for Student Papers in Criminal Law and/or Criminal Procedure
State Bar of California
Award - $500 plus publication
Honorable Mention - $150
Topic - any aspect of criminal law and criminal procedure with a California focus.
Deadline - February 28, 2010
Visit http://www.calbar.ca.gov/calbar/pdfs/sections/criminal/2010_criminal-law_student-competition.pdf for more information.

2010 William W. Greenhaigh Student Writing Competition
ABA Criminal Justice Section
Award - $2000
Topic - American criminal constitutional procedure
Deadline - April 23, 2010
Visit http://www.abanet.org/crimjust/cjmag/greenhalgh.pdf for more information.

Damages

Bert W. Levit Essay Contest
ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability and Long & Levit, LLP
Award - $5000
Topic - Hypothetical issue concerning pleading and proof burdens
Deadline - February 19, 2010
See http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/lpl/levit/levitinfo.html for more information.

Dispute Resolution

James Boskey ADR Writing Competition
American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution
Award - $1000
Topic - any aspect of dispute resolution
Deadline - June 15, 2010
See http://www.abanet.org/dispute/essaycomp.html for more information.

Education Law

George Jay Joseph law competition
Education Law Association and the Journal of Law and Education
Award - publication and invitation to annual conference
Topic - Any issues in education law
Deadline - July 15, 2010
See http://dukelawcareer.typepad.com/cpdc/2009/11/george-jay-joseph-education-law-writing-award.html for more information.

Employment and Labor Law

Labor Lawyer Student Writing Contest
ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law
Award - publication
Topic - Any topic in the field of labor and employment law
Deadline - August 31, 2010
See http://www.abanet.org/labor/proopp.html#laborlawyer for more information.

Environmental Law

The Environmental Law Institute's Fifth Annual "Endangered Environmental Laws" Student Writing Competition
American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, and the National Association of Environmental Law Societies
Award - $2000 and publication
Topic - Any topic in U.S. environmental law with a constitutional or federalism component
Deadline - April 12, 2010
Visit http://www.eli.org/writing_contest.cfm for more information.

The Roscoe Hogan Environmental Law Essay Contest
Public Justice institute
Award - $5000
Topic - Litigation remedies for coal contamination from mining to combustion to sequestration
Deadline - January 29, 2010
Go to http://www.publicjustice.net/What-We-Do/Awards/Law-School-Essay-Contest/Environmental-Essay-Contest-Rules.aspx for more
information.

Smith-Babcock-Williams Student Writing Competition
Planning & Law Division of the American Planning Association
Award - First - $2500
Second - $1000
Honorable mentions - $250
Topic - any topic concerning city planning, land use, local government, or environmental law
Deadline - June 7, 2010
Go to http://www.planning.org/divisions/planningandlaw/writingcompetition/pdf/writingcompetition.pdf

Evidence and the Law

Twenty-Second Annual Law Student Essay Competition
American Judges Association
Topic - "The Pluses and Minuses of eDiscovery" or "The Effect of Melendez-Diaz on State Statutory Schemes for Admission of Lab Results"
Deadline - June 1, 2010
Visit http://aja.ncsc.dni.us/essayrules.pdffor more information.

Family Law

Howard C. Schwab Memorial Essay Contest
American Bar Association Section of Family Law
Award - certificates of recognition and possible publication
Topic - any aspect of family law
Deadline - April 2, 2010
Go to http://www.abanet.org/family/lawstudents/schwabrules.shtml for more information.

Federal Jurisdiction

2010 George Hutchinson Writing Competition
Federal Circuit Bar Association
Award - $3000
Topic - Any topic that lies within the substance, procedure, or scope of the specialized jurisdiction of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals
Deadline - June 30, 2010
Visit http://memberconnections.com/olc/filelib/LVFC/cpages/9005/Library/Hutchinson%20Writing%20Contest%20Rules%202010.pdf for more information.

Food and Drug Law

Thomas Austern Memorial Writing Competition
Food and Drug Law Institute
Award - First - $4000
Second - $1000
Topic - current legal issue relevant to the regulation of foods, drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, and biologics
Deadline - June 11, 2010
Visit http://www.fdli.org/edu/hthomas.html#Topics for more information.

Government and the Law

2010 Sir John M. Templeton Fellowships Essay Contest
Award - First - $2500
Second - $1500
Third - $1000
Topic - Reforms to make people better aware that government wants to live at their expense
Deadline - May 3, 2010
Go to http://www.independent.org/students/essay/guidelines.asp for more information.

Holocaust and the Law

Holocaust Remembrance Essay Award
University of Alberta Faculty of Law
Award - $500
Topic - any topic on the law and the Holocaust
Deadline - July 1, 2010
See http://www.law.ualberta.ca/currentstudents/financialsupport/undergraduate/holocaust.php for more information.

Housing Law

American Bar Association
Award - $1000
Topic - Legal issue regarding affordable housing or community development law
Deadline - March 12, 2010
Go to http://new.abanet.org/Forums/Affordable/Pages/Writing%20Competition.aspx for more information.

Insolvency Law

2010 Prize in International Insolvency Studies
International Insolvency Institute
Award - First - $2500
Second - $1500
Third - $1000
Finalists - $500
Topic - Any topic in international or comparative insolvency topic
Deadline - March 15, 2010
See http://www.iiiglobal.org/iii-prize-in-insolvency for more information.

Insurance Law

Liberty Mutual Prize
Boston College Law School
Award - $5000 and publication
Topic - Any topic in property and casualty insurance law
Deadline - February 1, 2010
See http://www.okcu.edu/Law/academics/pdfs/libertymutual_0001.pdf for more information.

Intellectual Law

Quarterly Journal Publication Staff Competition
American Intellectual Property Law Association
Topic - Any topic in intellectual property law
Deadline - March 15, 2010
See http://www.aipla.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Student_Center/Competition_and_Awards/Competition_and_Awards.htm for more information.

Robert C. Watson Award
American Intellectual Property Law Association
Topic - Any topic in intellectual property law
Deadline - June 30, 2010
See http://www.aipla.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Student_Center/Competition_and_Awards/Competition_and_Awards.htm for more information.

International Law

Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems
University of Iowa College of Law
Award - $2000 plus publication
Topic - Any topic in international law
Deadline - February 1, 2010
See http://www.uiowa.edu/~tlcp/html/trandafir_competition.html for more information.

Legal Ethics

Warren E. Burger Prize
American Inns of Court
Award - $5000 plus publication
Topic - scholarship that "promotes the ideals of excellence, civility, ethics and professionalism within the legal profession"
Deadline - June 15, 2010
Go to http://www.innsofcourt.org/Content/Default.aspx?Id=309 for more information.

Litigation Defense

International Association of Defense Counsel
Legal Writing Contest
Award - First - $2000
Second - $1000
Third - $500
Topic - Any topic of practical concern to civil litigation defense
Deadline - May 14, 2010
See http://www.iadclaw.org/publications/contest.aspx#2 for more details.

Multiculturalism and the Law

Third National People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference Student Writing Competition
Seton Hall University School of Law
Award - First - $1000
Second - $500
Topic - "Our Country, Our World in a 'Post-Racial' Era"
Deadline - June 15, 2010
For more details, visit http://law.shu.edu/About/News_Events/thirdnationalpoc/call-for-papers.cfm

Nonsmokers' Rights Law

The National Center for Nonsmokers' Rights
Award - First - $5000
Second - $3000
First - $1000
Topic - New ideas to advance or protect the rights of nonsmokers
Deadline - May 1, 2010
See http://nosmokingcontest.org/ for more information.

Pharmacy Law

Larry M. Simonsmeier Award
American Society for Pharmacy Law
Award - Travel to annual meeting
Topic - Any topic related to pharmacy and food and drug law and drug policy
Deadline - January 30, 2010
See http://www.aspl.org/default.asp?page=simonsmeier.htm for more information.

Product Liability Law

Product Liability Section of the Oregon State Bar
Product Liability Publication Contest
Award - $2000
Topic - Product liability law that applies to current Oregon law
Deadline - June 15, 2010
Visit http://osbproductsliability.homestead.com/Publication-Contest-Rules.html for more information.

Religious Freedom and the Law

13th Annual William Pew Religious Freedom Scholarship Competition
Alliance Defense Fund, Inc.
Award - $2500
Topic - Any topic addressing religious liberty, sanctity of life, or family values
Deadline - April 15, 2010
Go to http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/userdocs/2010_Pew_Rules.pdf for more information.

Reproductive Rights Law

Sarah Weddington Prize for New Student Scholarship in Reproductive Rights
Center for Reproductive Rights
Award - First - $750
Second - $500
Third - $250
Topic - Any topic that addresses a human rights framework to reproductive justice issues
Deadline - March 1, 2010
Go to http://lsrj.org/documents/Writing_Prize_call_for_sub_09.pdf for more information.

Technology and the Law

American Bar Association Section on Science & Technology
Law Student Writing Contest
Award - expenses to conference
Topic - Emerging legal issues in the storage of personally identifiable information
Deadline - March 1, 2010
For more details, see http://new.abanet.org/sections/scitech/Pages/studentwritingcontest.aspx

Berkeley Technology Law Journal
Award - monetary prizes plus publication
Topic - Any topic relating to law and technology
Deadline - February 2010
Go to http://www.btlj.org/submissions/competition.php for more information.

Trusts and Estates Law

Mary Moers Wening 2010 Student Writing Competition
American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
Award - First - $5000
Second - $3000
Third - $1000
Topic - Trusts and estates and any related tax topics
Deadline - June 15, 2010
See http://www.actec.org/public/WenigCompetition.asp for more information.

Veterans Law

Paralyzed Veterans of America 2009-10 annual legal writing competition
Award - $3000
Topic - "Adjudication within the Department of Veterans Affairs: Judicial Independence, Quality Control, Consumer Perception and the Paradoxes Present in the VA's System of Administrative Adjudication"
Deadline - June 1, 2010
Go to http://www.pva.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=14171 for more information.

Women and the Law

Selma Moidel Smith Law Student Writing Competition National Association of Women Lawyers
Award - $500 plus publication
Topic - Any issue concerning women's rights or status of women in the law
Deadline - April 30, 2010
See http://www.nawl.org/Assets/Documents/SM+Writing+Comp+2009-2010.pdf for more details.