School of Law / Law Student Services / Law Student Writing Competitions  
corner

Law Student Writing Competitions

This page contains information about various external writing competitions for law students and recent attorneys. To participate in writing competitions is a great opportunity for students to gain recognition, experience, and win cash prizes. Visit Law Student Services in suite 3314 for more information, or contact us at the email address listed below. Golden Gate Law faculty and staff are available to support students who wish to enter a competition. Please contact us if you are interested in one of these opportunities, or if you have recently entered, or won a writing competition. External organizations are encouraged to send information about writing competitions to:

Law Student Services
Golden Gate University School of Law
536 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
lawstudentservices@ggu.edu
415-442-6615

Note: Writing competitions are listed for information purposes only. The listing of competitions does not represent endorsement of any organization.

Writing Competitions by Subject

»
»
»
»
»
»
»
»
»
»
»
»
»
»
»
Business Law
CompetitionAwardDeadline*
Trandafir Writing Competition
(Any topic of contemporary international business or economic concern with a legal nexus)		$2,000 and publication in Transnational Law & Contemporary ProblemsFebruary 1
National Association of Chapter 13 TrusteesA prize and publication in the NACTT QuarterlyApril 30
James E. Beckley Student Writing Competition from the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association
(Securities Law)		First Prize $1,000 and publication in PIABA Bar Journal, Second Prize $750, and Third Prize $500October 3
Association of Securities and Exchange Commission Alumni Writing CompetitionFirst prize $5,000 and travel and lodging paid to attend the annual ASECA dinner in Washington D.C., second prize $3,000, third prize $2,000November 15
Constitutional Law
CompetitionAwardDeadline*
American Constitution Society for Law and PolicyFirst prize $3,000 and publication, runners-up $1,000February 18
Alliance Defense Fund William Pew Religious Freedom Scholarship$2,500April 15
Criminal Law
CompetitionAwardDeadline*
William W. Greenhalgh Student Writing Competition$2,000 and airfare and accommodations to attend the ABA Criminal Justice Section meetingApril 23
American Judges Association Essay Competitionfirst prize $3,000, second prize $1,500, third prize $1,000June 1
Diversity, Ethnicity, and Heritage
CompetitionAwardDeadline*
Asian Pacific American Bar Association Robert T. Matsui Writing Competition$1,500 and publication in UCLA's Asian Pacific American Law JournalAugust 1
Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage Law Writing Competition$1,000 first place; $500 second placeJune 10
Holocaust Remembrance Essay Award$500 CDN and a certificateJuly 1
Employment and Labor Law
CompetitionAwardDeadline*
Louis Jackson National Student Writing Competition in Employment and Labor Law$3,000 for the top honors paper, and $1,000 each to the 2nd and 3rd place papers, all 3 top papers receive publication on the Institute for Law and the Workplace WebsiteJanuary 18
College of Labor and Employment Lawyers Writing Competition1st prize $1,500, 2nd prize $1,000, 3rd prize $500May 15
American College of Employee Benefits CounselTwo awards of $1,500 eachJune 1
ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law$500 and publication in the ABA Journal of Labor & Employment LawJune 15
College of Workers' Compensation Lawyers Writing Competition1st prize $1,500, 2nd prize $1,000, 3rd prize $500November 1
Environmental Law and Wildlife
CompetitionAwardDeadline*
Environmental Justice Symposium - Law Student Writing CompetitionFirst place $1,000 and publication in Mississippi Law Journal; second place $500; third place $250February 15
The Hogan/Smoger Access to Justice Essay Contest $5,000March 31
Environmental Law Institute "Endangered Environmental Laws" Writing Competition$2,000 and possible publication in the Environmental Law ReporterApril 11
New York State Bar Association Committee on Animals and the LawFirst place $1,000; second place $500June 30
Family Law
CompetitionAwardDeadline*
Howard C. Schwab Memorial Essay ContestFirst place certificate of recognition, possible publication in Family Law Quarterly and on the ABA Section of Family Law website, a letter to the Law School Dean, and one-year complimentary ABA Section of Family Law membership; second and third place certificate of recognition, possible publication on the ABA Section of Family Law website, a letter to the Law School Dean, and one-year complimentary ABA Section of Family Law membershipApril 29
National Association of Counsel for Children Essay Competition$1,000 and scholarship to the 2010 conference in Austin, TXMay 1
Gender, Sexuality, and the Law
CompetitionAwardDeadline*
National Association of Women Lawyers Selma Moidel Smith Writing Competition$500 and publication in the NAWL Women Lawyers JournalApril 30
National LGBT Bar Association Michael Greenberg Student Writing CompetitionFirst prize $1,000 and publication in Tulane University's Journal of Law and Sexuality; second prize registration for the 2010 Lavender Law Conference in Miami Beach, FLMay 23
ABA Commission on Domestic Violence Writing CompetitionPublication in the American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law and honorariumMay 31
Washington College of Law Alice Paul Feminist Jurisprudence Essay Contest$1,000 and opportunity to present essay to an audienceJune 1
University of Leicester Victoria Fisher Memorial Prize£250September 30
Women's Bar Assn. of DC and the Washington College of Law$1,000 and possibility of publishing the essay in The Modern AmericanOctober 1
Intellectual Property
CompetitionAwardDeadline*
Ladas Memorial Award
(Trademark Law)		$2,000, a set of Stephen P. Ladas's three-volume treatise, an invitation to the INTA Gala, and reimbursement up to US $1,000 for travel to the Gala, and publication in The Trademark ReporterJanuary 17
National Law Review Intellectual Property Law Writing CompetitionPublication on NLR's website alongside those written by respected attorneys from Am Law 200 firms and other prominent firmsFebruary 25
Virginia State Bar Intellectual Property Law Student Writing Competition$4,000 and publication on the VA State Bar Intellectual Property Section websiteMay 27
ASCAP Nathan Burkan Memorial CompetitionLocal prize: First prize $600, second prize $250 at each participating law school. National prize: First prize $3,000, second prize $2,000, third prize $1,000June 30
American Intellectual Property Law Association Robert C. Watson Award Competition$2,000June 30
Litigation
CompetitionAwardDeadline*
International Association of Defense CounselFirst place $2,000, second place $1,000, third place $500.May 20
LexisNexis James William Moore Federal Practice Award
Must login to access link		$2,000, a full set of Moore's Federal Rules Pamphlets, and publicity. Winner's law review or journal also receives $1,000.June 1
Professional Responsibility
CompetitionAwardDeadline*
Bert W. Levit Essay Contest$5,000 and an all expense paid trip to the Spring 2011 National Legal Malpractice ConferenceFebruary 18
Notre Dame Law Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition$2,500June 6
American Inns of Court Warren E. Burger Prize$5,000 and publication in the South Carolina Law ReviewJune 15
Reproductive Rights
CompetitionAwardDeadline*
Sarah Weddington Writing Prize for Student Scholarship in Reproductive Rights Law (LSRJ)First prize $750, second prize $500, third prize $250March 1
National Advocates for Pregnant Women$1,000 (1st place), $500 and $250 (runners-up)December 15
Taxation Law
CompetitionAwardDeadline*
National Law Review Tax Law Writing CompetitionPublication on NLR's website alongside those written by respected attorneys from Am Law 200 firms and other prominent firmsApril 25
Tannenwald Foundation for Excellence in Tax Scholarship Writing CompetitionFirst place $5,000, first runner-up $2,500, second runner-up $1,500July 1
Wills & Trusts
CompetitionAwardDeadline*
American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Mary Moers Wenig Writing Competition$5,000 and publication in the ACTEC Journal (1st place), $3,000 and publication on ACTEC's website (2nd place), $1,000 and publication on ACTEC's websiteJune 1
ABA Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Writing Contest$2,500 and 1 year free membership in the Real Property Section (1st place), $1,500 (2nd place), $1,000 (3rd place)June 18
Other Writing Competitions
CompetitionAwardDeadline*
The American College of Legal Medicine's Student Writing Competition in Law, Medicine & Bioethicsfirst prize $1,000, second prize $500, third prize $250January 10
Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. Annual Health Law Writing Competitionfirst prize $4,000, second prize $2,000, third prize $500January 21
National Law Review Health and Labor Law Writing CompetitionPublication on NLR's website alongside those written by respected attorneys from Am Law 200 firms and other prominent firmsMarch 25
ABA Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee$500, plus up to $500 reimbursement towards attendance at the ABA Annual Meeting in San FranciscoApril 8
Judge John R. Brown Award
(Any legal topic)		$10,000May 20
Andrew P. Vance Memorial Writing Competition
(Customs and International Trade Law)		First place $1,000, second place $500May 23
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys Writing Competition$1,500 (1st place); $1,000 (2nd place); $500 (3rd place). Top eight essays will be published in the NAELA Student JournalMay 30
The Food and Drug Law Institute H. Thomas Austern Memorial Writing Competitionsfirst prize $4,000, second prize $1,000May 31
Paralyzed Veterans of America Law and Public Policy Writing Contest$3,000 and possible publication in an appropriate professional journalAugust 1
Adam A. Milani Disability Law Writing Competition$300-$1,000, depending on whether multiple awards are givenJune 1
University of Connecticut School of Law Student Legal Writing Competition
(Paper on a legal issue affecting persons struggling with homelessness, mental illness, addiction, or substance abuse)		First place $750, second place $500, third place $250June 1
American Planning Association Smith-Babcock-William Writing Competition$2,500 and publication in the ABA Law Journal, The Urban LawyerJune 7
California Supreme Court Historical Society$2,500 and publication in the Society's journal, California Legal HistoryJune 30
George Jay Joseph Education Law Writing AwardPublication in Journal of Law and Education, recognition at annual conferenceJuly 1
Terasem Movement Colloquium on the Law of Futuristic Persons$1,000, and opportunity to make a presentation to Colloquium attendees and the general, virtual Second Life publicSeptember 9
ABA Health Law Student Writing Award$500, publication in The Health Lawyer, and airfare and accommodations to attend the ABA Health Law Section conferenceDecember 3

*Please note that deadlines are subject to change. Please check a competitions website for the official deadline.
corner

corner