Writing Competitions

Many local, national, and international organizations offer writing competitions and publishing opportunities to currently enrolled law students. While participating in competitions on top of your regular coursework may seem a bit of a stretch, often students find that they can re-work their seminar papers for competitions. However, be sure to confirm the competition’s guidelines regarding paper eligibility.

Interested students should pay special attention to deadlines. In many cases the sponsor may have two deadlines: “intent to submit deadline” and “actual submission deadline.” Also for planning purposes, be mindful that most deadlines tend to be heaviest from January-June.

Important: Some of the sponsors listed here have not yet renewed their “call for entries” since they often do so closer to the deadline. In such cases, you will find an *asterisk before the title. The deadline, then, is a “projected” deadline, based on the prior year deadline and, therefore, should ultimately be confirmed by the student.

Please submit questions, competition announcements, or other writing opportunities to my attention. Kim Novak Morse, Asst. Director Writing Services. morseka@slu.edu

Accounting

*AAA-CPA Foundation Essay Contest
Sponsor: American Assoc. of Attorney-Certified Public Accountants
Deadline: June 4, 2009
E-mail: info@attorney-cpa.com
WebLink

American Indian Law

*American Indian Law Review Writing Competition
Sponsor: University of Oklahoma College of Law
Deadline: January 31, 2009
E-mail: ailr@ou.edu
WebLink

*Chief Justice John B. Doolin Writing Competition
Sponsor: Supreme Court of Oklahoma/The Sovereignty Symposium
Deadline: March 30, 2009
E-mail: roriej@oscn.net
WebLink

Antitrust Law

*Annual Law Student Writing Competition
Sponsor: ABA Section of Antitrust Law
Deadline: January 28, 2009
E-mail: douglasd@staff.abanet.org
Web Site Link

Appellate

*George Hutchinson Writing Competition
Sponsor: Federal Circuit Bar Association
Deadline: June 30, 2009
E-mail: amanolas@brinkshofer.com
Web Site Link

Business Law

Mendes Hershman Student Writing Contest
Sponsor: American Bar Association Section of Business Law
Deadline: January 9, 2009
E-mail: businesslaw@abanet.org
WebLink

*Elliot A. Spoon Business Law Writing Competition
Sponsor: JBSL/Michigan State University College of Law
Deadline: March 14, 2009
E-mail: jbsl@msu.edu
Web Link

*Gellhorn-Sargentic Law Student Essay Competition
Sponsor: American Bar Association Section of Administrative Law & Regulatory Practices
Deadline: March 31, 2009
E-mail: knightk@staff.abanet.org
Web Site Link

Civil Litigation

Law Student Writing Competition
Sponsor: ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice section
Deadline: March 2, 2009
E-mail: lmwiley@staff.abanet.org
Web Site Link

*International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) Legal Writing Contest
Sponsor: International Association of Defense Counsel
Deadline: May 16, 2009
E-mail: aomaley@iadclaw.org
Web Site Link

Civil Practice

*James William Moore Federal Practice Award
Sponsor: LexisNexis
Deadline: June 2, 2009
Web Site Link

Constitutional Law

*National Student Writing Competition
Sponsor: American Constitution Society/University of Pennsylvania Law School
Deadline: February 8, 2009
E-mail: ail lawgroup-ACScompetition@law.upenn.edu
Web Site Link

*Competiton For Law Student Best Paper Award
Sponsor: Inter-American Bar Association
Deadline: April 20, 2009
E-mail: iaba@iaba.org
Web Site Link

Judicial Awareness Writing Competition
Sponsor: Pacific Legal Foundation
Deadline: May 31, 2009
E-mail: clt@pacificlegal.org
Web Site Link

*Twentieth Annual Law Student Essay Competition
Sponsor: American Judges Association
Deadline: June 2, 2009
E-mail: aja@ncsc.dni.us
Web Site Link

Contract

*ABA & Public Contract Law Journal Writing Competition
Sponsor: ABA & Public Contract Law Journal
Deadline: September 30, 2009
E-mail: kmanos@gibsondunn.com
Web Site Link

Copyright

*Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition
Sponsor: American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers
Deadline: June 30, 2009
E-mail: NBMC@ascap.com
Web Site Link

Criminal Law

William W. Greenhalgh Writing Competition
Sponsor: ABA Section Criminal Justice
Deadline: April 24, 2009
E-mail: crimjustice@abanet.org
WebLink

Disability Law

*Annual Legal Writing Contest
Sponsor: Paralyzed Veterans of America
Deadline: April 30, 2009
E-mail: info@pva.org
Web Site Link

Dispute Resolution

*James Boskey ADR Writing Competition
Sponsor: American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section/Center for Dispute Resolution/Penn State
Deadline: June 15, 2009
E-mail: dispute@abanet.org
Web Site Link

Elder Law

NAELA Student Journal Writing Competition
Sponsor: National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
Deadline: June 1, 2009
E-mail: mewhinka@wfu.edu
Web Site Link

Employment Law

*Louis Jackson National Student Writing Competition In Employment and Labor Law
Sponsor: Institute for Law and the Workplace/Chicago-Kent College of Law
Deadline: January 22, 2009
E-mail: mmalin@kentlaw.edu
Web Site Link

*Law Student Writing Competition
Sponsor: College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
Deadline: May 15, 2009
E-mail: info@laborandemploymentcollege.org
Web Site Link

The Labor Lawyer Student Writing Contest
Sponsor: ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law
Deadline: August 31, 2009
Weblink

Entertainment Law

Entertainment Law Initiative & GRAMMY Foundation Legal Writing Contest
Sponsor: The GRAMMY Foundation
Deadline: January 2, 2009
E-mail: eli@grammy.com
Web Site Link

Environmental Law

Roscoe Hogan Environmental Law Essay Contest
Sponsor: The Public Justice Foundation
Deadline: January 30, 2009
E-mail: publicjustice@publicjustice.net
WebLink

Endangered Environmental Laws Student Writing Competition
Sponsor: Environmental Law Institute/ABA secton of Environment, Energy & Resources
Deadline: April 6, 2009
E-mail: goldman@eli.org
Web Site Link

Ethics

*Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition
Sponsor: Notre Dame Law School
Deadline: April 25, 2009
E-mail: ndlaw@nd.edu
Web Link

*Warren E. Burger Writing Competition
Sponsor: American Inns of Court
Deadline: June 15, 2009
E-mail: cdennis@innsofcourt.org
Web Site Link

Family Law

*Family Law Writing Competition
Sponsor: Association of Family & Conciliation Courts/Hofstra Law School
Deadline: March 14, 2009
E-mail: lawfcr@hofstra.edu
Web Site Link

*Howard C. Schwab Memorial Essay
Sponsor: American Bar Association
Deadline: May 15, 2009
E-mail: familylaw@abanet.org
Web Site Link

*Law Student Essay Competition
Sponsor: National Association of Counsel for Children
Deadline: June 1, 2009
E-mail: advocate@naccchildlaw.org
Web Site Link

Feminist Jurisprudence

*Feminist Jurisprudence Essay Contest
Sponsor: American University Washington School of Law
Deadline: June 1, 2009
E-mail: fempapercomp@wcl.american.edu
Web Site Link

Health Law

Health Law Student Writing Award
Sponsor: ABA Health Law Section
Deadline: December 5, 2008
E-mail: jillpena@staff.abanet.org
Web Site Link

Student Writing Competition in Legal Medicine/Letourneau Award
Sponsor: American College of Legal Medicine
Deadline: January 9, 2009
E-mail: info@aclm.org
Web Site Link

Hoffman Bioethics Student Writing Competition
Sponsor: American College of Legal Medicine
Deadline: January 9, 2009
E-mail: info@aclm.org
Web Site Link

*Annual Health Law Writing Competition
Sponsor: Epstein, Becker & Green, P.C.
Deadline: January 25, 2009
E-mail: competition@ebglaw.com
Web Site Link

Legal Research & Writing Contest
Sponsor: National Center for Nonsmokers Rights
Deadline: May 9, 2009
E-mail: info@nosmokingcontest.org
Web Site Link

*H. Thomas Austern Memorial Writing Competition
Sponsor: The Food and Drug Law Institute
Deadline: June 13, 2009
E-mail: jhe@fdli.org
Web Site Link

Immigration Law

*Edward L. Dubroff Memorial Writing Contest
Sponsor: American Immigration Law Foundation
Deadline: March 12, 2009
E-mail: info@ailf.org
Web Site Link

Intellectual Property

Ladas Memorial Award
Sponsor: International Trademark Association/Law Firm of Ladas & Parry LLP
Deadline: January 16, 2009
E-mail: info@inta.org
Web Site Link

*Robert C. Watson Award
Sponsor: American Intellectual Property Law Association
Deadline: June 30, 2009
Web Site Link

International Law

Beverly C. Moore, Jr. Memorial Student Writing Competition
Sponsor: Class Action Reports/Thompson Publishing
Deadline: December 1, 2008
E-mail: mary.brodner@thomsonreuters.com
Web Site Link

Trandafir International Business Writing Competition
Sponsor: Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems/The University of Iowa College of Law
Deadline: February 1, 2009
E-mail: law-trandafir@iowa.uiowa.edu
Web Site Link

*Judge John R. Brown Award for Excellence in Legal Writing
Sponsor: Brown Sims, P.C.
Deadline: May 16, 2009
E-mail: firm@brownsims.com
Web Site Link

*Andrew P. Vance Memorial Writing Competition
Sponsor: The Customs and International Trade Bar Association (CITBA) and Brooklyn Law School
Deadline: May 16, 2009
E-mail: claire.kelly@brooklaw.edu
Web Site Link

*ICC Institute of World Business Law Prize
Sponsor: International Chamber of Commerce/Institute of World Business Law
Deadline: July 1, 2009
E-mail: iccprize@iccwbo.org
Web Site Link

Legal Writing

*Law Student Essay Contest on Judicial Independence
Sponsor: American College of Trial Lawyers National Headquarters
Deadline: March 1, 2009
E-mail: dmaggi@actl.com
Web Site Link

*Scribes Brief-Writing Award
Sponsor: Scribes-The American Society of Legal Writers
Deadline: May 1, 2009
E-mail: kimblej@cooley.edu
Web Site Link

Holocaust Remembrance Essay Award
Sponsor: Professor F.C. DeCoste, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta
Deadline: July 1, 2009
E-mail: tdecoste@law.ualberta.ca
Web Site Link

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Issues

*National Lesbian & Gay Law Association/Michael Greenberg Student Writing Competition
Sponsor: Becca Levin
Deadline: June 1, 2009
E-mail: becca.levin@nlgla.org
Web Site Link

Miscellaneous

ACCFSL Writing Competition
Sponsor: American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers
Deadline: December 1, 2008
E-mail: jbrown@uwm.edu
Web Site Link

National Security Law Writing Competition
Sponsor: The William Mitchell Law Review and the William Mitchell National Security Forum
Deadline: December 1, 2008
E-mail: christine.hinrichs@wmitchell.edu.
Web Site Link

Ross Essay Contest
Sponsor: ABA Journal
Deadline: December 15, 2008
WebLink

William J. Pierce Writing Contest
Sponsor:
Deadline: December 31, 2008
E-mail: katie.robinson@nccusl.org
WebLink

Law Student Writing Competition
Sponsor: ABA Section Tort Trial & Insurance Practice
Deadline: March 2, 2009
E-mail: lmwiley@staff.abanet.org
WebLink

*Law Student Writing Competition
Sponsor: ABA Forum on Air and Space Law
Deadline: March 31, 2009
E-mail: holidayd@staff.abanet.org
Web Site Link

Pharmacy Law

*Larry M. Simonsmeier Award
Sponsor: American Society for Pharmacy Law
Deadline: January 15, 2009
E-mail: administration@aspl.org
Web Site Link

Planning

*Smith-Babcock-Williams Student Writing Com
Sponsor: Planning & Law Division of American Planning Assoc.
Deadline: June 9, 2009
E-mail: info_pld@planning.org
Web Site Link

Professional Liability

*Bert W. Levit Essay Contest
Sponsor: ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability/Long & Levit, LLP
Deadline: February 22, 2009
E-mail: bettsr@staff.abanet.org
Web Site Link

Property

*Law Student RPPT Writing Contest
Sponsor: ABA Section Real Property, Trust & Estate Law
Deadline: June 20, 2009
E-mail: rppt@abanet.org
Web Site Link

Public Interest

*Annual Student Writing Competition
Sponsor: ABA Section Affordable Housing & Community Development Law
Deadline: March 1, 2009
E-mail: cummings@law.ucla.edu
Web Site Link

Securities

Securities Law Writing Competition
Sponsor: Assoc. of Securities and Exchange Commission Alumni, Inc.
Deadline: November 15, 2008
E-mail: info@secalumni.org
Web Site Link

Tax

2009 Tannenwald Writing Competition
Sponsor: The Theodore Tannenwald, Jr. Foundation for Excellence in Tax Scholarship
Deadline: July 1, 2009
E-mail: nabramo@wcl.american.edu
Web Link

Technology

*Mark L. Gordon Memorial Technology Law Writing Award
Sponsor: International Technology Law Association
Deadline: February 1, 2009
E-mail: memberservices@itechlaw.org
Web Site Link

Law Student Writing Contest
Sponsor: ABA Section of Science & Technology Law
Deadline: March 1, 2009
E-mail: ST-studentwriting@staff.abanet.org
WebLink

Trust & Estates

*Mary Moers Wenig Student Writing Competition
Sponsor: The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
Deadline: May 1, 2009
Web Site Link

Women

*Annual Law Student Writing Competition
Sponsor: ABA Section on Domestic Violence
Deadline: March 28, 2009
E-mail: runger@staff.abanet.org
Web Site Link

3rd Annual Selma Moidel Smith Law Student Writing Competition
Sponsor: National Association of Women Lawyers
Deadline: April 30, 2009
E-mail: jsm40@pitt.edu
Web Link

*Victoria Fisher Memorial Prize 2008
Sponsor: University of Leicester
Deadline: September 30, 2009
E-mail: lh55@le.ac.uk
Web Site Link