​Writing Competitions

Brooks Kushman Writing Competition

The Brooks Kushman Law Student Intellectual Property Writing Competition is open to any law student in good standing who is currently enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school, and who is a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States. The deadline is January 18, 2023. The first place award is a $5000 prize. See here for complete information.

Essay Competition on Federalism

The Baxter Family Competition on Federalism returns for a 4th edition in 2022-2023. The overarching goal of the Competition is to advance research and foster informed debate on federalism. This edition’s overall theme is Federalism: What Makes it Work (or not!). This is quite broad, and should allow for reflections about the institutional, political and cultural elements that explain successes and failures, whether small scale or at the macro level. We particularly welcome analyses which explore the potential and pitfalls of cooperative federalism. Comparative angles are especially encouraged and the maximum word count is 8000 words in English and 8800 in French.

The Competition is open to law and political science students/PhD candidates, junior scholars and practitioners from around the world. Contributors must be registered students or have obtained their degrees, in law or political science, less than 5 years before the submission deadline, that is February 6th, 2023.

With prizes ranging from $1000 to $5000 CND, and a chance to present one’s research at a Symposium in Montreal (in the spring of 2023, circumstances permitting), this should be of interest to many of you. Information on the previous editions of the Competition (as well as the winning essays) may be found HERE. 

Edward C. Mendrzycki Award

The ABA's Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability hosts an annual scholarly writing contest for law students and young lawyers encouraging scholarship and innovative research and writing in the area of legal malpractice law, professional liability insurance, and loss prevention. The contest is open to Young Lawyers Division or Law Student Division members of the American Bar Association, in good standing as indicated in the membership records of the Association. First prize is a $5000 cash award. The deadline for submission is February 15, 2023. See here for complete information.

American Indian Law Review National Writing Competition

This year’s American Indian Law Review national writing competition is now welcoming papers from students at accredited law schools in the United States and Canada. Papers will be accepted on any legal issue specifically concerning American Indians or other indigenous peoples. Three cash prizes will be awarded: $1,500 for first place, $750 for second place, and $400 for third place. Each of the three winning authors will also be awarded an eBook copy of Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law, provided by LexisNexis. The deadline is February 28, 2023, at 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. See here for complete information.

Marshall M. Schulman Criminal Law Student Writing Competition

The Criminal Law Section of the California Lawyer’s Association (formerly the Criminal Law Section of the California State Bar) is pleased to announce the 2022-2023 Marshall M. Schulman Annual Competition for Student Papers in Criminal Law and/or Criminal Procedure. This is a nationwide competition; while the focus is on California law, past winners have included students attending schools from coast to coast. Grand prize is $1500, honorable mention are $500 prizes. Each of the winning papers will be published in the Criminal Law Journal. The deadline is April 30, 2023. See here for complete information.

The Sovereignty Symposium XXXV Writing Competition

The Sovereignty Symposium XXXV – 2023 will be held at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on June 14-15, 2023. We invite papers on any issue concerning Native American law, with a deadline of May 1, 2023. See here for complete information.

The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law Annual Law Student Writing Competition for 2023

The ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law and The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers are pleased to announce their 2023 writing competition. This competition is open to articles written while the author is an active student at an accredited law school in the United States. Prizes are as follows: First Place: $3000; Second Place: $1000, and Third Place: $500. The first-place winning article may be selected for publication in the ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law. The deadline is June 15, 2023. See here for complete information.