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 Support 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.
Law Student Support
Golden Gate University School of Law
536 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: 415-442-6615
E-mail:lawstudentsupport@ggu.edu.
BUSINESS LAW |
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Competition |
Award |
Deadline* |
Trandafir Writing Competition (Any topic of contemporary international business or economic concern with a legal nexus) |
$2,000 and publication in Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems | February 1 |
National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees | A prize and publication in the NACTT Quarterly | April 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 $500 | October 3 |
Association of Securities and Exchange Commission Alumni Writing Competition | First prize $5,000 and travel and lodging paid to attend the annual ASECA dinner in Washington D.C., second prize $3,000, third prize $2,000 | November 15 |
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW |
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Competition |
Award |
Deadline* |
American Constitution Society for Law and Policy | First prize $3,000 and publication, runners-up $1,000 | February 18 |
CRIMINAL LAW |
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Competition |
Award |
Deadline* |
William W. Greenhalgh Student Writing Competition | $2,000 and airfare and accommodations to attend the ABA Criminal Justice Section meeting | April 23 |
American Judges Association Essay Competition | first prize $3,000, second prize $1,500, third prize $1,000 | June 1 |
DIVERSITY, ETHNICITY & HERITAGE |
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Competition |
Award |
Deadline* |
Asian Pacific American Bar Association Robert T. Matsui Writing Competition | $1,500 and publication in UCLA's Asian Pacific American Law Journal | August 1 |
Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage Law Writing Competition | $1,000 first place; $500 second place | June 10 |
Holocaust Remembrance Essay Award | $500 CDN and a certificate | July 1 |
EMPLOYMENT & LABOR LAW |
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Competition |
Award |
Deadline* |
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 Website | January 18 |
College of Labor and Employment Lawyers Writing Competition | 1st prize $1,500, 2nd prize $1,000, 3rd prize $500 | May 15 |
American College of Employee Benefits Counsel | Two awards of $1,500 each | June 1 |
ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law | $500 and publication in the ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law | June 15 |
College of Workers' Compensation Lawyers Writing Competition | 1st prize $1,500, 2nd prize $1,000, 3rd prize $500 | November 1 |
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & WILDLIFE |
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Competition |
Award |
Deadline* |
Environmental Justice Symposium - Law Student Writing Competition | First place $1,000 and publication in Mississippi Law Journal; second place $500; third place $250 | February 15 |
The Hogan/Smoger Access to Justice Essay Contest | $5,000 | March 31 |
Environmental Law Institute "Endangered Environmental Laws" Writing Competition | $2,000 and possible publication in the Environmental Law Reporter | April 11 |
New York State Bar Association Committee on Animals and the Law | First place $1,000; second place $500 | June 30 |
FAMILY LAW |
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Competition |
Award |
Deadline* |
Howard C. Schwab Memorial Essay Contest | First 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 membership | April 29 |
National Association of Counsel for Children Essay Competition | $1,000 and scholarship to the 2010 conference in Austin, TX | May 1 |
GENDER, SEXUALITY & THE LAW |
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Competition |
Award |
Deadline* |
National Association of Women Lawyers Selma Moidel Smith Writing Competition | $500 and publication in the NAWL Women Lawyers Journal | April 30 |
National LGBT Bar Association Michael Greenberg Student Writing Competition | First 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, FL | May 23 |
ABA Commission on Domestic Violence Writing Competition | Publication in the American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law and honorarium | May 31 |
Washington College of Law Alice Paul Feminist Jurisprudence Essay Contest | $1,000 and opportunity to present essay to an audience | June 1 |
University of Leicester Victoria Fisher Memorial Prize | £250 | September 30 |
Women's Bar Assoc of DC and the Washington College of Law | $1,000 and possibility of publishing the essay in The Modern American | October 1 |
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY |
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Competition |
Award |
Deadline* |
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 Reporter | January 17 |
National Law Review Intellectual Property Law Writing Competition | Publication on NLR's website alongside those written by respected attorneys from Am Law 200 firms and other prominent firms | February 25 |
Virginia State Bar Intellectual Property Law Student Writing Competition | $4,000 and publication on the VA State Bar Intellectual Property Section website | May 27 |
ASCAP Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition | Local prize: First prize $600, second prize $250 at each participating law school. National prize: First prize $3,000, second prize $2,000, third prize $1,000 | June 30 |
American Intellectual Property Law Association Robert C. Watson Award Competition | $2,000 | June 30 |
LITIGATION |
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Competition |
Award |
Deadline* |
International Association of Defense Counsel | First 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 |
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Competition |
Award |
Deadline* |
Bert W. Levit Essay Contest | $5,000 and an all expense paid trip to the Spring 2011 National Legal Malpractice Conference | February 18 |
Notre Dame Law Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition | $2,500 | June 6 |
American Inns of Court Warren E. Burger Prize | $5,000 and publication in the South Carolina Law Review | June 15 |
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS |
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Competition |
Award |
Deadline* |
Sarah Weddington Writing Prize for Student Scholarship in Reproductive Rights Law (LSRJ) | First prize $750, second prize $500, third prize $250 | March 1 |
National Advocates for Pregnant Women | $1,000 (1st place), $500 and $250 (runners-up) | December 15 |
TAXATION LAW |
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Competition |
Award |
Deadline* |
National Law Review Tax Law Writing Competition | Publication on NLR's website alongside those written by respected attorneys from Am Law 200 firms and other prominent firms | April 25 |
Tannenwald Foundation for Excellence in Tax Scholarship Writing Competition | First place $5,000, first runner-up $2,500, second runner-up $1,500 | July 1 |
WILLS & TRUSTS |
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Competition |
Award |
Deadline* |
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 website | June 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 |
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Competition |
Award |
Deadline* |
The American College of Legal Medicine's Student Writing Competition in Law, Medicine & Bioethics | first prize $1,000, second prize $500, third prize $250 | January 10 |
Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. Annual Health Law Writing Competition | first prize $4,000, second prize $2,000, third prize $500 | January 21 |
National Law Review Health and Labor Law Writing Competition | Publication on NLR's website alongside those written by respected attorneys from Am Law 200 firms and other prominent firms | March 25 |
ABA Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee | $500, plus up to $500 reimbursement towards attendance at the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco | April 8 |
Judge John R. Brown Award (Any legal topic) |
$10,000 | May 20 |
Andrew P. Vance Memorial Writing Competition (Customs and International Trade Law) |
First place $1,000, second place $500 | May 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 Journal | May 30 |
The Food and Drug Law Institute H. Thomas Austern Memorial Writing Competitions | first prize $4,000, second prize $1,000 | May 31 |
Paralyzed Veterans of America Law and Public Policy Writing Contest | $3,000 and possible publication in an appropriate professional journal | August 1 |
Adam A. Milani Disability Law Writing Competition | $300-$1,000, depending on whether multiple awards are given | June 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 $250 | June 1 |
American Planning Association Smith-Babcock-William Writing Competition | $2,500 and publication in the ABA Law Journal, The Urban Lawyer | June 7 |
California Supreme Court Historical Society | $2,500 and publication in the Society's journal, California Legal History | June 30 |
George Jay Joseph Education Law Writing Award | Publication in Journal of Law and Education, recognition at annual conference | July 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 public | September 9 |
ABA Health Law Student Writing Award | $500, publication in The Health Lawyer, and airfare and accommodations to attend the ABA Health Law Section conference | December 3 |