Legal Writing & Reserch: Writing Competitions

ABOUT

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.

 

External organizations are encouraged to send information about writing competitions to:

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.

 

Notes:

• Writing competitions are listed for information purposes only. The listing of competitions does not represent endorsement of any organization.
• Deadlines are subject to change. Please check a competitions website for the official deadline.

BUSINESS LAW
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
Competition	Award	Deadline*
American Constitution Society for Law and Policy	First prize $3,000 and publication, runners-up $1,000	February 18

 

CRIMINAL LAW
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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