2018 Louis Jackson National Student Writing Competition winners named

The law firm of Jackson Lewis PC and the Institute for Law and the Workplace at Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech have announced the winners of the 2017–18 Louis Jackson National Student Writing Competition in Employment and Labor Law. Awards were presented to the top three entries.

Stefanie Brody, a student at the Saint Louis University School of Law, won top honors for her paper Treating Employees Like Widgets: The Legal Impact of Workforce Management Systems on Contingent Workers. Brody will receive a $3,000 scholarship, and her paper has been published on the Institute for Law and the Workplace website.

Student Naomi Bensdorf Frisch of Chicago-Kent College of Law won second place for her paper The Impact of RFRA on Employment Discrimination: Will the Hobby Lobby Decision Erode the Purpose of Title VII? In addition, student Aaron Bibb of the University of Wisconsin Law School won third place for his paper Vindicating Statutory Employment Rights in the Age of Mandatory Arbitration: State Attorney General Parens Patriae Litigation as an Alternative to Class Actions. Frisch and Bibb will each receive a $1,000 scholarship. Their papers likewise have been published on the institute's website.

Established in 1998, the writing competition is named for the late Louis Jackson, founding partner of Jackson Lewis PC. The firm, which has more than 850 attorneys practicing in major locations throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, has represented management in the practice of employment, labor and benefits law for more than 50 years.

"From 1958 until his death in 1997, Louis Jackson provided inspiration, guidance, friendship and good humor to his colleagues," said Felice Ekelman of the law firm. "It is fitting that we honor his memory by carrying on his commitment to the future of the profession through this national student competition." 

"We are pleased to join with Jackson Lewis in encouraging scholarship by law students interested in careers in labor and employment law," said Martin H. Malin, Chicago-Kent professor and co-director of the Institute for Law and the Workplace.

Chicago-Kent's Institute for Law and the Workplace administers the annual competition. Entries are blind-judged by an independent panel of law professors from across the United States. The determination of the judges' panel is final, and neither Jackson Lewis PC nor the Institute for Law and the Workplace is involved in judging the competition.

Founded in 1888, Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school of Illinois Institute of Technology, also known as Illinois Tech, a private, technology-focused, research university offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, architecture, business, design, human sciences, applied technology, and law.

Established in 1996 at Chicago-Kent, the Institute for Law and the Workplace is a national center for research, training, dialogue and reflection on the law that governs the workplace. The institute also serves as an intellectual home for the labor and employment law community, both in the Chicago area and nationwide. It pools the resources of leading academic scholars and the practicing professional community to train students and professionals, monitor policies and trends, and reflect upon issues confronting the labor and employment law community in a neutral setting.

Editors, please note: The name of the law firm is Jackson Lewis. The competition is named in honor of the late Louis Jackson.