Student Legal Writing Competitions - February 2023

The following are writing competitions to which law students may be eligible to submit their writings. For future writing competition deadlines and competitions by subject, see the Library’s Student Legal Writing Competitions Guide.


Trandafir Writing Competition
Any contemporary international business or economic concern within the discipline of law.
Deadline: March 17, 2023. Annual competition.

University of Pennsylvania Law Review Annual Public Interest Essay Competition
"Submissions must focus on a specific legal issue within the realm of public interest law, including any issue relating to social justice or advancing the general welfare and good of the public. In addition, the author must include a brief grant proposal for $5,000 to support public interest work related to the essay topic. We encourage topics that are national in breadth or impact, rather than state-limited, but this is not required."
Deadline: January 15, 2023. Annual competition.

The Richard D. Cudahy Writing Competition on Regulatory and Administrative Law
"Submissions should be focused on American regulatory or administrative law, broadly construed."
Deadline: Sunday February 12, 2023 at 11:59 PM (in your local time zone).

Constance Baker Motley National Student Writing Competition
"The American Constitution Society welcomes all papers furthering and promoting a progressive vision of the Constitution, law, and public policy."
Deadline: February 12, 2023 at 11:59pm ET.

The Robert T. Matsui Annual Writing Competition
Submissions should address a legal topic of importance to the Asian Pacific American community.
Deadline: January 12, 2023 at 11:59pm (EST). Annual competition.

SIEL/JIEL/OUP Essay Prize
"The SIEL/JIEL/OUP Prize is an essay prize, jointly established by the Society of International Economic Law, the Journal of International Economic Law, and Oxford University Press, to award the best essay submitted on any topic in the field of international economic law."
Deadline: 19 February 2021.

Mendes Hershman Student Writing Contest
The Mendes Hershman Student Writing Contest is a highly regarded legal writing competition that encourages and rewards law students for their outstanding writing on business law topics.
Deadline: January 20, 2023, at 11:59 PM CST. Annual competition.

Epstein Becker Green Annual Health Law Writing Competition
"Papers may address any traditional area of the law as applied to health care (e.g., antitrust, tax, corporate) or areas of law unique to health care (e.g., fraud and abuse, managed care, Medicare/Medicaid, clinical trials, telehealth/telemedicine). Entries ranked in the top 20 percent of all competition submissions may be considered for publication in the Annals of Health Law."
Deadline: February 25, 2022

American Indian Law Review National Writing Competition
"Papers will be accepted on any legal issue specifically concerning American Indians or other indigenous peoples."
Deadline: February 28, 2022

National Law Review 2021-2022 Law Student Writing Competition
"straightforward and practical, containing useful information of interest to legal and business professionals" Suggested Topics:
- Election Law and Access to Voting
- President Trump and current administration
- Tax Issues
- Immigration enforcement and policy
- Federal Court issues: process of adding additional justices to the US Supreme Court/Federal Circuit
- Employment Issues - Ban the Box Laws, Minimum Wage, Transgender Accommodations, Age/Sex Discrimination
Deadline: 5:00 pm Central Standard Time by the last day of the month.

Willis R. Tribler Law Student Writing Competition
Recent decision and/or trend in a specific practice area, as well as how that decision might impact Illinois attorneys.
Deadline February 28, 2022.

Center for Legal & Court Technology Annual Artificial Intelligence Writing Competition
"Innovative Legal Issues Likely to Arise from Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things"
"We encourage students from diverse backgrounds to participate!"
Deadline: December - February, annually

New York Intellectual Property Law Association Honorable William Conner Writing Competition
"An entry must be directed to any of the following subject areas related to intellectual property, i.e., patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, unfair trade practices, antitrust, and data security/privacy issues.
Deadline: January 12, 2023, Annual.