Student Legal Writing Competitions - January 2024

Grammy Annual Entertainment Law Initiative Student Writing Competition
"The Recording Academy®, in concert with some of the nation’s most prominent entertainment attorneys, established the Entertainment Law Initiative to promote discussion and debate about the most compelling legal issues facing the music industry today."
Deadline: January 3, 2023

New York State Bar Association Phil Cowan – Judith Bresler Memorial Scholarship
Law students, take note of this publishing and scholarship opportunity: The Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section of the New York State Bar Association (EASL)’s Phil Cowan – Judith Bresler Memorial Scholarship, named after two esteemed former EASL Chairs, offers up to two awards of $2,500 each on an annual basis in Phil Cowan’s and Judith Bresler’s memories to law students who are committed to a practice concentrating in one or more areas of entertainment, art or sports law.
Deadline: January 3, 2023

Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict Richard R. Baxter Military Prize
"Since 2007, the Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict, an interest group of the American Society of International Law, has annually recognized a paper that significantly enhances the understanding and implementation of the law of war. The Richard R. Baxter Military Prize is awarded for exceptional writing in English by an active member of the regular or reserve armed forces, regardless of nationality."
Deadline: January 6, 2023

American Society of International Law Francis Lieber Prize for Outstanding Publications in the Law of Armed Conflict
"The American Society of International Law’s Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict awards the Francis Lieber Prize to the authors of publications that the judges consider to be outstanding in the field of law and armed conflict."
Deadline: January 6, 2023

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.

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.
Annual. Deadline: January 12, 2023

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.

International Refugee Law Student Writing Competition
"Papers may address any topic related to international law and refugees, stateless persons, internally-displaced persons (IDPs), and/or forced migrants."
Deadline: January 15, 2023

John F. Burton Jr. College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Student Writing Competition
The scope of permissible topics is broad, i.e., any aspect of workers’ compensation law. Students are encouraged to present: a public policy issue; a critique of a leading case or doctrine; or a comment on a statute or the need for a statutory modification.
Deadline: January 15, 2023

Louis Jackson Memorial National Student Writing Competition in Employment and Labor Law
The competition is sponsored by Jackson Lewis P.C. and administered by IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Martin H. Malin Institute for Law and the Workplace. It recognizes the best legal writing in the field of labor and employment law among current law students.
Deadline: January 17, 2023

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.

Center for Alcohol Policy National Essay Contest
This year’s writing topic is: After Prohibition, states generally issued licenses for on-premise and off-premise sale of alcohol. Drinking was thus largely confined to bars, restaurants, the home, and private clubs. Alcohol is now regularly offered in places like salons, grocery stores, clothing stores, and galleries. Is this trend towards ubiquitous availability of alcohol a good one? And is there a new regulatory regime needed to address this trend?
Deadline: 5:30 PM EST on January 28, 2022.

ABA Robert Pitofsky Law Student Writing Competition
The Competition is designed to attract students to the antitrust law and consumer protection law field and to strongly encourage scholarship in these areas
Deadline: January 28, 2023. Annual competition.

Scribes Law Review Award
"Since 1987, Scribes has presented an annual award for the best student-written article in a law review or journal. The Scribes Law-Review Award is presented at the Scribes annual CLE, which is usually held in April."
Deadline: January 30, annually

Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law Human Rights Essay Award
"Candidates for the Award must hold a law degree and have a demonstrated experience or interest in international human rights law."
Deadline: January 31, 2023, 11:59 PM EST

Donald C. Alexander Tax Law Writing Competition
"The Federal Bar Association Section on Taxation sponsors an annual writing competition and invites law students to participate."
Deadline: January 31, 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.