Previous Writing Competitions
This list of Previous Writing Competitions may be helpful as you make long-range plans. Often, sponsors repeat their contests, and the deadline may fall at the same approximate time of year. If you are interested in a Writing Competition on this list, please verify the topic, prize, and due date with the sponsor. For a list of current Writing Competitions with upcoming deadlines, please click “Currently Active Writing Competitions.”
| Previous Competitions |
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Students are encouraged to submit articles on a subject relating to the protection of intellectual property.? Judges consider the merit of the article as a contribution to the knowledge respecting intellectual property and the extent to which it displays original and creative thought or information not previously written or published by an author.? The award is presented each October during the AIPLA Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.
Due Date: 6/30/2016 |
Open to any law school student in good standing, over the age of 18, who is currently attending an ABA-accredited law school within the United States and its possessions, and who is a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States.? To enter, submit an essay on a current topic dealing with real property, trust and estate law.? "Real property, trust and estate law" is a broad category containing numerous practice disciplines.? Without attempting to define the area precisely, the subject is intended to include matters within law school curricula in courses entitled:? Property; Estate and Gift Tax; Wills and Decedents' Estates; Real Estate Development; Environmental Law; Land Use Planning; Federal Taxation; Real Estate Finance; Securied Transactions; Debtors and Creditors; Employee Benefit Plans; Planning, Drafting and Negotiating Commercial Transactions; Taxation and Regulation of Non-Profit Organizations; Business Succession Planning; Life Insurance and Other Insurance Products; Trusts and Trust Law; Wealth Management; Fiduciary Income Taxation; Estate Planning; and Probate and Estate Administration.? Entrants are encouraged to write on subjects of national interest; entries that address principally the law of a single state will be considered but will rarely be recommended for publication.
Due Date: 6/30/2016 |
Open to law students in good standing, currently attending an ABA-accredited law school within the United States and its possessions, and who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.? All entrants must be members of the ABA Law Student Division at the time of submitting the entry. All submissions must be the original work of the entrant, must have been written on or after June 1, 2016, and must not have been previously published in any media. Papers should address a current topic of general interest in a legal area covered by the Section.? The Section is organized into industry committees and practice committees that relate to areas of legal specialty (e.g., antitrust, labor, taxation and accounting) as they apply to those industries.? Entrants are encouraged to write on subjects of national interest. ?
Due Date: 6/30/2016 |
Entries should demonstrate original thought on a question of significance in either city planning or associated areas of law (e.g., land use, local government or environmental law) and will be evaluated based on:? (1) originality; (2) contribution to the understanding or development of the fields of planning and law; (3) quality of scholarship; and (4) quality and organization of writing. The competition is open to law students at ABA accredited law schools and planning students at schools listed in the current Guide to Undergraduate and Graduate Education in Urban and Regional Planning who are enrolled in or who will complete a program of study leading to the J.D., LL.B., Master's or Ph.D. degree during the 2015-2016 academic year. Entries may have been written for another purpose within the last year -- e.g., a paper submitted for a course or internship -- but must not have been previously published. ?
Due Date: 6/3/2016 |
Papers may address any aspect of cultural heritage law relating to art, terrestrial and submerged cultural property, historic preservation, indigenous peoples, and intangible cultural heritage, but not intellectual property or family law issues, except as they relate to material cultural heritage.? Papers must have been written between June 30, 2015 and June 27, 2016.? Papers that have been published or accepted for publication are eligible for consideration as long as the other eligibility and formatting requirements are satisfied. ?
Due Date: 6/27/2016 |
Paper topics are limited to FDA and other regulated agency law.? Topical focus should be on FDA regulated industries:? food, drugs, animal drugs, biologics, cosmetics, diagnostics, dietary supplements, medical devices, and tobacco.? Complete guidelines at fdli.org/austern.
Due Date: 6/10/2016 |
Submission must address a legal topic of importance to the Asian Pacific American community.? Must be a current student in law school or have graduated no earlier than Spring 2016.? May submit more than one piece for consideration.? Do not submit any manuscript that has been published previously or that is submitted concurrently for publication elsewhere. ?
Due Date: 6/1/2016 |
Entries should demonstrate original thought on a question of legal and/or policy significance relating to any issue related to species conservation law, including endangered and threatened species, biodiversity, habitat conservation, and similar themes.? Essays should conform to the theme of the competition.? Submissions may advocate a position, educate the reader, or analyze one or more cases. The decision of whether a particular essay qualifies as to subject matter is entirely within the discretion of the Section.
Due Date: 5/31/2016 |
Entries must be the original work of a single author, not previously published.? Entries must be submitted in the English language on a subject of practical concern to lawyers engaged in the defense or management of the defense of civil litigation, such as relevant aspects of tort law, insurance law, civil procedure, evidence, damages, alternative dispute resolution procedures, and professional ethics.? Unusual subjects ar desirable if of sufficuent widespread interest beyond the borders of any state or province.? While entrants are free to take positions on issues, their articles should be expository in nature, and an author's ability to make a thoughtful and balanced presentation will be considered.
Due Date: 5/20/2016 |
Entries should demonstrate original thought on a question of legal and/or policy significance relating to the topic of the role public lands and policy.? The topic is not confined to any particular type of public lands issue.? Essays should conform to the theme of the competition.? Submissions may advocate a position, educate the reader, or analyze one or more cases. The decision of whether a particular essay qualifies as to subject matter is entirely within the discretion of the Section.
Due Date: 5/20/2016 |
Entries should demonstrate original thought on a question of legal and/or policy significance on any issue related to energy law.? Essays should conform to the theme of the competition.? Submissions may advocate a position, educate the reader, or analyze one or more cases.? The decision of whether a particular essay qualifies as to subject matter is entirely within the discretion of the Section. ?
Due Date: 5/20/2016 |
Over the last few years, police departments across the country have come under fire for what critics have called incidents involving disproportionate, if not outright lethal, uses of force on nonviolent individuals.? Prompted by myriad civil rights concerns, these incidents have sparked widespread public calls for accountability.? One mechanism for accountability has been civil liabililty . . ., under which plaintiffs may sue police officers for depriving them of their right to be free from excessive force, a right guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment.? Under longstanding Supreme Court precedent . . . plaintiff may obtain recovery from a police officer for violations of the Fourth Amendment only if he or she shows that the policy officer is not entitled to qualified immunity . . . .? How would the events of the last few years be treated under the qualified immunity framework?? In light of these events, consider whether the current standards for qualified immunity strike the blance between protecting the Fourth Amendment rights of those subjected to excessive force and giving law enforcement officers the leeway to properly perform their jobs.? If so, respond to the critics, explaining why current standards strike the proper balance.? If not, propose an alternative, and explain why it would strike a better balance than the standard currently in place.
Due Date: 5/20/2016 |
Legal issues affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and/or intersex community.
Due Date: 5/20/2016 |
NOTE:? The competition is open to currently enrolled students of ABA-accredited law schools who are also members of the ABA?Section of Administrative Law & Practice.? The entry must discuss any topic relating to administrative law.
Due Date: 5/1/2016 |
Any topic addressing developments or trends in U.S. environmental law with a significant constitutiona, "federalism," or other cross-cutting component.? (See list of sample topics on website.)
Due Date: 4/4/2016 |
Entrants should submit an essay, article, or comment on an issue concerning Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code.
Due Date: 4/30/2016 |
The Nappert Competition is open to all students, juniior scholars and junior practitioners.? Those who are no longer in school must have taken their most recent degree within the last three years or have been admitted to the bar (or the local equivalent) for no more than three years (whichever is later). The essay must relate to commercial or investment arbitration and must be unpublished (not yet submitted for publication) as of April 30.
Due Date: 4/30/2016 |
Entries should concern any issue within the general category of legal ethics.? Entries must be original, unpublished work.
Due Date: 4/29/2016 |
NOTE:? REQUEST ENTRY NUMBER BY 4/15/2016.? ESSAYS DUE 4/29/16.? The subject may be any aspect of family law. The primary focus of each essay should be an issue of law, although some interdisciplinary material may be useful in addressing a legal issue. Family law includes dissolution of marriage and other intimate relationships, relationships of persons of the same sex, parentage, custody, child support, division of property, alimony (maintenance), attorney's fees, adoption, dependency, termination of parental rights, rights pertaining to procreation, and alternative dispute resolution of Family Law issues. Family Law generally does not include Juvenile Justice, Probate, Labor, Immigration Law, and sociology topics unless those topics are related to more traditional Family Law subjects. Since winning entries may be published in Family Law Quarterly, entrants are encouraged to write on subjects of national interest. Essays on such subjects usually include citations to the law of several jurisdictions. However, if the law in one state reflects a significant development or trend, that too could be an appropriate subject for an entry. ?
Due Date: 4/15/2016 |
For the 2016 competition, submission must address the following topic:? The exponential growth of electronically stored information has in large part resulted in increased costs and burdens on parties involved in litigation, delays in litigation due to gamesmanship in discovery divorced from the merits of an action, and severe sanctions for unintentional discovery failulres.? The Rules, as amended in December 2015, are intended to reshape these aspects of civil discovery and other issues impacting "the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action."? (Fed. R. Civ. P. 1)? Identify and fully explain which new Rule you believe will have the greatest impact on the civil discovery process and to what extent, if any, the Rule identified impacts a corporate party's information management practies or policies.? The contest judges are looking for creativity and support of arguments as well as excellent writing and reasoning. ?
Due Date: 4/11/2016 |
Discuss any aspect of dispute resolution or dispute prevention practice, theory or research related to environmental, energy, or natural resource conflicts or should critique or analyze the dispute resolution process used in a particular case. Submissions may advocate a position, educate the reader, or analyze one or more cases.
Due Date: 4/1/2016 |
Open to students currently enrolled in law or graduate degree programs in all disciplines.? The topic can be any contemporary international business or economic concern.
Due Date: 3/4/2016 |
The ?Assignment:? Essay Hypothetical The 2016 Contest Essay Hypothetical involves liability issues arising from the breach of a law firm's computer network and the subsequent leaking of a client's confidential information.? Go to http://ambar.org/LPLEssayContest for the full text of the hypothetical. ?
Due Date: 3/4/2016 |
ABI invites papers on current issues regarding bankruptcy jurisdiction, bankruptcy litigation, or evidence in bankruptcy cases or proceedings.? The paper may address business or consumer cases and may incldue matters such as bankruptcy sales, plan confirmation and other topics that involve jurisdiction, litigation or evidence in the bankruptcy courts.?
Due Date: 3/1/2016 |
Seeking papers on race and the law.? The winning essay will be featured in MCRP's Spring issue, along with commentary written by legal professionals.? Anonymous judging.
Due Date: 2/14/2016 |
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