Skip to Main Content

Law Student Writing Competitions: Writing Competitions

A collection of upcoming law student writing competitions. The guide includes competitions from past years as well.

Upcoming Competitions

chat loading...

Past Competitions

  • Hon. William C. Conner Writing Competition
    Sponsor: New York Intellectual Property Law Association
    Submission Deadline: March 7, 2025
    Topic: An entry must be directed to any of the following subject areas of intellectual property.
  • Trandafir Writing Competition
    Sponsor: University of Iowa College of Law 
    Submission Deadline: March 14, 2025
    Topic: Any contemporary international business or economic concern.
  • International Insolvency Institute Prize in International Insolvency Studies
    Sponsor: International Insolvency Institute
    Submission Deadline: March 15, 2025
    Topic: The III Prize is awarded for original legal research, commentary or analysis on topics of international insolvency and restructuring significance and on comparative international analysis of domestic insolvency and restructuring issues and developments. 
  • Robert T. Matsui Annual Writing Competition
    Sponsor: Asian Pacific American Bar Association Educational Fund
    Submission Deadline: March 16, 2025
    Topic: Submissions should address a legal topic of importance to the Asian-Pacific American community.
  • The Roy Snell Health Care Regulatory & Compliance Writing Competition
    Sponsor: Health Law Institute at Mitchell Hamline School of Law and the Health Care Compliance Association
    Submission Deadline: March 17, 2025
    Topic: Students must analyze the facts presented in the Competition Problem, identify any and all regulatory/compliance concerns, and advise the recipient of the memorandum.
  • White River Environmental Law Writing Competition
    Sponsor: Vermont Journal of Environmental Law and Vermont Law and Graduate School
    Submission Deadline: Monday, March 18, 2024
    Topic: Any article that explores a legal environmental topic is generally eligible. Topics generally include environmental law, natural resource law, energy law, environmental justice, land use law, animal law, and agricultural law.
  • Judith Bresler Memorial Scholarship

Sponsor: NYSBA Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section
Submission Deadline: April 1
Topic: Each Scholarship candidate must write an original paper on any legal issue of current interest in the area of entertainment, art or sports law.

Sponsor: Notre Dame Law School

Submission Deadline: April 15, 2025.

Topic: Entries should concern any issue within the general category of legal ethics.

  • Howard C. Schwab Essay Contest
    Sponsor: ABA Section of Family Law
    Submission Deadline: April 18, 2025.
    Topic: Entries should be original essays on any aspect of family law.
  • 2024-2025 Law Essay Writing Competition
    Sponsor: Public Citizen
    Submission Deadline: April 30, 2025
    Topic: You may submit legal essays on compelling arguments related to Access to Justice. Examples of topics include Trump v. USA; What will happen now that the Chevron Deference is no longer law?; and Legal Strategies to Address Qualified Immunity.
  • The Tenth Annual AUWCL National Health Law Writing Competition
    Sponsor: American University
    Submission Deadline: May 5, 2025
    Topic: This competition is designed to encourage law students to write scholarly papers on current topics of interest relevant to health law and/or food and drug law. 
  • 27th Annual Health Law Writing Competition
    Sponsor: Epstein Becker Green
    Submission Deadline: May 16, 2025
    Topic: 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).
  • The Marshall Manne Schulman Competition for Student Papers in Criminal Law and/or Criminal Procedure
    Sponsor: Criminal Law Section of the California Lawyers Association
    Submission Deadline: May 30, 2025
    Topic: The paper must pertain to criminal law and/or to criminal procedure, with a particular focus on contemporary issues of concern in the State of California.
  • ABA Law Student Writing Competition
    Sponsor: ABA Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law 
    Submission Deadline: May 31, 2025
    Topic: Entries should focus on a current topic dealing with real property, trust and estate law.
  • 2025 Law Student Writing Competition
    Sponsor: ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources
    Submission Deadline: May 31, 2025
    Topic: Entries for the Competition should demonstrate original thought on a question of legal and/or policy significance relating to one of the following topics: (1) Biodiversity, (2) Energy Law and/or Resource Recovery, (3) Forest Resources and Public Land, (4) Indigenous Law, (5) Water Law. Each entrant must select one of the five competition topics to write on. The topics are intended to be broad to stimulate creativity of thought and research.
  • The American College of Employee Benefits Counsel's Annual Writing Competition
    Sponsor: The American College of Employee Benefits Counsel
    Submission Deadline: June 1, 2025
    Topic:  Papers must deal with employee benefits legal topics. 
  • Cornelius Vander Broek Essay Contest for ‘Graduate/Older’ Students
    Sponsor: The Freedom of Religion Foundation
    Submission Deadline: June 1, 2025
    Topic: Focus on one issue related to state/church separation or secular social policy that you consider to be under threat by Christian nationalist policies in the Trump administration.
  • Legal Writing Competition for Law Students
    Sponsor: ACTEC Foundation
    Submission Deadline: June 1, 2025
    Topic:The paper must relate to the area of trusts and estates, broadly defined. 
  • Georgetown Law Writing Competition
    Sponsor: Georgetown Law Technology Review
    Submission Deadline: June 6, 2025
    Topic:  Students are invited to submit papers that provide analysis or insights on issues at the intersection of technology law and policy.
  • James B. Boskey Law Student Essay Contest
    Sponsor: ABA
    Submission Deadline: June 6, 2025
    Topic: The essay may address any aspect of dispute resolution practice, theory, or research that the contestant chooses.
  • Adam A. Milani Writing Competition
    Sponsor: Mercer University School of Law & the American Bar Association Commission on Disability Rights
    Submission Deadline: June 6, 2025
    Topic: The submission may address any aspect of disability law, theory, or practice the contestant chooses.
  • Annual Law Student Writing Competition
    Sponsor: The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
    Submission Deadline: June 15, 2025
    Topic: The topic must be on any relevant, engaging and useful to labor and employment lawyers in their practices.
  • Scholarship Contest from Smith, Born, Leventis, Taylor & Vega
    Sponsor: Smith, Born, Leventis, Taylor & Vega
    Submission Deadline: June 30, 2025
    Topic: Write a 500-word essay exploring what might happen if personal injury attorneys didn’t exist. Discuss the potential impact on individuals, businesses, and society as a whole.
  • Warren E. Burger Prize
    Sponsor: American Inns of Court
    Submission Deadline: July 1, 2025
    Topic: Any topic of your choice addressing issues of professionalism, ethics, civility, and excellence
  • The Greenhalgh Student Writing Competition
    Sponsor: Criminal Justice Section of the ABA
    Submission Deadline: July 1, 2025
    Topic: Papers should adhere to a set of three issues relating to the recent criminal charges of parents of children who commit school shootings with involuntary manslaughter. 
  • Selma Moidel Smith Student Writing Competition
    Sponsor: The California Supreme Court Historical Society 
    Submission Deadline: July 1, 2025
    Topic: Papers may include elements of digital humanities and may also be co-authored.
  • Hutchinson Writing Contest
    Sponsor: Federal Circuit Bar Association 
    Submission Deadline: July 1, 2025
    Topic: Papers must deal with a topic that lies within the substance, procedure, or scope of the specialized jurisdiction of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
  • The 2025 Tannenwald Writing Competition
    Sponsor: The Theodore Tannenwald, Jr. Foundation for Excellence in Tax Scholarship and The American College of Tax Counsel 
    Submission Deadline: July 11 2025
    Topic: Submitted papers must focus primarily upon technical or policy-oriented tax issues relating to any type of existing or proposed U.S. federal or state tax or U.S. federal or state taxation system (including topics relating to tax practice ethical and professional responsibility matters).
  • DEI Law Student Writing Competition
    Sponsor: Cailfornia Lawyers Association
    Submission Deadline: August 1, 2025
    Topic: Explain why a diverse and inclusive bar is important for equality, justice, and the rule of law. You may choose to include a personal or narrative perspective, including how you have been affected by a diversity, equity and inclusion program or policy.

  • Honorable Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg “Pursuit of Justice” Legal Writing Competition
    Sponsor: Philadelphia Bar Association
    Submission Deadline: August 2, 2025
    Topic: Any topic relating to rights, privileges, and responsibilities under federal law. 

  • IFA USA Brach 2025 Writing Competition
    Sponsor: The USA Section of the International Fiscal Association
    Submission Deadline: September 30, 2025
    Topic: Any topic relating to U.S. taxation of income from international activities, including taxation under U.S. tax treaties. 

  • BILPA Annual Writing Competition
    Sponsor: The Boston Intellectual Property Law Association
    Submission Deadline: September 30, 2025
    Topic: Law school students are invited to submit papers relating to topics involving intellectual property law. 

  • Public Contract Law Journal Writing Competition
    Sponsor: American Bar Association (ABA) Public Contract Law (PCL) Section
    Submission Deadline: September 30, 2025
    Topic: Papers should address a topical issue of interest to the public contract and grant law community.