Student Writing Competitions
Wake Forest Law Library
This is a list of writing competitions open to law students. Filter the list by topic by clicking on the drop-down box below. Each competition name is a link to more information. Please contact with any questions.
| Topic | Competition Name | Prize | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative Law | Gellhorn-Sargentich Law Student Essay Competition | $5,000; complimentary registration for Virtual Live Administrative Law Conference | |
| Administrative Law | Judicature Writing Competition for Emerging Scholars | $1,000; considered for publication in a future print edition of Judicature, Duke Law’s publication focused on the judiciary | 12/31/2025 |
| Administrative Law | Richard D. Cudahy Writing Competition on Regulatory and Administrative Law | $1,500 | |
| Admiralty & Maritime Law | The Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee Writing Competition | $1,000; invitation to participate in A Day in Marine Insurance with Gard (North America), Inc.; publication in AMLC Newsletter; waiver of registration fee and travel expenses reimbursed from the ABA up to $500 to attend the 2025 TIPS Fall Meeting or the 2027 Admiralty Disruption Conference. 2nd place gets $500, waiver of registration fee and travel expenses for aforementioned conferences, and publication in AMLC Newsletter. | |
| Agricultural Law | American Agricultural Law Association Law Student Paper Writing Contest | Cash Prize; registration for AALA Annual Education Symposium; article pulished in the AALA Symposium Edition of the Drake Journal of Agricultural Law | 10/1/2025 |
| Alcohol Law | National Writing Competition – Center for Alcohol Policy | $5,000. 2nd place gets $2,500. 3rd place gets $1,000. | |
| Animal Law | NYSBA Committee on Aminals and the Law: Student Writing Competition | $1,000; Certificate of Achievement. 2nd place gets $500 and a Certificate of Achievement. 3rd and 4th place winners receive a Certificate of Recognition. All winners’ submissions will be eligible for publication i nthe Committee’s “Laws & Paws publication, at the Committee’s discretion. | 7/6/2026 |
| Antitrust | Harvey Saferstein Consumer Protection Committee Student Essay Contest | $5,000;complimentary registration and travel expenses to the ABA Antitrust Law Section’s Meeting. 2nd place gets $3,000. 3rd place gets $2,000. | |
| Antitrust | Robert Pitofsky Law Student Writing Competition | $5,000; free one year membership in the Antitrust Law Section; complimentary registration and travel expenses to the ABA Antitrust Section Meeting | |
| Aviation and Space Law | ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section 2026 Annual Law Student Writing Competition | $500 case prize; up to $1,500 reimbursement for hotel and transportation expenses to attend and speak at the ABA TIPS Aviation Litigation Conference in Washington, DC on October 22-23, 2026; publication in upcoming edition of the TIPS Aviation and Space Law Committee’s newsletter. | 9/8/2026 |
| Bankruptcy | ABI – Bankruptcy Law Student Writing Competition | ||
| Bankruptcy | III International Insolvency Studies | Gold Medal Prize. Silver Medal Prize, and Bronze Medal Prize for 2nd and 3rd place | |
| Business Law | Mendes Hershman Student Writing Contest | $1000. 2nd and 3rd place have their pieces considered for publication in Business Law Today. | |
| Business Law | National Business Law Scholarship | $500 | |
| Business Law | Trandafir Writing Competition | $2,5000; publication in Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems Journal | 3/13/2026 |
| Civil Procedure | George Hutchinson Writing Competition | $3,000. 2nd and 3rd place prizes may be awarded upon the judges’ discretion. | |
| Civil Rights | AEF Robert T. Matsui Annual Writing Competition | $2,000 | |
| Civil Rights | Fred Gray Civil Rights Writing Competition | $7,500; considered for publication in the Texas Tech Law Review. 2nd place gets $5,000. 3rd place gets $2,500. | 2/20/2026 |
| Civil Rights | NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund Second Amendment Research and Writing Competition | $10,000. 2nd place gets $7,000. 3rd place gets $3,000. | 3/1/2026 |
| Constitutional Law | Center for Alcohol Policy: National Writing Competition | $5,000. 2nd place gets $2500. 3rd place gets $1000. | |
| Constitutional Law | Church, State & Society Writing Competition | $3,000. 2nd place gets $2,000. 3rd place gets $1,000. Honorable Mention gets $500. | |
| Constitutional Law | Constance Baker Motley Writing Competition | $3,000. 2nd and 3rd place will receive $1000. All winners will be featured during the ACS National Convention and on social media platforms. | |
| Constitutional Law | First Amendment Scholars – Law Student Essay Competition | $4,000. 2nd place gets $3,000. 3rd place gets $2,000. Honorable Mention(s) get $500. | 1/30/2026 |
| Constitutional Law | Freedom from Religion Foundation Student Essay Contests | $3,500. There are 10 additional prizes total with a minimum of $300. | |
| Constitutional Law | Mike Edison Scholarship Fund | $5,000 | |
| Constitutional Law | Legal Scholarship by Moses and Rooth Attorneys at Law | $1,000 scholarship to incoming first year or continuing law student. | |
| Constitutional Law | Cohen and Cohen Civil Justice Scholarship | $1,000 | |
| Constitional Law | Law and Economic’s Center’s Student Writing Competition on Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations and the American Constitutional Order | $7,500. 2nd places gets $5,000. 3rd place gets $2,500. All winners will have the opportunity to present their scholarship at a public conference at the Antonin Scalia Law School in Arlington, Virginia in April 2027 and revise their scholarship for publication as part of the scholarship generated for collection for this project. | 1/18/2027 |
| Consumer Financial Services | ACCFSL Annual Writing Competition | $1,500; certificate of recognition; travel expense to attend the college’s annual dinner. | 11/1/2026 |
| Criminal Law | Greenhalgh Student Writing Competition | $2,500. Everyone who enters receives a free year membership in the CJS. | |
| Criminal Law | Marshall Manne Schulman Competition for Students Papers in Criminal Law and/or Criminal Procedure | $2,500; publication in the Criminal Law Journal. 3 honorable mentions get $1,000 cash prize and will be published in the Criminal Law Journal as well. | |
| Criminal Law | National Student Writing Competition on Criminal Justice Reform | $1,000; considered for publication in Arizona State Law Journal | |
| Disability Law | Adam A. Milani Writing Competition | $300 – $1,000 depending on whether multiple awards are given | |
| Dispute Resolution | James B. Boskey Law Student Essay Contest on Dispute Resolution | $1,000 | |
| Dispute Resolution | American Journal of Mediation – National Writing Competition | $5,000. 2nd place gets $2,000. | 5/31/2026 |
| Education Law | George Jay Joseph Award | Complimentary membership; conference registration for the year of the award. | |
| Elder Law | NYSBA Elder and Special Needs Law Journal Diversity Writing Competition | $1,000 for first and second place students; publication in the ESNLJ; compliementary 1 year membership in the ELSN Section | |
| Employment and Labor Law | College of Labor and Employment Lawyers Law Student Writing Competition | $3,000; invitation to Annual Induction Dinner; 2nd place gets $1,000, and 3rd place gets $500. | 6/15/2026 |
| Employment and Labor Law | Labor and Employment Law Section: Dr. Emanuel Stein and Kenneth Stein Memorial Law Student Writing Competition | $3,000;publication in Section newsletter. 2nd place gets $2,000, and 3rd place gets $1,000. | |
| Employment and Labor Law | American College of Employee Benefits Counsel – Sidney M. Perlstadt Memorial Award | $2,500; considered for publication | |
| Employment and Labor Law | American College of Employee Benefits Counsel – Brian J. Dougherty Memorial Award | $2,500; considered for publication | |
| Employment and Labor Law | Louis Jackson Memorial National Student Writing Competition | $3,000. Two $1,000 awards will be presented to two second-place winners. All awards are in the form of scholarships. | |
| Employment and Labor Law | National Law Review Writing Competition | ||
| Energy Law | Energy Law Writing Competition | $1,000 | |
| Energy Law | Institute for Energy Law 2025 Hartick Scholar Writing Competition Winner | $2,500 | |
| Entertainment, Arts, & Sports | David S. Rosenbaum Writing Competition | $2,500 | |
| Environmental Law | ABA Environment, Energy, and Resources Section Writing Competition | First-place winner in each of the five topic categories will receive $1,000; considered for publication. | |
| Family & Children | Howard C. Schwab Memorial Essay Contest | Top three winners considered for publication on ABA Family Law Section’s website. 1st place gets $1,500. 2nd place gets $750. 3rd place gets $350. | |
| Food & Drug Law | |||
| Government Law | |||
| Health Law | Health Law Writing Competition | Epstein Becker Green | $7,500. 2nd place gets $4,000. | |
| Health Law | National Health Law Writing Competition | American University, Washington, DC | $1,500. 2nd place gets $1,000. 3rd place gets $500. Honorable Mention gets $150. | |
| Health Law | Roy Snell Health Care Regulatory and Compliance Writing Competition | $5,000. 2nd place gets $3,000. 3rd place gets $1,500. Top three winners also receive complimentary registration for the HCCA Annual Compliance Institute (valued at over $1,500) and up to $1,500 in travel and conference-related expenses. | |
| Immigation Law | International Refugee Law Student Writing Competition | 100; complimentary admission to the ASIL meeting | |
| Indigenous Rights | AILR National Writing Competition | OU College of Law | $1,500; considered for publication by American Indian Law Review, an official periodical of the University of Oklahoma College of Law; awarded an eBook copy of Cohen’s Handbook of Federal Indian Law, provided by LexisNexis. | 2/27/2026 |
| Insurance Law/Professional Responsibility | Ed Mendrzycki Essay Contest | $5,000; round-trip airfare and two-night stay at Omni Charlotte Hotel to attend the Spring National Legal Malpractice Conference in Charlotte, NC; complimentary registration to attend all educational programming sessions at the Spring National Legal Malpractice Conference | |
| Insurance Law/Professional Responsibility | Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition | $2,500 | |
| Intellectual Property | Honorable William C. Conner Writing Competition – NYIPLA | $2,500. 2nd place gets $1,500. | |
| International Law | International Section: Albert S. Pergam International Law Writing Competition Award | $2,000; considered for publication | 11/8/2025 |
| Law & Society | |||
| Legal History | |||
| Legal Writing | Armstrong Lee & Baker Law School Contest | $2,500 | 12/31/2025 |
| Legal Writing | The Judge John R. Brown Scholarship Foundation Annual Brown Award | $15,000 and $5,000 to the Scholarship selected by the Dean of the law school in which the First-Place candidate is enrolled. 2nd place gets $7,500. 3rd place gets $5,000. Other finalist(s) get $2,500. | |
| Legal Writing | Lolly Gasaway Faculty-Student Writing Award | $1,000 cash award and certificate. | 7/31/2026 |
| Legal Writing | Virginia Law Review Student Writing Competition | $2000 cash prize; $5000 grant to put towards an organization or project that intersects with the article or topic; publication in Virginia Law Review Online | 1/7/2027 |
| National Security | |||
| Property Law | ABA Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section Law Student Writing Competition | $2,500; free round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations to a RPTE Section meeting; one-year free RPTE membership; considered for publication in The Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Journal, the Section’s law review journal; name and essay title published in the eReport, the Section’s electronic newsletter. 2nd place gets $1,500 and 3rd place gets $1,000; both also get one-year free RPTE membership, and same publication considerations. | |
| Property Law | 2026 ACREL Law Student Writing Award | $2,000; invitation to attend the ACREL Spring Meeting with travel and lodging covered; 2nd place gets $1,000. | 12/31/2026 |
| Public Policy | |||
| Race and the Law | |||
| Securities Law | |||
| Sexual Orientation and Gender Law | Dukeminier Awards Writing Competition | $1,000; the Jeffrey S. Haber Prize for Student Scholarship, and will be considered for publication | 12/22/2025 |
| Sexual Orientation and Gender Law | 2025 Mirza Law Scholarship Program | $1,000; opportunity to complete an internship at Mirza Law | |
| Sexual Orientation and Gender Law | Michael Greenberg Writing Competition | $500; publication in the Tulane Journal of Law and Sexuality | |
| Tax Law | |||
| Technology and Innovation | Berkeley Technology Law Journal Writing Competition | $1,000; considered for publication. 2nd place gets $500. | |
| Technology and Innovation | Sage IT Writing Competition | $1,000 | 12/7/2025 |
| Trial Practice | |||
| Trusts & Estates | |||
| Veterans Law | |||
| Women and the Law | Selma Moidel Smith Writing Competition | $500; paper will be published in the spring/summer issue of the Women Lawyers Journal; complimentary ticket to the National Association of Women Lawyer’s annual meeting | 4/17/2026 |
| Women and the Law | Victoria Fisher Memorial Prize 2025 – Women and the Law | $250 | 11/28/2025 |