Law students are eligible to enter writing competitions sponsored by organizations around the country. Many of these competitions award scholarships or cash prizes to the winning students.
Here are some you may be interested in (in order of deadline):
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The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers 2026 Annual Law Student Writing Competition
For original papers on topics which can be written about through the legal lens with a balanced full spectrum legal analysis and that are nationally relevant, engaging, and useful to labor and employment lawyers in their practice. (Deadline June 15, 2026; first, second, and third-place awards of $3,000, $1,000, and $500 respectively. LLM students are not eligible.)
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American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law Writing Competition 2026
For original papers written by a single author addressing topics of interest to the construction industry. Faculty may also submit students’ work directly to the forum. (Deadline June 30, 2026; award of $1,000 travel expenses to attend the fall 2026 fall meeting of the Forum in Boston.)
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American Inns of Court 2026 Warren E. Burger Prize
For unpublished essays on a topic of your choice addressing issues of professionalism, ethics, civility, and excellence. (Deadline July 1, 2026; cash prize awarded to winning author.)
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Texas Law Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice Sissy Farenthold Fund for Peace and Social Justice Zipporah B. Wiseman Prize for Scholarship on Law, Literature, and Justice
For papers from any discipline that engage both legal and literary methods or texts and explore issues of justice, broaldy understood. (Deadline July 31, 2026; award of $1,250.)
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Texas Law Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice Sissy Farenthold Fund for Peace and Social Justice Audre Rapoport Prize for Scholarship on Gender and Human Rights
For papers from any discipline, that address gender and human rights from an international, transnational, or comparative perspective. (Deadline July 31, 2026; award of $1,250.)
Collections of Writing Competitions
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American Bar Association
Writing Competitions for Young Lawyers and Law Students
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AccessLex Institute
Law School Scholarship Databank: Writing Competitions
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Suffolk University Law School
iCompete Writing: A Compilation of Legal Writing Competitions
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Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law
A Guide to Legal Writing Competitions for Law Students