Writing Competitions

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:

• American Bar Association Section of Family Law Howard C. Schwab Memorial Essay Contest for essays on any aspect of family law, including 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 (awards of $1,500, $750, and $350 for first, second, and third places respectively; deadline April 7, 2023 for entry form and April 21, 2023, for essay)
• Criminal Law Section of the California Lawyer’s Association’s Marshall M. Schulman 2022-2023 Competition for Student Papers in Criminal Law and/or Criminal Procedure for student-authored papers pertaining to criminal law and/or to criminal procedure, with a particular focus on contemporary issues of concern in the state of California (grand-prize award of $1,500 and publication in the State Bar of California’s Criminal Law Journal, and three honorable-mention wards of $500; deadline April 30, 2023)
• The University of Texas School of Law and Austin Intellectual Property Law Association’s Louis T. Pirkey Prize in Intellectual Property Law for papers on intellectual property law written by Texas Law students (award of $1,800; deadline May 30, 2023)

The American Bar Association collects writing competitions here.

The University of Richmond School of Law collects writing competitions here.

Suffolk University collects writing competitions here.