Writing Competitions

Environmental Law

2013 Environmental Justice Essay Competition
Topic: Issues such as standing and the limits of available causes of action; ethical, organizational, principal-agent, and other challenges of representing environmental justice communities and community-based organizations; special concerns with good neighbor, community benefits, and other agreements; the appropriate roles an attorney should play in advancing client and community interests; implications of recent developments such as EPA’s Plan EJ 2014 (including “Legal Tools,” a review of available legal authorities), the preliminary finding of adverse, disparate impact of agency-funded activities under Title VI and subsequent settlement in Angelita C, and the rise of “climate justice” as an organizing principle.
Award: The winning essay will receive an offer of publication from the Brooklyn Law Review and a prize of $1,000, courtesy of the American Bar Association.
Deadline: July 12, 2013

Environmental Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan Twelfth Annual Essay Contest
Topic: Any environmental law topic of current interest to Michigan practitioners.
Award: $2,000 for first place, $1,000 for second place, and $500 for third place. Winning essays will be published in the Michigan Environmental Law Journal.
Deadline: June 30, 2013

WaterFilters.net Solution Scholarship
Topic: With an increasingly global population, particularly in developing countries, what would you create to help ensure all people had nearby access to clean drinking water?
Award: $500
Deadline: July 31, 2013

Family Law

Advocates for Life Legal Writing Contest
Topic: You are the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Write the majority opinion in favor of State, using information from the contest prompt.
Award: The first-place author will be awarded $1000, and the winning entry will be published in Human Life Review. The second-place author will be awarded $750. The third-place author will be awarded $500. In addition, the first-, second-, and third-place authors will all be recognized at the Advocates for Life reception in January 2014.
Deadline: Entries must be saved as a Microsoft Word document and emailed to advocates@aul.org, no later than 11:59 p.m. on Friday, September 20, 2013.

Other Writing Competitions

Holocaust Remembrance Essay Award
Topic: a topic relating to law and the Holocaust
Award: $500.00 CDN
Deadline: July 1, annually