Legal Writing Competitions for Law Students
Legal writing competitions are a great way for students to hone their writing skills, earn recognition, and often win cash prizes. This page provides links to writing competitions for law students. Details and submission criteria for most of the competitions can be found on each organization’s website. For additional information or assistance, please see Professor Grace H. Barry, Director or your legal writing professor.
American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers Writing Competition- November 1, 2025
American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers Annual Writing Competition
American Inns of Court 2025 Warren E. Burger Prize Writing Competition- July 1,2025
American Inns of Court 2025 Warren E. Burger Prize
Armed Forces Law Student Writing Competition – April 4, 2025
Armed Forces Law Student Writing Contest of the Standing Committee
Criminal Justice William W. Greenhalgh Student Writing Competition- July, 2025
William W. Greenhalgh Student Writing Competition
Greenhalgh Student Writing Competition- July 1, 2025
The Greenhalgh Student Writing Competition
Marshall M. Schulman Competition for Student Papers in Criminal Law and/or Criminal Procedure Writing Competition – May 30, 2025
Marshall Schulman Criminal Law Writing Competition
Mitchell Hamline School of Law Roy Snell Health Care Regulatory and Compliance Writing Competition- March 17,2025
Mitchell Hamline School of Law Roy Snell Health Care Regulatory and Compliance Writing Competition
New York State Bar Association Committee on Animals and the Law- deadline July 7, 2025
Committee on Animals and the Law: Student Writing Competition
Notre Dame Law School Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition- April 15, 2025
Notre Dame Law School Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition
Robert C. Watson Award- June 30, 2025
The American Intellectual Property Law Association Robert C. Watson Award
Selma Moidel Smith Writing Competition- April 18, 2025
State Bar of Texas International Law Section Human Rights Essay Contest Writing Competition – March 15, 2025
State Bar of Texas International Law Section Human Rights Essay Contest
The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and ABA Writing Competition- June 15, 2025
University of Wisconsin-Madison Havens Wright Center for Social Justice Erik Olin Wright Prize Writing Competition- April 15, 2025
University of Wisconsin-Madison Havens Wright Center for Social Justice Erik Olin Wright Prize
UT Austin School of Law Louis T. Pirkey Prize in Intellectual Property Law Writing Competition – May 30, 2025
UT Austin School of Law Louis T. Pirkey Prize in Intellectual Property Law
Past legal writing competitions
* These are past legal writing competitions that have not been updated as of March 20th , 2025. We will be updating them as we get notified.
Fred Gray Civil Rights Writing Competition- Pending
Inaugural Fred Gray Civil Rights Writing Competition
Law Student Tax Challenge- Pending
Taxation- Law Student Tax Challenge Writing Competition
Public Contract Law Journal Writing Competition – Pending
Public Contract Law Journal Writing Competition
