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
Law Student Tax Challenge- November 3rd, 2025
Taxation- Law Student Tax Challenge Writing Competition
Marshall M. Schulman Competition for Student Papers in Criminal Law and/or Criminal Procedure Writing Competition – September 8, 2025
Marshall Schulman Criminal Law Writing Competition
New York State Bar Association Committee on Animals and the Law- July 7, 2025
Committee on Animals and the Law: Student Writing Competition
Public Contract Law Journal Writing Competition -September 30th, 2025
Public Contract Law Journal Writing Competition
Selma Moidel Smith Writing Competition-April 17th, 2026
Past legal writing competitions
* These are past legal writing competitions that have not been updated as of September 16th , 2025. We will be updating them as we get notified.
Fred Gray Civil Rights Writing Competition- Pending
Inaugural Fred Gray Civil Rights Writing Competition
Mitchell Hamline School of Law Roy Snell Health Care Regulatory and Compliance Writing Competition- Pending
Mitchell Hamline School of Law Roy Snell Health Care Regulatory and Compliance Writing Competition
Notre Dame Law School Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition- Pending
Notre Dame Law School Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition
Standing Committee on Lawyer’s Professional Liability Edward C. Mendrzycki Award- Pending
Robert C. Watson Award- Pending
The American Intellectual Property Law Association Robert C. Watson Award
State Bar of Texas International Law Section Human Rights Essay Contest Writing Competition – Pending
State Bar of Texas International Law Section Human Rights Essay Contest
The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and ABA Writing Competition- Pending
University of Wisconsin-Madison Havens Wright Center for Social Justice Erik Olin Wright Prize Writing Competition- Pending
University of Wisconsin-Madison Havens Wright Center for Social Justice Erik Olin Wright Prize
