Rising LSU Law 3L Joseph Kaiser is the national winner of the ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice—Admiralty and Maritime Law Writing Competition.
As the national winner of the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial & Insurance Practice-Admiralty and Maritime Law Writing Competition, rising third-year LSU Law student Joseph Kaiser will travel to New York City in August to participate in the “A Day in Marine Insurance with Gard Inc.” and present his paper to the firm’s North American headquarters office.
“I feel incredibly grateful for the opportunity,” said Kaiser, a native of Pensacola, Florida. “It was an indescribable feeling to find out I had won.”
Kaiser penned the first draft of what would become his award-winning paper, “Righting the Ship: Analyzing the Fifth Circuit’s Wrong Turn in Grand Famous v. China Navigation,” to submit for inclusion as a comment in Louisiana Law Review, for which he served as a junior associate last year and will serve as a senior editor in the coming academic year.
“It was originally in the ballpark of 30 to 40 pages,” Kaiser said, noting the ABA competition restricted papers to no more than 20 pages. “It took me a few weeks to shorten it, but focusing on brevity helped me rethink the frame of the paper and condense it to main points.”
After working under the guidance of Professors Tom Galligan and Caprice Roberts to research, write, and edit the paper throughout the entirety of the past academic year, Kaiser said he was beyond thrilled to have all his hard work pay off.
“It means so much to be recognized for everything I put into this paper,” said Kaiser, who hopes to practice in maritime civil litigation in southeast Louisiana after he graduates next spring. “I am extremely grateful for Professor Galligan and Professor Roberts. Although it was hard not to receive publication in Louisiana Law Review right off the bat, the experience provided me the opportunity to rework my paper and make it stronger, which in turn helped me to succeed in the competition.”
Along with the upcoming trip to New York City, Kaiser will also receive a $1,000 cash prize and his article will be published in a forthcoming AMA newsletter. He is also invited to attend either the 2023 ABA TIPS Fall Meeting or the 2025 Admiralty Disruption Conference free of charge and with all travel expenses paid.
“This is a great honor for both Joseph and LSU Law,” said Galligan. “Joseph’s paper was chosen as the best out of submissions from all over America, and it’s a stellar piece on an interesting and undeveloped area of maritime law. It started out as a longer paper but had to be shortened due to the page limit, which made it more direct, persuasive, and easier to read.”
Co-sponsored by the ABA and Gard Inc., an international provider of protection and indemnity, marine, and energy insurance products, the competition included papers written by law students and LLM candidates interested admiralty and maritime legal careers from across the country.
The ABA has 30 committees that focus on substantive and procedural matters in specific areas of practice and provide members with opportunities to interact with, write for and learn from their peers. Each year, the ABA offers young lawyers and law students more than 100 opportunities for professional recognition through its awards programs and writing competitions.
