Sponsors/facilitators of student writing competitions provide more detailed instructions and rules at their websites. Students need to review the information and rules available at these websites.
Sponsor: Committee on Animals and the Law of the New York State Bar Association
Topic & Eligibility requirements in 2025 Competition included: "Law students (which include J.D., L.L.M., Ph.D., and S.J.D. candidates), are invited to submit to the Committee on Animals and the Law, an article concerning any area of Animal Law." "The submission must be the student’s individual work product. Papers that have been jointly written by more than one student, or that have been subjected to line editing by professors or advisors, or that have been generated in any part through the student’s use of artificial intelligence (“AI”), shall not be considered. No paper that has been previously published in any form shall be considered. We will only accept one submission per entrant. By submitting a paper for consideration, the student is attesting to their compliance with these requirements."
Length & Format requirements in 2025 Competition included: "Typed, double spaced, no less than 12 point Times New Roman font, on 81⁄2 inch by 11 inch paper, with 1 inch margins, and no more than 25 pages, including footnotes. Footnotes should be single spaced, and no less than 10 point font." "Email submission in Microsoft Word format to Lena Faustel at lfaustel@nysba.org, no later than Monday, July 7, 2025."
Prizes in 2025 Competition were: "The first-place winner will receive $1,000 and a Certificate of Achievement. The second-place winner will receive $500 and a Certificate of Achievement. The third and fourth place winners will receive a Certificate of Recognition. The Committee also reserves the right to offer the winners (and other entrants), at the Committee’s discretion, the opportunity to publish his/her paper in the Committee’s Laws & Paws publication. Offers to publish are purely within the discretion of the Committee."
Past winners:"Click here to see the list of award winners."
Topic in 2025 Competition was: "The H. Thomas Austern Writing Competition is intended to encourage law students interested in the areas of law affecting FDA-regulated industries: food, drugs, medical devices, biologics, dietary supplements, cosmetics, veterinary, cannabis, or tobacco and nicotine products."
2025 Competition description stated: "We do accept submissions that have been submitted to other writing contests. However, articles must be unpublished at the time of judging in order to remain in consideration for the competition. Articles that have been accepted for forthcoming publication will still be eligible for placement in the competition. Published papers will be disqualified from the Austern Competition." "We encourage students interested in submitting to the Austern Writing Competition to apply for our complimentary Student Membership Program. This program is available to full-time students of accredited universities and provides access to member benefits as well as student-only discounts and programs."
Format requirements in 2025 Competition included: "Papers shall not exceed 100 pages (assuming double spacing, one-inch margins)." "Students will submit an abstract."
Eligibility requirements in 2025 Competition included: "Students currently enrolled in a JD program at any of the nation’s ABA-accredited law schools and 2024–2025 academic year graduates are eligible to participate." "Please read additional eligibility requirements in the submission portal."
Prizes in 2025 Competition were: "Top papers will receive a monetary prize. Winners are awarded: $1,000 for first place, $750 for second, and $500 for third."
Sponsor: Vermont Journal of Environmental Law (VJEL)
Eligibility requirements in 2025 Competition included: "All students currently within an ABA-accredited JD or LLM program are encouraged to apply." "Current VLGS Law Review Staff Editor Notes are not eligible for submission."
Topic in 2025 Competition was: "Any article that explores a legal environmental topic is generally eligible. Topics generally include environmental law, natural resource law, energy law, environmental justice, land use law, animal law, and agricultural law. For examples of Articles VJEL looks for, please see our Publications Page."
Formatdetails provided in 2025 Competition description included:"All submissions must ... Be in a Word format and around 20-30 double-spaced pages in length; Contain accurate Bluebook citations in footnote form; Adhere to standard conventions of American grammar and spelling; Display original work and research that has not been previously published."
Prize in 2025 Competition was: "The winning author will be notified in Spring 2025 and will receive a $1,000 cash prize along with a publication offer from VJEL. At the discretion of our senior editors, additional entries may receive publication offers."
