Writing Competitions for Law Students: Climate Accountability & Environmental Law

American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources (SEER): Law Student Writing Competitions (5 competition topic categories) - see: American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources: 2024 Law Student Writing Competition Official Rules.

• Sponsor: American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources
• Topics: "Entries for the Competition should demonstrate original thought on a question of legal and/or policy significance relating to one of the following topics: (1) Air, Water, and Food, (2) Biodiversity, (3) Energy Law, (4) Indigenous Law, (5) Recycling.  Each entrant must select one of the five competition topics to write on. The decision of whether a particular essay qualifies as to subject matter is entirely within the discretion of the Section."
• Eligibility: "The Competition is open to any law student who, at the time of entry, (1) is enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school during the academic year of the Competition, (2) is a legal resident of the United States, and (3) is at least 18 years old. Directors, officers, and employees of the ABA and their immediate family or household members are not eligible."
• Prizes: "The first-place winner in each of the five topic categories will receive a $1,000 cash prize. The winners will be announced on the Section’s website. At the sole discretion of the Sponsor, the winning essay may be posted on the Section website."
• Deadline: "Entries must be submitted by email on or before Friday, May 31, 2024, by 11:59 p.m. (central)."

LSCA/Center for Climate Integrity 2024 Writing Competition (annual)

• Sponsors: Center for Climate Integrity (CCI) & Law Students for Climate Accountability (LSCA)
• Topic in 2024 Competition was: "To be considered, submitted papers must pertain to corporate accountability and climate change, with a particular focus on new or unexplored theories of liability for holding corporate actors accountable in U.S. courts for the role they have played – and continue to play – in causing and contributing to the climate crisis."
• Format in 2024 Competition was: "Papers should be between 4,500 and 10,000 words in length."
• Eligibility requirements in 2024 Competition included: "To be eligible for consideration, the paper must be written solely by a student enrolled in law or graduate school at the time the author submits a paper to this Competition, or who graduated in December 2023.  Law students who have just finished their first year are invited to submit entries."
• Prizes in 2024 Competition were: "$2,000 cash prize" for the winning paper & up to three honorable mentions.  Author of the winning paper: "[T]he opportunity to have their paper published in a law journal to be announced" and "[a]n invitation to present their paper to members of the climate law community."  Up to three honorable mentions: "The opportunity to publish their paper on the Center for Climate Integrity’s website, climateintegrity.org" "LSCA and the Center for Climate Integrity may work with select authors in continuing their work in this field where additional opportunities are available.  LSCA may also reach out to authors of non-winning pieces about publishing a shortened version of their piece on the LSCA blog, if desired."  
• Deadline in 2024 Competition was: April 19, 2024.

2024 Professor William R. Ginsberg Memorial Essay Contest

• Sponsor: Environmental & Energy Law Section of the New York State Bar Association
• Topic: "Any topic in environmental law."
• Format: "Essays may have been submitted for course credit or for law reviews, but not as part of paid employment."  "Maximum length: 35 double-spaced pages (including footnotes, which may be single-spaced)."  "Each entrant MUST submit a hard copy AND an electronic copy in either Microsoft Word or Wordperfect 5.0."  
• Eligibility: "Contest open to all JD and LLM candidate students enrolled in a New York State law school."
• Prizes: "The first-place winner will receive a $1,000 prize; the second-place winner will receive a $500 prize; and the third-place winner will receive a $250 prize. All winners will receive certificates. In addition, the first-place essay will be published by the New York State Bar Association, and the second- and third-place essays will be considered for publication. All three winners will receive an invitation to the fall 2024 conference of the Environmental & Energy Law Section."
• Deadline: June 3, 2024.

Smith-Babcock-Williams Student Writing Competition (annual)

• Sponsor: Planning & Law Division of the American Planning Association
• Topic of 2023 Competition was: "The Competition, which honors the memory of three leading figures in American city planning law (R. Marlin Smith, Richard Babcock, and Norman Williams) is open to law students and planning students writing on a question of significance in planning, planning law, land use law, local government law or environmental law."
• Eligibility requirements in 2023 Competition included: "The Competition is open to both current students and recent graduates (less than five years)."
• Format in 2023 Competition was: "Entries can include articles written for academic journal or law review publication, long essays, or shorter essays (at least 2,000 words)."  "Each year, many of the entries appear to have been prepared initially for courses or seminars."
• Prizes in 2023 Competition were: "[T]he winning entry will be awarded a prize of $3,000, the second-place paper will receive a prize of $1,000, and one honorable mention paper will receive $500.  All three winning entries will be published in the semi-annual newsletter of the Planning and Law Division.  Depending on the format of the winning entry and the interest of the author, the Competition Committee may also work with the winner to place the article in a journal or coordinate and present a Division webinar.  In 2021, a winning entry on vacant properties was the foundation of a webinar.  Last year’s winner is preliminarily slated for publication in The Urban Lawyer."
• Deadline for submission in 2023 Competition was: June 30, 2023. In future, check website above for 2024 Competition information.