Church, State & Society Writing Competition (annual)
- Sponsor: Program on Church, State & Society at Notre Dame Law School
- Topic: "Papers should be focused, broadly, on topics related to church, state & society. For guidance on selecting a topic, students may wish to view our Program website and mission statement: https://churchstate.nd.edu/"
- Format requirements in 2025 Competition included: "Papers must be between 9,000-13,000 words, including footnotes and/or endnotes."
- Eligibility requirements in 2025 Competition included: "The competition is open to law students in good standing, enrolled in a traditional law degree (J.D. or LL.B.), a Master’s degree (LL.M.), or a doctoral degree (S.J.D./J.S.D. or Ph.D.) program at an ABA-accredited law school within the United States. The competition is also open to recent graduates not yet practicing law (i.e., those completing clerkships or engaged in similar pursuits are eligible). Co-authored papers will not be accepted."
- Prizes in 2025 Competition were: "First Place, $3,000 cash award; Second Place, $2,000 cash award; Third Place, $1,000 cash award; Honorable Mention(s), $500 cash award."
- Deadline for submission in 2025 Competition was: May 15, 2025.
Constance Baker Motley National Student Writing Competition - 11/16/2025: American Constitution Society's website still states: "We are pausing the Constance Baker Motley National Student Writing Competition for 2025 and hope to reopen this competition in 2026. For other ACS writing opportunities, please see the Richard D. Cudahy Writing Competition on Regulatory and Administrative Law here.
Diane and Stephen Uhl Memorial Essay Competition for Law School Students (also referred to as: First Amendment Scholars - Law Student Essay Competition)
- Sponsor: Freedom From Religion Foundation
- Topic in 2026 Competition: "Analyze how the principle of “parental rights” has changed."
- Prompt in 2026 Competition: "In 2025 the Supreme Court extended Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972), citing it repeatedly in Mahmoud v. Taylor, where the Court sided with religious parents who objected on religious grounds to public school instruction that included books with LGBTQ themes or characters. In 1,500 words or fewer, analyze how the principle of “parental rights” changes from Yoder to Mahmoud. What other constitutional or societal interests might conflict with this expanded understanding of parental rights in the First Amendment context? Discuss how the Court could or should balance these competing interests in future cases."
- Format requirements in 2026 Competition include: "Essay must be no longer than 1,500 words (not including footnotes), double spaced, standard margins, and font size 11 to 14 point. Include page numbers and the title of your essay on each page. Choose your own title. Indicate word length at end of essay. Citations must be included as footnotes."
- Eligibility requirements in 2026 Competition include: "The contest is open to all ongoing law school students attending a North American law school. You remain eligible to enter this contest if you will graduate from law school by spring or summer of 2026. You are not eligible to enter if you will be starting law school for the first time in the fall of 2026. You may not re-enter if FFRF has already awarded you for a law student essay."
- Prizes in 2026 Competition: "First Place Prize: $4,000. Second Place Prize: $3,000. Third Place Prize: $2,000. Optional Honorable Mention(s): $500. Publication opportunity available to winners. All eligible entrants will also receive a full 1-year complimentary student membership to FFRF, which includes a digital version of 10 issues of Freethought Today, FFRF’s newspaper (publishes winning student essays)."
- Deadline for entry: Jan. 30, 2026.
Everytown Law Fund Law Student Writing Competition
- Sponsor: Everytown Law Fund
- Topic in 2025 Competition was: "The Competition asks students to consider how they might use litigation and the law to advance gun violence prevention. Example topics may include, but are not limited to, reducing gun violence through:
- Representing survivors of gun violence
- Challenging the gun industry’s dangerous business practices
- Lawsuits seeking stronger enforcement of existing gun safety laws
- Defending gun safety laws against constitutional challenges
- Litigating at the intersection of civil rights and gun violence prevention
- Litigating at the intersection of gender justice and gun violence prevention
- Emerging topics in Second Amendment jurisprudence"
- Format requirements in 2025 Competition included: "Preferred submission length is 5,000 to 15,000 words, including footnotes, but may be as long as a law review note. Please follow the Bluebook for citations. For anonymous evaluation of the entries, no information that could identify the author should appear anywhere in the body of the paper, including in the header, footer, or document properties."
- Eligibility requirements in 2025 Competition included: "All submissions must be composed of original research and writing. Law school notes and academic articles that have previously been submitted or the student is planning to submit to law school reviews and journals for publication are eligible for submission. Note that submissions that have been previously published or accepted for publication are welcome but must be accompanied by written authorization for re-print to be eligible for The Competition. Failure to submit an original essay or permission to re-print will result in disqualification and may result in the selection of a new winner. Only one written work, per competition, may be submitted by each entrant." "The Competition is open to law students who are enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school and are legal residents of the United States. Employees of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, its affiliated organizations (collectively “Everytown”) and their immediate family or household members are not eligible for the Competition."
- Prize Descriptions in 2025 Competition were: "Everytown Law may award up to three prizes: a first prize of $2,500 and two runners-up prizes of $1,000 each. The winner and two runners-up may receive a speaking opportunity at an Everytown Law convening. All three top papers may be eligible for publication on Everytown Law’s website or social media. Winning submissions will be announced on or before September 19, 2025."
- Deadline for submission in 2025 Competition was: June 20, 2025.
Writing Prize for New Student Scholarship in Reproductive Rights & Justice (annual) - In future, check News at the website of If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice.
- Sponsors: If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice, the Center for Reproductive Rights, & the Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice.
- Theme in 2024 was: "The theme for this year is 'How Can Reproductive Justice End Family Policing.' The post-Roe landscape has amplified the connection between attacks on reproductive autonomy and family integrity. More so than ever, people are being forced to remain pregnant and subsequently punished by the family policing system–or the so-called 'child welfare' system– for raising children without the necessary support or resources. Rather than providing support, the family policing system acts as a site of reproductive coercion and control, particularly for Black, Latine, and Indigenous families, and other marginalized communities. We encourage students to envision creative and expansive approaches to ending family policing and securing the right to parent the children we have in safe communities, a fundamental tenant of the Reproductive Justice framework. Submissions might explore topics such as mandatory reporting, pre- or post-natal drug testing, other legal and policy approaches to curtailing the reach of the family policing system, and/or highlight critical intersections between reproductive justice and family regulation."
- Format requirements in 2024 included: "Papers must be at least 10 pages in length (not including footnotes), double-spaced in 12-point font with footnotes in 10-point font, conforming to Bluebook citation format. Only original scholarship by current J.D. or LL.M. law students or recent 2024 graduates will be accepted. Papers being considered for publication elsewhere are ineligible for the first-place prize but may be considered for second and third place."
- Prizes in 2024 were: "Winning authors will receive cash prizes: $750 (1st place), $500 (2nd place), or $250 (3rd place), and a copy of the textbook, Cases on Reproductive Rights and Justice (Murray & Luker). The first-place winning submission will also be granted a “presumption of publishability” and receive expedited review by the Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice."
- Deadline for submission in 2024 was: November 18, 2024.
See also guide topic: Civil Rights.
