Writing Competitions for Law Students

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.  

Nappert Essay Prize in International Arbitration (biennial - this competition occurred in 2024) - monitor this site for information about a 2026 Competition 

• Sponsors: McGill Faculty of Law & "Made possible by the generosity and vision of Sophie Nappert."
• Topic in 2024 Competition was: "[U]npublished papers on commercial arbitration or investment arbitration."
• Format requirements in 2024 Competition included: "[M]ust be unpublished (not yet submitted for publication) as of April 30^th" and "must be a maximum of 15,000 words (including footnotes)."
• Eligibility requirements in 2024 Competition were: "The competition is open to law students, junior scholars and junior practitioners from around the world. To be eligible for the prize, the authors must: be either currently enrolled in a B.C.L, LL.B., J.D., LL.M., D.C.L., or Ph.D. program (or their local equivalents), or have taken their most recent law degree within the last three years; or have been admitted to the practice of law for no more than three years."
• Prizes in 2024 Competition were: "First place: CAN $4,000.  Second place: CAN $2,000.  Third place: CAN $1,000.  Winners of all three awards will be required to present their essays at a symposium to be held at McGill University’s Faculty of Law in Autumn 2024 (the expenses of the winners for attending the symposium will be covered).  The best oralist will receive an award of CAN $1,000."
• Deadline for submission in 2024 Competition was: April 30, 2024.