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Writing Competitions for Law Students: Sports Law

Tip

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.  

Sports Law

Conduct Detrimental 2023 NIL Writing Competition

  • Sponsor: Conduct Detrimental: THE Sports Law Intersection
  • Topic in 2023 Competition was: "[H]ow one or more states' approach to an area of college athletes' publicity rights ...could help inform the federal push for an NIL [Name, Image, and Likeness] bill."
  • Format requirements in 2023 Competition included: "Entries must be limited to no more than 2,000 words, not including title and footnotes/endnotes."
  • Eligibility requirements in 2023 Competition included: "Eligible participants must be a current/incoming JD candidate, L.L.M. student, or practicing attorney." 
  • Prizes in 2023 Competition were: "Prizes will be awarded for 1st through 3rd place."  
  • Deadline was: November 10, 2023.

David S. Rosenbaum Writing Competition

  • Sponsor: Video Game Bar Association (VGBA)
  • Topic: "The topic of the submission concerns a legal issue relevant to the games industry."  See Competition Guidelines for illustrative examples.  One of the examples is: "Esports Regulatory Oversight."
  • Format in 2024 Competition was: "8-12 pages" "Double Spaced"  For additional format requirements, see Style Guide available on this page.
  • Prize in 2024 Competition was: "The winner will receive a $2,500 stipend and free admission + a stipend to attend the 2024 VGBA Bay Area Summit."
  • Deadline was: Feb. 25, 2024.

Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section of the New York State Bar Association: Phil Cowan – Judith Bresler Memorial Scholarship

  • Sponsor: Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section of the New York State Bar Association
  • Topic in 2024 Scholarship Writing Competition was: "Each Scholarship candidate must write an original paper on any legal issue of current interest in the area of entertainment, arts or sports law."
  • Format in 2024 Scholarship Writing Competition was: "The paper should be twelve to fifteen pages in length (including Bluebook form footnotes), double-spaced and submitted in Microsoft Word format."
  • Eligibility requirements in 2024 Scholarship Writing Competition included: "The Competition is open to all students – both J.D. candidates and L.L.M. candidates – attending eligible law schools.  'Eligible' law schools mean all accredited law schools within New York State, along with Rutgers University Law School and Seton Hall Law School in New Jersey, and up to ten other accredited law schools throughout the country to be selected, at the Committee’s discretion, on a rotating basis."
  • Prizes in 2024 Scholarship Writing Competition were: "Up to two awards of $2,500 each on an annual basis in Phil Cowan’s and Judith Bresler’s memories to law students who are committed to a practice concentrating in one or more areas of entertainment, art or sports law."  "All students submitting a paper for consideration, who are NYSBA members, will immediately and automatically be offered a free membership in EASL (with all the benefits of an EASL member) for a one-year period, commencing January 1st of the year following submission of the paper." 
  • Deadline was: January 3, 2024.

National Sports Law Student Writing Competition

  • Sponsor: National Sports Law Institute, Marquette University Law School
  • Topic: "Students may submit manuscripts focused on any current legal issue in the sports industry."
  • Format: "Submissions must follow the Marquette Sports Law Review's Guidelines for Authors found online here.  In general, a submission should be at least 20 and no more than 30 pages long."
  • Eligibility: "Any law student in good standing who is currently attending an accredited law school within the United States and its territories, or has completed their law degree on or before June 3, 2024, may enter the competition.  All submissions must be original and unpublished student work that has been produced after September 1, 2023, in other words, work written during the 2023-2024 academic year. Such works could be papers written for a law school course or unpublished student comments written as a membership requirement for a law journal or review.  Submissions to this competition cannot be submitted for publication consideration to any publication until the review process is complete for this competition."
  • Prize: "The winner of the writing award receives an invitation to attend the National Sports Law Institute's annual conference (currently scheduled to take place on Friday, October 18, 2024) at no cost, and an offer to publish in an issue of the Marquette Sports Law Review."
  • Deadline: "All submissions to the 2024 competition must be received by ... June 3, 2024."

Sports Lawyers Association Student Writing Competition (annual)

  • Sponsor: Sports Lawyers Association
  • Topic in the 12th Annual Law Student Writing Competition was: "Choose a current issue in Sports Law and Advocate a position."
  • Format in the 12th Annual Law Student Writing Competition was: "Each entry is limited to 3,000 words maximum, not including a title of reasonable length (footnotes and references included)."
  • Eligibility requirements in the 12th Annual Law Student Writing Competition included: "Each entrant must be a JD or LLM student 18 years of age or older.  The entrant warrants that the submitted entry is original and unpublished."
  • Prizes in the 12th Annual Law Student Writing Competition were: "The top 10 best winners will be awarded $1,000.  Complimentary registration to the 2024 SLA Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD.  Winners are solely responsible for taxes on their prize winnings and must provide SLA with personal identifying information for tax reporting purposes."
  • Deadline was: March 1, 2024.