american bar association essay contest

“It was a wonderful surprise to learn that I had won the award,” says Hunt. “It means so much to be recognized for the hard work that went into this paper, and to have that recognition come from an organization as important as the ABA makes it all the more exciting.”

In his essay, Hunt identifies a settlement between Colorado authorities and two online lending firms as a template for stronger regulatory measures against predatory online lending, and he suggests that the time may be ripe for Congress to directly address the industry through federal legislation. His essay contest win came with a cash scholarship of $5,000 and complimentary registration and travel to the ABA Antitrust Law Section’s Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C, which he attended in early April.

His winning essay originally began as a research paper for Professor Saule Omarova’s Issues in Financial Regulation writing seminar. After the semester ended, he spent several more months editing and revising the paper before submitting it to Cornell Law Review for publication.

“It was a long and challenging project,” he says, “but looking back, I’m amazed by what a powerful difference it has made in my research and writing skills. I think working on a publishable research paper is one of the most rewarding experiences a student can have in law school, and the seminar curriculum at Cornell certainly gives us plenty of opportunities to do so.”

Hunt notes that he owes “a tremendous amount of gratitude” to Omarova, who he says “went above and beyond to share her feedback, suggestions, and encouragement from the earliest stages of drafting the paper.” He added, “I’ve had the privilege of learning from Professor Omarova across five different semesters of doctrinal classes, writing seminars, and individual research projects, and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had her as a mentor during my time in law school.”

A native of Clendenin, West Virginia, Hunt earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida and later received a master’s degree in finance from the University of South Florida. At Cornell, Hunt has served as senior articles editor of the Cornell Law Review and spent two semesters working in the Securities Law Clinic, which assists low-income retail investors in securities arbitration claims. He spent his 1L summer as an intern for U.S. District Judge Charlene Honeywell at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and his 2L summer at White & Case in Miami.

Hunt will be graduating this spring, with plans to return to Miami as an associate in White & Case’s Financial Restructuring and Insolvency practice group.

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Barton wins ed mendrzycki essay contest.

20 Mar 2019    

Kimberly Barton, ’20, is the winner of the 2019 American Bar Association (ABA) Ed Mendrzycki Essay Contest.

 The contest encourages original and innovative research and writing in the area of legal malpractice law, professional liability insurance and loss prevention. The 2019 essay hypothetical involved issues of diminished mental capacity and permitted disclosures.

Barton, a native of Bakersfield, Calif., is in her second year at Nebraska College of Law. She is a member of the Allies & Advocates for LGBTQ Equality, Equal Justice Society, Multi-Cultural Legal Society, Student Bar Association and Women’s Law Caucus. In 2018, Barton was named a Summer Fellow in the Rural Summer Legal Corps.

As the winner of the Ed Mendrzycki Essay Contest, Barton will receive a cash prize and a trip to the Spring 2019 National Legal Malpractice Conference in Miami Beach, Fla. in April. 

The Ed Mendrzycki Essay Contest is conducted by the ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers’ Professional Liability and the San Francisco law firm of Long & Levit LLP. The 2019 contest was administered and judged by a subcommittee designated by the ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers’ Professional Liability. The contest was open to Young Lawyers Division or Law Student Division members of the ABA.

Civics Essay Contest

Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 federal bar association civics essay contest.

First Place Faith Kim , Shawnee High School Medford, NJ

Second Place Toby Shu , Cherry Creek High School Englewood, CO

Third Place Alana Karam , Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Parkland, FL

Thank you to all who entered. We encourage all those eligible to enter the 2025 contest! The prompt will be announced later this year.

About the Annual FBA Essay Contest

Each year, the Federal Bar Association invites high school students to address current topics in civics. Scholarships are awarded for first, second, and third place in grades 9-12. (The contest has included a middle school component in the past but not in 2024.)

High school students enrolled in public, private, parochial and charter schools and home-schooled students of equivalent grade status in the United States and its Territories are eligible to enter the contest. High school students are those in grades 9-12.

Students are provided a detailed prompt with summaries of applicable court cases to consider. The maximum essay length is 1,000 words.

Email [email protected] with questions.

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Civics essay contest copyright release.

Northeastern law student’s essay on ‘kidfluencers,’ perils of social media wins American Bar Association contest

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It’s no secret that social media influencers rake in the big bucks. But did you know that an increasing number of young children, with help from their parents, are launching lucrative careers as content creators, too?

That’s right: child stardom, typically associated with child acting, has moved from the big screen to your Apple iPhone, as more youngsters on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube achieve Macaulay Culkin-levels of fame for their content. 

As a result, many of the young performers, or “ kidfluencers ,” as they’ve been called, are making millions of dollars from brand deals, sponsorships and online ads in what’s become an all-too accurate—if bizarre—measure of our celebrity- and product-obsessed online culture.

But if the idea of toddlers getting paid to promote Carnival Cruise Lines or Coca-Cola or chicken nuggets makes you nauseous, then you’re not alone. It didn’t sit well with Amber Kolb, a third-year law student at Northeastern, who says the topic touched on some things she was learning in her classes—particularly as it relates to concerns of online privacy, consent and child exploitation. 

Earlier this year, Kolb was trying to figure out what to write about for an essay as part of the School of Law curriculum when she stumbled on the kidfluencing phenomenon somewhat by accident—more as a result of a running joke with classmates. 

“My friends and I, whenever we’re having a tough time in law school, we say, ‘Oh man, we should have just gone into social media,’” she says. “I mean these influencers make so much money.” 

When she started researching the topic, Kolb was shocked to discover just how much money child influencers take home from content under social media profiles run by their parents or guardians. Combine that with the sheer lack of case law addressing questions of the rights of children with respect to the decisions parents make on their behalf on the internet, and Kolb says she thought she found a particularly compelling and timely essay thesis.  

“I found that one young girl, who’s eight years old, is estimated to have made $28 million in 2021,” she says. “And this was on the Forbes’ listing. And I was like, wait a minute, that’s an insane amount of money. I need to look into this because how does a child even rise to that level of fame—and how do their parents manage them?” 

The result of her inquiry yielded an award-winning 25-page essay: “Influencing a New Generation: Guardians’ Duties to Protect the Interests and Safety of Children on Social Media,” which addresses the potential harms of child stardom by exploring the lack of legal protections for toddlers and tweens using the internet. 

The essay recently won the Howard C. Schwab Memorial Essay Contest , an annual competition for second or third-year law school students conducted by the American Bar Association’s Section of Family Law. The essay contest aims “to create greater interest in the field of family law among all law students, and particularly the Law Student Division of the American Bar Association,” according to the ABA’s website. 

Another Northeastern law student, Julia Gaffney, placed third for her essay “‘The Gold Standard of Child Welfare’ Under Attack: The Indian Child Welfare Law and Brackeen v. Haaland.”

“My essay looks at the fact that the rights of children are not adequately protected by their parents,” Kolb says. “Parents have a fiduciary duty to protect their children; but when they are making a lot of money, sometimes there’s a conflict of interest.”

In some cases, Kolb argues in her essay, the child’s interest may be antithetical to their parents’ interests. Even when parents are careful, they sometimes aren’t equipped with the knowledge to safeguard their children in an online environment increasingly plagued by deep fakes, insidious data collection practices and other bad actors. Online content is also largely unregulated—and certainly isn’t subject to the kind of child advertising limits television is subject to under the Federal Communications Commission .

Additionally, the government doesn’t readily interfere in family matters, deferring often to parents’ rights to raise their children in whatever ways they see fit, making it even more difficult for courts to recognize harm in situations where it might be occurring, Kolb says.  

“And there’s a very high bar of interference unless they can show an aspect of direct harm,” Kolb says. “But here because of social media, we don’t really know until they’re adults. It’s hard to track the mental fallout or other aspects of harm that can affect the child later on.”

Kolb, who is also senior editor of the Northeastern University Law Review , says she was “humbled and surprised” that she placed first in the competition. 

“I was really inspired by a lot of the classes I had taken this semester,” she says. “I was in entertainment law, and then information privacy, as well as family law, and it was really interesting to see the convergence of all of these classes during the semester.”

“This is a wonderful and prestigious achievement,” James Hackney, dean of the School of Law, said in an email. “We’re very proud of Amber’s contribution to this important topic and recognition by the American Bar Association Section on Family Law.”

For media inquiries , please contact [email protected] .

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Mercer County Bar Association Held Its Annual Law Day Essay Contest

(5-3-24) The Mercer County Bar Association held its annual Law Day Essay Contest on May 2, 2024 in the Mercer County Common Pleas Court.  Mercer County Probate/Juvenile Court Judge Matthew L. Gilmore, Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Matthew K. Fox, and Magistrate Richard M. Delzeith, Mercer County Bar Association President, presided over the ceremony.   

1 st Row: Magistrate Richard M. Delzeith, Judge Matthew L. Gilmore, Madelyn Weigel, Deanna Dirksen, Lanna Zahn, Judge Matthew K. Fox, Erin Abels

2 nd Row: Anthony Miller, Rebecca King-Newman, Donna Post, Shannon Kaiser, George Moore, Judge Jeffrey R. Ingraham, Lou Schiavone

3 rd Row: Daniel Gudorf, Commissioner Jerry Laffin, Recorder Julie Peel, Clerk of Courts Calvin Freeman, Matthew Wuebker, Chelsea Kemper

The 2024 Law Day theme “Voices of Democracy” recognizes that in democracies, the people rule. For nearly 250 years, Americans have expressed their political views and wishes by speaking their minds and voting in elections. In 2024, the United States will hold its 60th presidential election, and Americans will address fundamental questions about democracy and the rule of law.

The Voices of Democracy Law Day theme encourages Americans to participate in the 2024 elections by deepening their understanding of the electoral process; discussing issues in honest and civil ways; turning out to vote; and, finally, helping to move the country forward after free and fair elections. In this way, Americans ensure that our government remains responsive to the wishes of the people.

For this year’s essay contest, the students had 3 topics to choose from:

• The electoral college is a critical part of the presidential election process in the United States. Over the years, there have been calls to eliminate the electoral college and replace it with a system where presidential elections are decided by the national popular vote. Explain whether you think the electoral college is a fair and effective election process.
• Reflect on the concept of free speech in a democracy. Are there limits to what can be said, and if so, what are they? How should society balance free expression with the need for civility and respect?
• What does that phrase, “a more perfect Union,” mean to you? What do you think it has meant to our nation?

There were 30 essays submitted for consideration from almost every school district in Mercer County.  Eligible students were from the 8 th grade. 

This year’s winners received cash prizes of $100 for 3 rd place, $200 for 2 nd place, and $300 for 1 st place.  Also, the 1 st place winner will also receive a “One Day Job Shadow” with an elected official of his/her choosing.  All of the winners also received several Law Day keepsakes and a certificate of achievement.

This year’s winners came from Ft. Recovery, Coldwater, and Marion Local schools. 

The Third Place Winner is Deanna Dirksen from Marion Local Schools.

          Deanna chose the topic of Free Speech 

Deanna wrote in her essay:

“freedom of speech gives Americans the opportunity to offer their ideas, thoughts, and opinions, but it has to have boundaries to allow a more peaceful nation. One way the freedom of speech allows Americans to express themselves is being able to contact the government to give their insights on how to solve problems regardless of how big or small that problem is.”

The Second Place Winner is Lanna Zahn from Coldwater Schools.

Lanna chose the topic of whether the electoral college is a fair and effective election process. 

Lanna wrote in her essay:

The nation is so diverse that if it was based on popular vote the president would only be decided by big cities, so people in smaller rural areas vote would be outshadowed by people who live in the bigger more populated places. The president would only be focusing on the bigger city’s wants rather than looking at the smaller towns and communities. The electoral college gives smaller states a voice in the decisions and will not be outshined by the bigger states.

The First Place Winner is Maddie Weigel from Ft. Recovery Schools.

Maddie chose the topic of: What does the phrase “a more perfect Union” mean to you and our nation.

Maddie wrote in her essay:

In order to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity we must protect the right to be free. Freedom is supposed to last as a permanent establishment in our country, that is something that can never be broken. This has meant Leaps and bounds to our nation as no matter what has happened or been thrown our way, we have still been given free choice. As is our God given right; it would be both unjust and unconstitutional to remove our freedom. “A more perfect Union” may be achieved if our citizens are given the freedom to collaborate and work together as one to strengthen our nation’s foundation.

Ft. Recovery Middle School Principal Holly Gann, Ft. Recovery 8 th grade teacher Renee Huelsman, and Marion Local 8 th grade teacher Laura Wolters were in attendance in support of their students.

Following the ceremony, the Mercer County Bar Association and local elected officials (Commissioner Jerry Laffin, Recorder Julie Peel, and Clerk of Courts Calvin Freeman were in attendance) were able to take a picture together. 

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• Law student who sees 'healing and beauty'…

Law student who sees 'healing and beauty' in writing wins ABA Journal's 2021 Ross essay contest for legal fiction

By Debra Cassens Weiss

August 10, 2021, 10:03 am CDT

Brandon Dragan is entering his third year at the Belmont University College of Law in Nashville, Tennessee.

A law student in Tennessee is the winner of the 2021 ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction.

The author is Brandon Dragan, who is entering his third year at the Belmont University College of Law in Nashville, Tennessee. He will receive a $3,000 prize for his short story, “Advokat,” about a lawyer who learned a lesson in acceptance when he took on a pro bono case.

Dragan told the ABA Journal that he felt good about his story, but he wasn’t expecting to win.

“I was completely taken off guard, actually,” he says.

He had entered the story in a writing competition at his law school and wasn’t the winner there.

His story is about a lawyer who decides to help a Russian man seeking to flee persecution.

Dragan, who is of Russian and Ukrainian descent, got the idea for his short story after seeing a documentary about the republic of Chechnya.

He began to wonder how an immigration attorney could help people who are suffering in Russia. He enlisted the help of a Nashville immigration attorney, and “the story essentially wrote itself at that point,” he says.

“Advokat” will be published at ABAJournal.com during Thanksgiving week.

Dragan started law school at age 34 after working in a variety of jobs. In the six years before law school, he worked in the nonprofit sector.

“I’ve never been the type of person who can just clock in and clock out at a meaningless job and collect a paycheck,” he says.

Dragan always had a passion for law and a passion for others, and he thought a legal career would be his best opportunity to pursue those interests. He hopes to practice law mainly in the area of criminal defense.

“That is really what gets me excited when I jump out of bed in the morning,” he says.

He “absolutely” plans to continue writing when he becomes a lawyer.

Dragan grew up in New Jersey and then moved to Nashville to pursue a songwriting career. When that didn’t work out, he turned to writing fiction in his spare time.

Dragan has produced films in addition to writing fiction, according to his website . He has short stories and a book for sale on Amazon . The book, published by Quoir, is The Wages of Grace , described as a story about healing and forgiveness.

“Advokat” is Dragan’s first fictional story with a legal theme. There is a similar theme to his other works.

“I write a lot about what it means to be human, what it means to forgive, what it means to have deep relationships or meaningful relationships,” he says.

The ABA Journal Board of Editors selected the Ross essay contest winner from finalists picked by ABA Journal editors and writers. The contest sought original fictional stories of no more than 5,000 words that illuminate the role of the law or lawyers in modern society. Entries were judged on creativity, plot exposition, legal insight and character development.

In a post on his blog, Dragan said he managed to write “Advokat”—even as he worked and attended law school.

“The things I’ve been learning about require a lot of soaking in, a lot of repetition, and a lot of letting things settle in,” Dragan wrote on his blog. “Writing, on the other hand, presents an opportunity to let what’s inside come out, and that’s part of the healing and beauty of it for me.”

Dragan and his wife live with their two daughters in the Nashville area. According to his website, he “enjoys a good cigar, Irish whisky, road cycling and is an avid supporter of Arsenal Football Club.”

Wrong word corrected on Aug. 16.

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Victor M. Mukhin was born in 1946 in the town of Orsk, Russia. In 1970 he graduated the Technological Institute in Leningrad. Victor M. Mukhin was directed to work to the scientific-industrial organization "Neorganika" (Elektrostal, Moscow region) where he is working during 47 years, at present as the head of the laboratory of carbon sorbents.     Victor M. Mukhin defended a Ph. D. thesis and a doctoral thesis at the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia (in 1979 and 1997 accordingly). Professor of Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia. Scientific interests: production, investigation and application of active carbons, technological and ecological carbon-adsorptive processes, environmental protection, production of ecologically clean food.   

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