law essay competition 2023 uk

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Future of Law

International Law Book Facility (ILBF) law undergraduate essay competition 2023-2024

The ILBF’s law undergraduate essay competition 2023-2024 is a fantastic opportunity to engage with an important topic with the chance to win a week’s work experience at international law firm McDermott Will & Emery in London in summer 2024. The essay question is ‘Should the right to protest be unfettered?’.

The essay deadline is 29 th February at 4 pm so there’s plenty of time to enter. The winning entry will be posted to the ILBF’s website, Thought Leaders 4 FIRE and in the Commonwealth Lawyer Journal. Just taking part is a chance to think about a subject beyond your undergraduate studies and formulate ideas that will hone your legal thinking on a critical topic. All good preparation for interviews!

For inspiration on the topic of the essay, a free online panel event is being held on 24 th January at 5pm-6.30pm with a brilliant line up of experts on the right to protest and the rule of law: Kirsty Brimelow KC, Raj Chada of Hodge Jones & Allen, Akiko Hart from Liberty and Tyrone Steele from JUSTICE. It promises to be fascinating and insightful discussion. You can register to attend here .

All details of the law undergraduate essay competition, the judges and how to enter are here .

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Current Law Students

Lord Kerr Essay Competition 2023

The Human Rights Lawyers Association’s (HRLA) Young Lawyers’ Committee (YLC) is pleased to announce the launch of the Lord Kerr Essay Competition 2023.

The essay question is on the following topical human rights issue:  “Is there a human right to live free from poverty? Should there be?”

Further details of the rules, eligibility criteria and submission process can be found here

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Trinity College was pleased to launch the Robert Walker Prize for Essays in Law in 2013. The prize is named after the Rt Hon. The Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe GBS PC (1938–2023), a judicial member of the House of Lords from 2002 and Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from its creation in 2009 until his retirement in 2013. Lord Walker read law at Trinity, and became an Honorary Fellow of the College in 2006. He was a generous and dedicated supporter of Law at Trinity, meeting current and prospective students at College events, judging moots (legal debates) and helping to connect the practice of law with its academic study.

The Robert Walker Prize has three objectives:

• to encourage students with an interest in Law to explore that interest by researching, considering and developing an argument about a legal topic of importance to modern society;
• to encourage those interested in Law to apply for a university course in Law; and
• to recognise the achievements of high-calibre students, from whatever background they may come.

The question for the 2024 competition is as follows:

What legal issues might arise from prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after 2008?

The rules for the competition are as set out below:

• Essays can be of any length up to 2,000 words (including any footnotes).
• If there are special reasons why a potential candidate cannot submit an essay online, a request exceptionally to submit in hard copy may be made. Requests will be considered by the Law Fellows. Please contact the Admissions Office at Trinity College Cambridge, CB2 1TQ; tel: +44(0)1223 338422; fax: +44 (0)1223 338584; email:  [email protected] .
• The competition is open to students in their final or penultimate year of secondary school, except students who have entered the competition in the past. No individual student may submit more than one entry into the competition.
• Candidates may discuss the subject matter of the essay with other students and teachers at their school; however, the formulation of the argument and the writing of the essay must be the work of the student alone.
• Essays will be assessed by reference to a range of factors, including the development of argument, the quality of expression and the appropriate use of supporting facts and material.
• Entries will be considered in two divisions: a United Kingdom Division and an International Division.
• It is anticipated that first prizes of £300 and second prizes of £200 may be awarded in each Division; the prizes may be shared.
• It is anticipated that the authors of the ten top-placed essays in each Division will be invited to a Prize Ceremony at Trinity to see the College and to meet the Law Fellows.
• The decisions of the judges are final; no correspondence will be entered into. Essays will not be returned, so candidates should keep a copy for their own reference.

About your school

Past robert walker prize-winners.

2023 (153 entries):

First Prize (United Kingdom Division): Chloe Green, Royal Grammar School Newcastle First Prize (International Division): Minh Phuong Dang Tran, Raffles Institution (Singapore) Second Prize (United Kingdom Division): Jessica Williamson, Tiffin Girls’ School Second Prize (International Division): Ziqi Li, Shenzhen High School (China)

2022 (172 entries):

First Prize (United Kingdom Division): Jiwon Heo, St Paul’s Girls’ School First Prize (International Division): Kaitlyn B Wong, Chinese International School (Hong Kong) Second Prize (United Kingdom Division): Toby Bowles, Rushcliffe Spencer Academy Second Prize (International Division): Nikki Han, Queenwood School for Girls (Australia)

2021 (278 entries):

First Prize (United Kingdom Division): Ben Mays (Colyton Grammar School) First Prize (International Division): Yu Du (Raffles Institution, Singapore)

Second Prize (United Kingdom Division): Afzal Hussain (Eton College) Second Prize (International Division): Judy Yi Ting Ma (Presbyterian Ladies’ College, Australia)

2020 (175 entries):

First Prize (United Kingdom Division): George Hargreaves (Royal Grammar School, Guildford) First Prize (International Division): Antonia Vig (Colegiul Național Alexandru Papiu Ilarian, Romania) Second Prize (United Kingdom Division): Charlotte Fowler (Highgate School) Second Prize (International Division): Annabelle Chua (Hwa Chong Institution, Singapore)

2019 (107 entries):

First Prize (United Kingdom Division): Christopher Long (Woodbridge School) First Prize (International Division): Jonathan Teng (Raffles Institution) Second Prize (United Kingdom Division): Eleanor Hargrove (King’s College School, Wimbledon) Second Prize (International Division): Wong Zi Yang (Raffles Institution)

2018 (154 entries):

First Prize (United Kingdom Division): David Edwards-Ker (Westminster School) First Prize (International Division): Gergely Berces (Milestone Institute, Hungary) Second Prize (United Kingdom Division): Dorothy Biyere (Sutton Grammar School) Second Prize (International Division): Xinyi Gao (Hwa Chong Institution, Singapore)

2017 (135 entries):

First Prize (United Kingdom Division): Eve Loveman (Peter Symonds’ College) First Prize (International Division): Lauren Park (Pymble Ladies’ College, Australia) Second Prize (United Kingdom Division): Mary Hassan (St. Michael’s Catholic Grammar School) Second Prize (International Division): Ruilin Fang (Dunman High School, Singapore)

2016 (112 entries):

First Prize (United Kingdom Division): Ellis Napier (Lawnswood School) First Prize (International Division): Allegra McCormack (Kambala, Australia) Second Prize (United Kingdom Division): Johnny McCausland (Wellington College) Second Prize (International Division): Gabriel Tan Jin Hsi (Hwa Chong Institution, Singapore)

First Prize (shared): Charlotte Witney (Saffron Walden County High School) First Prize (shared): Ricky Ham (Pymble Ladies’ College, Australia) Second Prize (shared): Priya Radia (North London Collegiate School) Second Prize (shared): Katharine Cook (Wellington College)

First Prize: Noelle Huang (Hwa Chong Institution, Singapore) Second Prize: John Cheung (Abingdon School)

First Prize: Emily Harbach (Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls) Second Prize: Alistair Ho (Merchant Taylors’ School)

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• Essay Competition Launch

Posted by The Law School

Open to all Law Students

Competition launched 29 november 6pm, entries due 29 february 2024.

• Opportunities

Bar Council’s Law Reform Essay Competition 2023

The winning essay is ‘Not OK Computer: A Proposed AI Transparency Framework for the UK’ by Louis Dejeu-Castang 

As the cross-sector impact of AI becomes increasingly apparent, so too does the need for its regulation. This framework seeks to unlock the transparency required to guide responsible AI development.

Louis says: ‘Having grown up witnessing the optimism about aspects of the internet gradually giving way to real fears about their detriment to society, I knew that I wanted to write a proposal concerning an area of technology regulation in its relative infancy. Artificial intelligence really seemed to burst into public discourse at the time that I was conducting my background research, which cemented my decision to write about it.’

The full essay is reproduced below.

Issue Extract

Louis Dejeu-Castang

Louis Dejeu-Castang is the winner of the Bar Council’s Law Reform Essay Competition 2023.

The winning essay is ‘Not OK Computer: A Proposed AI Transparency Framework for the UK’ by Louis Dejeu-Castang

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Law Essay Competitions

From learnmore.

• 1.1 The Andrew Lockley Public Law Essay Competition
• 1.2 vLex International Law & Technology Writing Competition
• 1.3 Golding Essay Prize
• 1.4 Times Law Awards
• 1.5 The Graham Turnbull Memorial International Human Rights Essay Competition
• 1.6 Bar Council Law Reform Essay
• 1.7 JLD Essay Competition
• 1.8 UKELA Andrew Lees Prize
• 1.9 ARDL Marion Simmons QC Essay Competition
• 1.10 FIDE Essay Prize
• 1.11 Future Legal Mind Award
• 1.12 Property Bar Association Essay Competition
• 1.13 SCL Student Essay Prize
• 1.14 Shamnad Basheer Essay Competition on Intellectual Property Law
• 1.15 UK Centre for Animal Law Essay Competition
• 1.16 The Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law Essay Competition
• 1.17 Littleton Chambers Sports Law Essay Competition
• 1.18 Human Rights Essay Award
• 1.19 FSLA Essay Competition
• 1.20 ITSA Essay Competition

Feeling like a winner?

There are lots of opportunities to try out your writing expertise throughout the year...sometimes for money (oh and prestige and worldwide fame of course...).

The Andrew Lockley Public Law Essay Competition

Irwin Mitchell run this competition for aspiring public law and human rights solicitors and it is a fantastic opportunity to get your name out there, win a £250 Blackwell's gift card and to develop your legal writing skills.

It is open to law students, graduates, paralegals and trainee solicitors.

Entrants are asked to submit an essay of no more than 1500 words on the following topic:

What key factors should the courts consider and give most weight to when balancing the rights to freedom of expression and assembly of protestors with disruption to other members of the public?

Deadline is: 31st October 2023. Find full details of the competition, including the rules via the Irwin Mitchell website .

vLex International Law & Technology Writing Competition

This annual competition (it has been running since 2018) centres around three new themes each year. For 2024 these are:

• Immigration
• Large language models
• Industrial action

As in previous years, the winner receives a whopping £1500, with additional prizes for runners-up.

Have a look at the vLex Writing Competition page to see the rules, Ts &Cs and the work of winners from the previous competitions . You can also get inspiration on the set themes.

Max number of words is 1000. Deadline is 1st December 2023.

Golding Essay Prize

The Competition Law Association runs an annual competition for any student, trainee solicitor, pupil barrister or trainee patent and trade mark attorney. First prize is £1000.

The 2024 Essay Prize title asked for entrants to address the following title:

As the importance of renewable energy increases, will patents continue to play a central role in protecting those rights or will renewable companies rely on trade secrets and confidential information only?

Look at the competition website for inspiration from previous winning essays. The rules and background for this year's competition can be accessed via the CLA website .

Times Law Awards

The biggest of these law essay competition is The Times Law Award. Last year's competition deadline was mid-Jan and prizes were substantial, with £3,500 for the winner and £2,500 and £1,500 for second and third place. Not bad for a 1000 word essay on a given topic!

Last year's title was:

Should states and private parties be entitled to recover reparations from aggressor states, and if so, how??

You can see the prize-winning essays (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 3 runners-up going all the way back to 1995) on the One Essex Court/Times Law Award website .

We'll update this as soon as this year's competition is announced.

We're very proud of the incredible number of City students and alumni who have performed so well in this competition over the years. We have seen the following successes from them:

GDL student Charlie Colenutt was runner-up in 2020 * BPTC student William Beddows was runner-up in 2019 * BPTC student Katie Ratcliffe (3rd) in 2018 * GDL student Genevieve Woods (1st) in 2017 * Joshua Brown (1st) and Gavin Dingley (2nd) in 2016 * BPTC students George White (1st) and Lara Hassell (3rd) (Lara completed the GDL at City in the previous year) and BPTC alumnus James Beeton (2nd) in 2014 * GDL students Andrew Lomas (1st) and Lara Hassell (2nd) in 2013 * GDL and BPTC alumni James Potts (1st) and GDL student Thomas Coates (2nd) in 2012 * GDL student Anthony Pavlovich (1st) in 2011 * GDL student Anita Davies (1st) in 2010. Anita's winning essay was described by Jack Straw as "an engaging, erudite piece of prose" * GDL student Amy Rogers (1st) in 2006 * GDL student Sarah Love (joint 1st) in 2005 * BVC student James Brilliant (1st) in 2004 * GDL student Mathew Guillick (1st) in 2002 *

The Graham Turnbull Memorial International Human Rights Essay Competition

An annual competition named after Graham Turnbull, an English solicitor who did much to promote respect for human rights. Graham was killed in 1997, working as a human rights monitor on the United Nations Human Rights Mission in Rwanda.

Until 2023, the competition was administered by the Law Society but is now managed by the Graham Turnbull Memorial Fund independently.

The competition is open to law students, trainee solicitors, pupil barristers and all solicitors/barristers within 3 years of admission/call. It asked for essays of no more than 2000 words in length and awards the winner of this prestigious award, £500. The title for the 2023 competition is:

What are the human rights implications of the failure of a state to take action to prevent global temperature rises which threaten the health or lives of their citizens?

Previous winners include Niall Coghlan (2013 competition) and Nick Jones (2019 competition), who were both on the GDL programme at City. You can read the winning entries all the way back to 2010 on the Law Society page for inspiration in the meantime...

Entries should be sent to [email protected] prior to the deadline - 5pm on the 20th October 2023. I've put the full rules on the Lawbore blog for you.

Bar Council Law Reform Essay

Sponsored by the Bar Council Scholarship Trust, this competition is open to students and pupils and requires entrants to write a piece of less than 3000 words proposing the case for a law reform which is desirable, practical and useful. Top prize is £4000 which could come in very handy for funding some part of your legal education.

City GDL students have won in previous years: Daisy Ricketts (2011) and Calum Docherty (2010) were both successful. Calum proposed the reform of copyright law in Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Reforming Fair Dealing in English Copyright Law and Daisy with Strengthening the Rule of Law: Reforming the Scope on Parliamentary Privilege . In 2012 City student Mek Mesfin was runner-up in the CPE category and in 2013 Ross Beaton , a City GDL alumni won the overall prize. You can see all previous winners and read their essays via the Bar Council website .

Phoebe Whitlock won in the GDL category for 2016's competition with an entry entitled Rivalling Silicon Valley: The case for the reform of Software Patents. Take a look at the CityNews story about this. For the 2017 competition, GDL student Clarissa Wigoder won first prize with her essay Spare the rod: Why the law on corporal punishment needs to be reformed, and Daniel Fox was named runner-up with his piece: I hate being idle: Asylum seekers and the right to work. In 2020 BPTC alumnus Oliver Brewis won for his piece: Unravelling the Sleeve of Care: Fair Remuneration for Employer-contracted Sleep . In 2021, GDL student Annika Weis won with her entry: Licence to sanction - Stopping Environmental Crimes through UK Magnitsky legislation . Last year, GDL student Raphael Marshall was first runner-up in the competition.

Take a look at their entries (and other winners back to 2018) via the Bar Council website . The competition information usually comes out in April and the deadline for entries for 2023 is 23rd October at 5pm.

JLD Essay Competition

Open to its members, the Junior Lawyers Network of the Law Society , have an annual competition for those registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority. This includes LPC students and those qualified and working as paralegals. The deadline is normally around the end of November each year and they generally ask for essays of no more than 2000 words. I can't currently find any information about this year's competition, so have fired off an email to the organisation. Update soon!

Essay titles from previous years include:

Is there a role for the legal profession in environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations?

What’s in a name? Is the title of solicitor still relevant??

How will the rule of law be affected by advances in legal technology?

UKELA Andrew Lees Prize

Named for a former Friends of the Earth Campaign Director (Andrew Lees, a leading environmental campaigner who died unexpectedly in 1994) this prize has been going many years. You can view previous winners on the site and the winner normally receives support for travel and attendance at the UKELA annual conference as well as see your work published in their members' journal.

The deadline for submissions is usually around early April of each year. The 2024 competition is likely to launch in January 2024.

Find out more about the competition and associated rules on the UKELA website , as well as essay winners from past years.

The 2023 competition pivoted around the following statement: 'If we are to meet the challenges of the climate and nature crises, it is essential to strengthen current approaches to environmental governance. Discuss'. You can read the winning entry via the UKELA website.

ARDL Marion Simmons QC Essay Competition

Annual essay competition from the Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers . Students are asked to write no more than 1500 words on a topic. The competition asks applicants to submit an essay on a regulatory law or disciplinary law topic of their choice.

First prize winner takes home £2000, second prize winner £1000 and third prize £500. Details of the competition are normally released in February, with a deadline for submission in late April.

Entry is open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students in the UK and a wide range of early practitioners too. You can see full eligibility details via the competition website .

FIDE Essay Prize

The UK Association for European Law also run an essay competition, with the winner securing a bursary to attend the biennial FIDE CONGRESS Conference, which usually takes place in May.

Students are generally asked to write no more than 2000 words (including footnotes) on the topic provided.

Submissions are judged by a panel from the UKAEL committee, who will award the winner registration at the conference in addition to £600 towards accommodation and travel. The winner of this prize in 2018 was William Spence, GDL student at City. In 2014 another City student (BPTC) took the prize, Niall Coghlan. You can read both their essays via the UKAEL website. Niall has had a great year for developing his European Law expertise - he was also part of the team that won the European Human Rights Moot in Strasbourg.

Sadly the competition has been on pause in recent years and will likely not run in 2024.

Future Legal Mind Award

Launched in 2014 by the National Accident Helpline the winner of this competition will receive £1500 towards their career development, as well as gain access to mentoring and a work experience placement.

There are separate awards for undergraduates and postgraduates. The last time the competition ran was 2022. You can find out more about the competition and see the winning entries via the National Accident Helpline competition website . The organisers have confirmed that it will run again in 2024.

The 2015 winner in the postgraduate category was Lukas Hamilton-Eddy (City GDL student). In 2016 the prize was again won by a City GDL student, Tom Phillips. He wowed judges with his essay on the future of legal services for firms and consumers. Another City student, Pavlos Artemios Xagoraris also made the finalists stage. Pavlos is in the first year of his Graduate Entry LLB. Katherine Strange (GDL) was a finalist in 2017. We're overdue another City winner!

Property Bar Association Essay Competition

This competition was launched in November 2015 and asks students each year to write a 1000-word essay, with the winner taking home £1000, a copy of Megarry & Wade AND their essay published in the Estates Gazette .

The question for 2023 was Has equity been taken too far in enforcing informal promises of interests in land?

The question is normally released in November each year and the essay deadline in early January.

Arabella Adams (City GDL) won the 2017 competition and Elijah Granet (City GDL) won first prize in the 2020 competition .

SCL Student Essay Prize

The Society for Computers and Law annual essay competition asks entrants to write a maximum of 2000 words in order to be in with a chance of winning a free place at the annual SCL Conference, publication of your essay in the SCL Computers and Law magazine and £300. The competition honours the memory of the amazing Sir Henry Brooke, a former President of SCL.

The 2021 competition (deadline was in November of that year) asked students to address the following question in fewer than 2500 words:

There is increasing concern that machine learning tools embed bias in their operations and outputs. To what extent does the law currently provide adequate protection from or adequate redress in respect of any such discrimination?

We've contacted the SCL to find out if this competition will run in 2024.

Shamnad Basheer Essay Competition on Intellectual Property Law

This competition was launched in 2020 by SpicyIP , in honour of their founder Professor Shamnad Basheer. Excitingly this competition asks for submissions on anything related to intellectual property rights – the more creative the better. The call generally comes out in May of each year.

The word limit for submissions is 5,000 words (inclusive of footnotes) and the deadline for submissions is June 30, 2020 (23:59 IST).

All submissions and any queries should be e-mailed to [email protected].

The competition is open to students currently enrolled in any LLB program (or its equivalent – meaning students enrolled in J.D. programs can take part) across the world.

We are awaiting information on the 4th annual essay competition but you can see the winners of the 2022 competition and their essays via the SpicyIP website .

UK Centre for Animal Law Essay Competition

The details of the 2024 competition will be released in November 2023.

Last year's competition title was:

Can the UK’s hunting legislation be reformed to ensure practical protection for UK wildlife? .

The inaugral competition was won by City GDL and BVS student Sam Groom. You can see a fantastic video of Sam speaking about the competition on the competition website.

First prize is a £150 book voucher and the chance to get your essay published in the UK Journal of Animal Law.

The Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law Essay Competition

The organisers state that the aim of their competition is to:

...encourage students to explore the fascinating questions that animals rights raise, and to discuss these questions in an original piece of writing that may inspire them to engage further with the topic in the future.

No information regarding the 2024 competition yet but in 2023 the question was as follows:

Richard Ryder once wrote: “Since Darwin, scientists have agreed that there is no ‘magical’ essential difference between human and other animals, biologically-speaking. Why then do we make an almost total distinction morally?” Assuming that is correct, how does this affect the arguments for and against animal rights laws?

The winning essay in the university category receives £750. You can read winning essays from the previous years of the competition via the competition website .

Littleton Chambers Sports Law Essay Competition

This annual competition from Littleton Chambers offers young lawyers the chance to get their ideas out to the wider sporting community and various monetary prizes, plus a sports law mini-pupillage. First prize is £1000, second prize £500 and third place receives £250.

The 2023 competition deadline was end of February 2023, so we anticipate a similar one for the 2024 competition. Entrants were asked to submit a piece of work between 1,500 and 2,500 words, on the following title:

Transparency has been prized as foundational to good governance in sport (see, for instance, the International Olympic Committee’s Basic Universal Principles of Good Governance, principle 2). To what extent (if at all) are sport regulators justified in using confidential procedures, such as arbitration, to deal with participant misconduct?

Until we get the info for the 2024 competition, have a look at the information on the 2023 competition pages .

Human Rights Essay Award

The Human Rights Essay Award is an annual competition (sponsored by the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at Washington College of Law) that seeks to stimulate the production of scholarly work in international human rights law.

The Academy will grant two Awards, one for the best article in English and one for the best article in Spanish. The Award in each case will consist of:

• A full scholarship to the Program of Advanced Studies on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law for either the Diploma or Certificate of Attendance options.
• Travel expenses to and from Washington D.C. (if the competition is not virtual)
• Housing at the university dorms
• Per diem for living expenses
• The best articles may also be published in the American University International Law Review

It is open to all lawyers around the world regardless of their nationality, but participants must already have a law degree Juris Doctor, (J.D.), Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) or equivalent by the submission due date to be eligible. They must also have a demonstrated experience or interest in international human rights law.

The 2022 topic was Climate Change and Human Rights: Impacts, Responsibilities, and Opportunities and the deadline was the end of January.

We are awaiting information on the 2024 competition.

FSLA Essay Competition

The Financial Services Lawyers Association runs an annual essay competition, normally with a deadline of early October each year. First prize is a generous £1500 and a legal internship at the FCA.

The 2023 competition title is Can the risks and opportunities of AI in financial services be managed by fine-tuning existing regulation, or is a new approach required? You need to get your entries in by midnight on 6th October 2023.

Look at the FSLA website for full details/rules. Note that membership of the FSLA is free to students!

ITSA Essay Competition

Open to students members of the Inner Temple, the 2023 competition asks entrants for essays of 2500 words maximum (including refs) on the following topic:

Is the Cab Rank Rule now redundant at the self-employed Bar?

Deadline is 4pm on Monday 6th November 2023 and first prize is £150 and publication of your essay in the Inner Temple Yearbook. Look at the competition website for full rules of the competition .

Enter the Law Reform Essay competition

The Bar Council's annual Law Reform Essay Competition is aimed at developing and fostering an interest in law reform.

Offering a top prize of £4,000, the competition invites entrants to submit a 3,000 word essay making the case for a reform to English, Welsh or European law.  

Find out more about the competition, entry requirements, prizes and previous winners

• Human rights

Graham Turnbull essay competition to be held in 2023 and organised by Memorial Fund

The Graham Turnbull essay competition  encourages law students and junior lawyers to examine current pressing human rights issues and to consider their impact on the wider system of human rights and law.

Held in memory of Graham Turnbull, a human rights lawyer killed in 1997 while working as a United Nations human rights monitor, the winner is awarded £500 at an annual lecture.

Since its inception, the competition was administered by the Law Society in partnership with the Graham Turnbull Memorial Fund.

From now, it will be organised by the Graham Turnbull Memorial Fund independently.

While we're sorry to no longer be hosting the competition and lecture, we are glad that its legacy – and that of Graham Turnbull – will continue.

Dates for the 2023 competition will be released soon.

We will keep members updated through our social media channels.

For more information, email  Tony Fisher . 

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Competition 2023-2024: sponsorship announcement

The ILBF is delighted to announce that the 2023-2024 law undergraduate essay competition is sponsored by international law firm McDermott Will & Emery.

The 2023-2024 essay competition is a fantastic opportunity for law undergraduates in the UK to win an internship with McDermott. The firm is committed to providing opportunities to the next generation of lawyers, as well as promoting pro bono activities across the firm to create positive change around the world. The ILBF is immensely grateful for the support of McDermott for the 2023-2024 essay competition and our mission to share legal resources with organisations overseas.

Sponsoring the ILBF’s law undergraduate essay competition allows McDermott Will & Emery to marry two of its passions: supporting and encouraging the future careers of law students and, equally important, giving back to communities around the world where resources are stretched or non-existent. We wish all entrants to the competition the best of luck! Hamid Yunis, London Managing Partner, McDermott Will & Emery

We are extremely grateful to McDermott for sponsoring the essay competition for 2023-2024 and offering the winner a valuable internship with the firm. Their support for the work of the ILBF is hugely appreciated as is their commitment to providing this opportunity to lawyers of the future. Paul Lowenstein KC, chairman of the ILBF trustee board

Watch out for more information about the 2023-2024 essay competition over the coming weeks when we will announce the launch date and the competition details.

Categories: Competition   Partners

Posted on 19/09/2023 at 8:50 am.

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UCL Faculty of Laws

• Short Courses

UCL Laws PhD student Levin Güver wins ASLP Essay Competition

27 March 2024

Levin was named the winner of the Australasian Society of Legal Philosophy Essay Competition 2023 for his paper ‘Untangling the Gordian Knot of Motive’.

The Australasian Society of Legal Philosophy (ASLP) Essay Competition aims to encourage original research and writing in legal theory and philosophy of law, and is open to early career scholars around the world.

Levin’s winning essay, titled ‘Untangling the Gordian Knot of Motive’, provides a novel contribution to an old debate concerning motive’s relevance to criminal liability. The standard view in criminal law is that while the defendant’s good or bad motives may factor in at the punishment stage, they are irrelevant to her criminal liability. Not so, argues Levin. Instead, he tries to show that once we get a clear handle on the nature of motives, it becomes very hard to deny their relevance to criminal liability. 

The winning essay has been invited to be submitted to The Journal of Legal Theory , where it is currently under review. Levin commented: "I am delighted and honoured that the first chapter of my dissertation is getting such positive resonance! A special thank you to my mentors and supervisors, whose feedback has been – and continues to be – absolutely integral in shaping this project."

Levin is currently a second-year PhD student at UCL Laws, where he is comprising a dissertation on the action-theoretic foundations of criminal law. He is jointly supervised by Dr Mark Dsouza, Professor Kevin Toh (UCL Laws) and Professor John Hyman (UCL Philosophy).

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Discover Economics launches 2024 Young Economist of the Year Competition

• March 25, 2024

Discover Economics  has launched the Royal Economic Society “Young Economist of the Year” competition sponsored by KPMG; an amazing opportunity for young people in years 10 – 13 (or equivalent) to consider real-world economic problems, and get the chance to be published in the Financial Times.

The Young Economics of the Year Competition is our annual student-based competition, to encourage students to think about current economic issues and promote the study of economic science.

Students can choose from a list of topics provided. Students do not need to be studying economics to be able to enter this competition. We welcome entries from any students who are interested in economic issues and would like to share original ideas or perspectives on these issues.

For more information, click here . More information about the past winners may be found here .

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