Prizes: Writing and Other
Writing Prizes
Each year the Law School awards several prizes for the best papers written by students in particular areas of the law. When submitting a paper, please include a cover page clearly presenting your name, e-mail address, title of paper and title of the prize. Please see specific prizes for additional submission guidelines.
Addison Brown Prize
The bequest of Addison Brown, LL.B. 1855, established a prize to be awarded annually or biannually for the best essay written by a student on a subject related to private international law or maritime law. This year the award is $9,000. An essay will be considered for the prize if two hard copies are submitted to the Dean’s Office by May 1, 2008, or if an essay is nominated for consideration by any instructor under whose supervision the essay was written during the academic year. Each submission should include a cover sheet with student’s name, paper title, and prize name. For further information, please consult Professor Jack Goldsmith.
Victor Brudney Prize
This prize was established by the Program on Corporate Governance in honor of Professor Victor Brudney, Robert B. and Candice J. Haas Professor in Corporate Finance Law, Emeritus. This prize may be awarded annually to the best student paper on a topic related to corporate governance. The amount of the prize is $1,000. An essay will be considered for the prize if two hard copies are submitted to the Dean’s Office by May 1, 2008. Each submission should include a cover sheet with student’s name, paper title, and prize name. The prize committee consists of Professors Lucian Bebchuk, Reinier Kraakman, and Mark Roe.
Roger Fisher and Frank E.A. Sander Prize
This prize was established in 2007 by the Program on Negotiation in honor of Professors Roger Fisher, the Williston Professor of Law Emeritus, and Frank E.A. Sander, the Bussey Professor of Law, Emeritus. This prize may be awarded annually to the best student paper on a topic related to negotiation, dispute systems design, mediation, dispute resolution, or ADR. Professional school students currently enrolled in a PON-affiliated degree-granting program at Harvard, MIT, Simmons, or the Fletcher School at Tufts are eligible for the prize. The prize committee will be chaired by Professors Robert Bordone and Robert Mnookin. The amount of the prize is $1,000. The winner’s name will also be engraved on a wall plaque to be displayed at the Program on Negotiation. Papers should be submitted to Professor Bordone (rbordone@law.harvard.edu), Professor Mnookin (mnookin@law.harvard.edu), and Jessica Glynn (jglynn@law.harvard.edu) by May 2, 2008.
Yong K. Kim ’95 Memorial Prize
This prize was established by the East Asian Legal Studies Program in memory of Yong K. Kim A.B. ’92, J.D. ’95 through the generosity of his parents, Professor and Mrs. Joe H. Kim, his family, and many friends at and beyond the Law School. A prize of $1,500 is awarded to the author of the best student paper concerning law or legal history of the nations and peoples of East Asia or issues of law pertaining to U.S.-East Asia relations. The recipient should also embody Yong Kim’s interest in and enthusiasm for fostering U.S.-East Asian understanding and plan a career that will further advance this. Contributions to EALS while a student will also be considered. The paper can be written in conjunction with a course or seminar or as an independent study project at the Law School. For further information, please consult Professor William Alford.
Laylin Prize
The Laylin Prize was established in memory of John Gallup Laylin, J.D. 1928, by his firm, Covington & Burling. The income provides a prize of $4,000 for the best paper written by a student in the field of public international law. For further information, please contact the Graduate Program Office.
Mancini Prize
Established in honor of Federico Mancini, a judge of the European Court of Justice, the Mancini Prize is awarded annually to the student writing the best essay in the field of European law and European legal thought. The essay should be one written during the current academic year and must relate to European law. An essay will be considered for the prize if two hard copies are submitted to the Dean’s Office by May 1, 2008. Each submission should include a cover sheet with student’s name, paper title, and prize name. The prize is $2,000. For further information, please consult Professor Gerald Neuman.
Irving Oberman Memorial Awards
The bequest of Isabel B. Oberman established this award in 1973 in memory of her husband, Irving Oberman, A.B. 1917. It provides for an annual prize of $1,000 to be awarded by the dean for the best essay by a student of the School on each of seven current legal subjects. If the prize has more than one winner, the money will be divided. In the academic year 2007–08 papers relating to the topics of Bankruptcy, Constitutional Law: First Amendment; Constitutional Law: Fourteenth Amendment; Environmental Law; Intellectual Property; Law and Social Change; and Legal History will be eligible for Oberman Awards.
An essay will be considered for the prize if two hard copies are submitted to the Dean’s Office by May 1, 2008. Each submission should include a cover sheet with student’s name and contact information, paper title, and prize name. Students wishing to submit papers in the Law and Social Change category should contact Janet Moran (jmoran@law.harvard.edu) in Professor Guinier’s office for additional information and criteria.John M. Olin Prizes
Prizes supported by a grant from the John M. Olin Foundation may be awarded annually for the best papers written in the area of law and economics. The amount of a prize is $1,000. For further information, please consult Professor Steven Shavell.
Program on International Financial Systems Prize
Established by the Program on International Systems at Harvard Law School. The prize, awarded annually, provides $2,500 for the best paper written in that particular academic year in the Seminar on International Finance. An essay will be considered for the prize if two hard copies are submitted to the Dean’s Office by May 1, 2008. Each submission should include a cover sheet with student’s name, paper title, and prize name. For further information, please contact the Program on International Financial Systems.
Sidney I. Roberts Prize Fund
This prize was established by Roberts & Holland LLP in honor of its founding partner and his significant work in the area of tax law. The fund provides an annual prize of $5,000 for the best student paper in the field of taxation. The papers can be written in conjunction with a course or seminar or as an independent study project at the Law School. An essay will be considered for the prize if two hard copies are submitted to the Dean’s Office by May 1, 2008. Each submission should include a cover sheet with student’s name and contact information, paper title, and prize name.
Other Prizes
Joseph H. Beale Prize
The Joseph H. Beale Prize was established in 1930 by John Grier Buchanan, LL.B. 1912. A prize of $2,900 is awarded to a student who obtains the highest grade during the year in the course on Conflict of Laws. If there is more than one class in Conflict of Laws, the recipients of the highest grade in each class will share the prize.
The Dean’s Awards for Community Leadership
The Dean’s Awards for Community Leadership recognize a number of graduating students who contribute time and energy to making the HLS community a better place through involvement in student organizations, community service groups, and individual efforts. Nominations are made to the Dean of Students each spring and are reviewed by a committee.
Fay Diploma
Established by an anonymous gift in 1907, the Fay Diploma is prepared and issued in memory of Jonathan Fay, A.B. 1778, and Samuel Phillips Prescott Fay, A.B. 1798, and is awarded to the graduating J.D. candidate who, by scholarship, conduct, and character, has given evidence of the greatest promise. Traditionally, the Fay Diploma is awarded to the person who graduates with the highest combined average for three years of study in residence at the Harvard Law School.
Andrew L. Kaufman Pro Bono Service Award
The Andrew L. Kaufman Pro Bono Service Award is granted each year in honor of Professor Andrew Kaufman, who has been instrumental in creating and supporting the Pro Bono Service Program at HLS. The J.D. student in the graduating class who performs the highest number of pro bono service hours receives the award and a $500 honorarium. The Pro Bono Service Program annually determines the winner based on records of total completed pro bono hours submitted by students. For more information, contact the Pro Bono Service Program, probono@law.harvard.edu, Austin 102.
George Leisure Award
This prize is given in honor of George S. Leisure, LL.B. 1917, by his law partner David Teitelbaum, LL.B. 1929. A sum of $3,500 is awarded annually for excellence in advocacy to the student judged the best oralist in the final round of the Ames Competition.
Frank S. Righeimer, Jr. Student Prize for Citizenship
Established in memory of Frank S. Righeimer, Jr. ’32, the Righeimer Prize is a monetary prize and is awarded annually to a graduating student to recognize exceptional citizenship within the Law School community. Nominations can be made by graduating students as well as by members of the faculty and staff. For further information, please contact the Dean of Students Office.
Sears Prize
Sarah C. Sears established this prize in memory of her son, Joshua Montgomery Sears, Jr., LL.B. 1904. From this fund, four prizes of $15,000 each are awarded annually, one to each of the two students receiving the highest averages in the work of the first year, and one to each of the two students receiving the highest averages in the work of the second year.
To be eligible for the Sears Prize, the student must have met the minimum registration requirements described in Part I, Section 6 in “Rules Relating to Law School Studies” in this Handbook. A small number of first-year students, because they have been admitted to the School with advanced standing, and a small number of second-year students, because they are pursuing joint, coordinated or concurrent degree programs, do not meet the minimum registration requirements referred to above even though they have registered for and completed a full year of study approved by the Law School. Eligibility for the Sears Prize in such cases is governed by requirements that appear in a memorandum available from the Registrar’s Office.
Boykin C. Wright Memorial Fund
This fund was established in memory of Boykin C. Wright, LL.B. 1914, by his law partners in the firm then known as Shearman & Sterling & Wright. The income is used to provide prizes for the winning and losing teams in the final argument of the Ames Competition.
For a comprehensive list of non-HLS writing competitions, please see the website of the Program on the Legal Profession, http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/plp/pages/awards.php.