Michael Greenberg Student Writing Competition

The 2008 Writing Competition

Competition Rules:

TOPIC: A cutting edge legal issue affecting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and/or Intersex community.

ELIGIBILITY: The 2008 competition will open to students enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school during the 2007-2008 academic year, beginning in February 2008.

AWARDS:

First Place

• $3,000 scholarship
• Publication in the Journal of Law and Sexuality at Tulane University Law School
• Registration, airfare & lodging for Lavender Law 2008 in San Francisco, CA.*

First Runner-up

• $2,000 scholarship
• Registration, airfare & lodging for Lavender Law 2008 in San Francisco, CA.*

Second Runner-up

• $1,000 scholarship
• Registration, airfare & lodging for Lavender Law 2008 in San Francisco, CA.*

* Airfare will be provided only from destinations within the 48 contiguous United States.

FORMAT:
Entries should be a scholarly piece fit for publication in a law review. Entries should follow standard Note format, including Bluebook (18th edition) citation form. All entries must be submitted in English. Each entry should be no longer than 25 single-sided pages with one-inch margins and 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced. The page limit includes footnotes. Entries containing endnotes or including appendices or supplemental material will not be considered.

Published papers or papers to be published in other publications are ineligible. Each individual may submit only one entry. Entries should be the sole work of the author and should not yet have undergone editing by others. Editing includes any significant revision as well as technical or substantive review of citations. Informal support, such as general comments on preliminary drafts, is permitted.  

All entries must be submitted electronically in either Word or PDF format. Entrants should not include their name or the name of their school on the competition paper itself. Instead, participants should submit a cover page indicating their name, school, permanent address, and telephone number.

DEADLINE:
Entries should be submitted before the competition closing date of June 1, 2008. Entries are submitted via email to WritingCompetition@nlgla.org .

Questions?
Please contact NLGLA—Law Student Division co-chair Alvin Lee.

Previous Winners:

2007 | Lavender Law 2007—Chicago

FIRST PLACE – Adam R. Pulver, Columbia Law School - “Gay Blood Revisionism: A Critical Analysis of Advocacy and the ‘Gay Blood Ban’”

FIRST RUNNER UP – L. James Lyman, University of Colorado Law School - “Legislators Gone Wild! The (Mis)Use of Criminal Law to Prevent the Spread of HIV”

SECOND RUNNER UP – Daniel Ryan Koslosky – University of Florida College of Law – “Sexual Identity as Personhood:  Towards an Expressive Liberty in the Military Context”

2006 | Lavender Law 2006—Washington DC

 FIRST PLACE – Anne C. DeCleene, University of Wisconsin Law School, The Reality of Gender Ambiguity:  A Road Toward Transgender Healthcare Inclusion. For photos of the awardee, please click here.

 FIRST RUNNER UP – Caitlin Barry, James E. Beasley School of Law, Temple University, Underage & Underprotected:  Recognizing the Rights of Gender Nonconforming Youth

 SECOND RUNNER UP – Lauren Dubick, Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, The 1st Amendment in Public Schools:  Restricting Religiously Based Anti-Homosexual Messages

2005 | Lavender Law 2005—San Diego

 FIRST PLACE – Deborah A. Morgan, American University Washington
College of Law, Not Gay Enough for the Government: Racial Stereotypes in Sexual Orientation Asylum Cases

 FIRST RUNNER UP – Shannan W. Leelyn, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Penal Implants: Transsexuals (Mis)Housed in the Criminal Justice System

 SECOND RUNNER UP – Steve Sanders, University of Michigan Law School, Federalism and Same-Sex Marriage

2004 | Lavender Law 2004—Minneapolis

 FIRST PLACE – Anne Tamar-Mattis, University of California at Berkeley School of Law, Implications of AB 458 for California LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care

 FIRST RUNNER UP –  Natasha Ernst, Lewis & Clark Law School, Same-Sex Marriage and Equal Protection under Article I, Section 20 of the Oregon Constitution

 SECOND RUNNER UP – Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona State University College of Law, A Bittersweet Victory in Smith v. Salem: How the Landmark Decision for Transgender Title VII Plaintiffs Doesn’t Pave the Way.

2003 | Lavender Law 2003—New York

 FIRST PLACE – Zachary A. Kramer, University of Illinois College of Law, The Neutered Homosexual: Why Gays and Lesbians Should Champion Martha Fineman's Re-Visioned Family Law

 FIRST RUNNER UP –  Sarah Drescher, University of Oregon College School of Law, 'Til Death Do Us Part . . . Or Until We Travel to Another State

 SECOND RUNNER UP – Stacey Meadow, Fordham Law School, Gender Outlawed - Transsexuality and the Creation of a Legal Impossibility

2002 | Lavender Law 2002—Philadelphia FIRST PLACE – Mary Beth Heinzelmann, Hofstra University School of Law, The 'Reasonable Lesbian' Standard: A Potential Deterrent Against Bias in Hostile Work Environment Cases

2001 | Lavender Law 2001—Dallas  FIRST PLACE – Christopher S. Hargis, University of Kentucky College of Law, The Scarlet 'H': The Status and Expression of Homosexuality

2000 | Lavender Law 2000—Washington DC FIRST PLACE – B.J. Chisholm, Howard University School of Law, The Back(door) of Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.: 'Outing' Heterosexuality as a Gender-Based Stereotype

1999 | Lavender Law 1999—Seattle  FIRST PLACE – Laurie Rose Kepros Queer Theory: Weed or Seed in the Garden of Legal Theory?

1998 | Lavender Law 1998—Boston  FIRST PLACE – Dirk Selland Will Maryland Enter the Twenty-First Century in the Right Direction by Rescinding Its Ancient Sodomy Statutes?