2011 Hogan/Smoger Access to Justice Essay Contest

THE HOGAN/SMOGER ACCESS TO JUSTICE ESSAY CONTEST offers law students an opportunity to receive reward and recognition for expounding on whether and how the courts can be used to obtain justice.

For 40 years, the competition was known as the Roscoe Hogan Environmental Law Essay Contest, providing law students an opportunity to investigate and offer solutions to the multitude of injustices inflicted on the environment. The contest was established in 1970 by the late Roscoe B. Hogan of Birmingham, Alabama, a prominent environmental lawyer. With additional support from noted attorney Gerson Smoger, the contest was renamed and expanded beginning with the 2011 competition.

The topic for the 2011 contest is "The Gulf Oil Spill: Who Are the Victims and How Do They Get Compensated?"

Any student currently enrolled in an accredited American law school may submit a legal essay for the competition.

The author of the winning essay will receive a $5,000 cash prize; recognition in the Public Justice newsletter and on the website; publication of the essay in the Vermont Law School’s online Journal of Environmental Law; and a free Public Justice Foundation membership for the Contest Year.

Any student currently enrolled in an accredited American law school may enroll in the contest. Each entry must be submitted through a faculty adviser. All entrants must submit an INTENT TO ENTER FORM by January 31, 2011. The deadline for the essay is March 31, 2011. A panel of nationally renowned trial lawyers and law professors will judge the entries.

For contest rules and criteria, please visit the contest website.