Animal Justice is pleased to be hosting the Student Research Paper Contest again this year! The contest is designed to encourage student scholarship on the growing field of animal law, and support students who have done outstanding research into the pressing legal issues facing nonhuman animals. The contest is part of Animal Justice’s work to support animal law clubs at Canadian law schools and foster the next generation of animal lawyers.
The contest is open to all Animal Justice student club members. As usual the Student Conference will be held on the Friday of the Canadian Animal Law Conference, this year on October 1st. The Student Conference offers a place to network with other students interested in animal law, learn from Canada’s leading practitioners in animal law, and brainstorm how to optimize the 2021-2022 school year. The Student Conference is intended for the benefit of law students participating in Animal Justice clubs at Canadian law schools, although others are welcome to attend.
The Student Conference will feature a Student Scholarship Panel, where selected students will present their academic papers in a conference format. Three presenters on the Student Scholarship Panel will be chosen from this summer’s student Essay Contest. This means that students who enter the Essay Contest must be willing and able to present their work on October 1st during the Student Conference. The three presenters, as winners of the Essay Contest, will each receive a prize of $100 after the Conference presentations.
The Essay Contest is open to members of Animal Justice student clubs in Canada, and submissions must meet the following requirements:
- Topic: Although there is no specific topic, submissions must predominantly address animal law in Canada and be academic in nature.
- Authors must be law school students or graduating law school at the time of submission. We will not accept submissions from students in non-law or graduate programs.
- Essays must be 5,000 – 10,000 words in length (exclusive of footnotes and bibliography).
Submissions must be emailed to me, Samantha Skinner, by email at [email protected] by Friday June 4th at 11:59 PM. The subject line should read “Student Essay Contest Submission.” You will receive a confirmation of receipt within two days. You must attach your submission as a Microsoft Word document (not PDF). In the body of the email, please include your name, law school, year in school, Animal Justice student club affiliation, and email address for correspondence.
Note that Animal Justice does not publish these papers, but the Student Conference is a great opportunity to get feedback on your work if you wish to pursue publication with an academic journal.
Best of luck!
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