Brief-Writing Award

Since 1996, Scribes has presented an annual award for the best student-written brief. We believe that legal writing is of paramount importance to law students and their careers, and we hope to encourage good legal writing by recognizing its finest examples. Scribes presents the award to the authors at our annual CLE.

Scribes opens the competition annually in mid- to late summer. Scribes is currently accepting nominations for the 2024 Best Brief-Writing Award. Once Scribes receives all submissions, they are judge by professors, judges, and practicing attorneys. The top 15 to 20 briefs then go to the Brief-Writing-Award Committee. It reads the briefs, deliberates, and chooses the top three briefs.

Recipients

2023

Co-Winner: Kevin Collareno and Sean Dunne. University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.

Co-Winner: Taylor Holley. Texas Tech University School of Law.

Second Place: Amy Oltmanns, Jessica James Curtis, and Rebecca Braun-Harrison. University of Oklahoma College of Law.

Third Place: Gina Ahmar, Megan McNamara, and Zoe Tatarsky. University of California School of Law, San Francisco.

Recipients

2022

Winner: Morgan Vastag and Tanner Herrmann. University of Oklahoma College of Law (Click here to read the brief).

Second Place: Mollie Fiero, Tyler Fabbri, and Devin Mashman. University of Georgia School of Law.

Third Place: J. Trent Cooper, Steven Higginbotham, and Elizabeth Nevle. South Texas College of Law.

2021

Winner: Brooke Bohlen. Texas Tech University School of Law (Click here to read the brief).​

Second Place: Zahra Alamire, Tina Nguyen, and Katherine Sundberg. UC Hastings College of Law.

Third Place: Eric Donica, Marisa Garcia, and Joseph North. Belmont College of Law.

2020

Winner: Allyson E. Lynch, Paul T. Madden & Sarah L. Martin. Belmont University College of Law (Click here to read the brief).

Second Place: Meredith J. Clark, David V. Dorris & Sandra M. Guillen. South Texas College of Law.

Third Place: William N. Haacker, John Wooldridge & Greg A. Urbach. South Texas College of Law.

2019

Winner: Caitlin Messinger & Keriann Smith. Florida State University College of Law (Click here to read the brief).

Second Place: Cesar Escalante & Jonathan Peña. South Texas College of Law.

Third Place (tie): Jacob Cunningham, Jessica Finley & Sara Kuebel. Louisiana State University Paul M. Herbert Law Center.

Third Place (tie): Gabriella Gallego & Alyxandra N. Vernon. University of California, Hastings College of Law.

2018

Winner: Matthew Cloutier,  Mia Falzarano, & Blake E. Stafford. Wake Forest University School of Law (Click here to read the brief).

Second Place: Lani Durio, Hayley Hervieux, & Ximena Kuri. South Texas College of Law.

Third Place: Erika Auger, Christopher Gerardi, & Anthony Joseph. Chicago-Kent College of Law.

2017

Winner: David Tyler Adams & Kathleen Brennan Hicks. University of Georgia School of Law (Click here to read the brief).

Second Place (tie): Renee Knudsen, J. Palmer Horst, & Marie Dienhart . Regent University School of Law

Second Place (tie): Lani Durio, Hayley D. Hervieux, & Patrick W. McGinnis. South Texas College of Law

2015

Winner: Camille Rosca and Andrew Obergfell. Seton Hall School of Law (Click here to read the brief)

Second Place: Emily Vance and Molly Webster. Fordham University School of Law

Third Place: Benjamin Hande, Nicholas Ma, and Mona Razani. UC Hastings College of the Law

2014

Winner: Garret Bowman, Alyssa Dechow, and Del Guile. Case Western Reserve University School of Law (Click here to read the brief)

Second Place: Ryan Cantu, Christian Dewhurst, and Kelsey Hope. South Texas College of Law

Third Place: Becki (Carr) Lee and Farhaan Merchant. Georgia State University College of Law

2013

Winner: Ashley Brucato and Nathan Lennon. Northern Kentucky University, Salmon P. Chase College of Law (Click here to read the brief)

Second Place: Katherine Harrington and Michael Hodge. South Texas College of Law

Third Place: Sarah Boshears and Grant Buckner. Elon University School of Law

2012

Winner: Andrew Bender, Cecelia Montalvo, and Cara Vasquez. South Texas College of Law (Click here to read the brief)

Second Place: Andrew Bender, Callin Kerr, and Coleman Proctor. South Texas College of Law

Third Place: Coleman Proctor, Jason Reiner, Jonathan Sneed. South Texas College of Law

2011

Winner: Rachel Mullen and Robert Parrott. University of Mississippi School of Law (Click here to read the brief)

Second Place: Stephen Barry, Brandon Boxler, and Christopher Healy. College of William and Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law

Third Place: Brandon Beck. Texas Tech University School of Law

2010

Winner: Michael Jones, Stuart Ladner, and Sabrina Stone. South Texas College of Law (Click here to read the brief)

Second Place (tie): Jocelyn Floyd and Maris Mapolski. Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology; Ben Green, Jason Isbell, and Clayton Tartt. Faulkner University, Thomas Goode Jones School of Law

Third Place (tie): Brin Anderson, Katharine Gibson, Cameron MacLeod, Sarah Pierce, and Katharine Quaglieri. Case Western Reserve University School of Law; Annie Beck and David Louis. South Texas College of Law

2009

Winner: Bridget Burke, Stephanie Holcombe, and Justin Jenson. South Texas College of Law

Second Place: Christopher Avery, Ana Martine, and Lauren Sneed. South Texas College of Law

Third Place: Nabil Bisharat, Mikayla Gow, and Eric Toscano. University of California, Davis, School of Law

2008

Winner: Erin Culbertson and Jesse Okiror. The George Washington University Law School

Second Place: John Whittlesey. Case Western Reserve University School of Law

Third Place (tie): Heather Bloom and Aaron Wredberg. The George Washington University Law School

Cristina Martinez, Gary Tulp, and James Leavy. Seton Hall School of Law

2007

Winner: David Pratt. Texas Wesleyan University School of Law

Second Place: Timothy Davis, Marci Palmieri, and Tiffany Tahr. Northern Kentucky University, Salmon P. Chase College of Law

Third Place (tie): Vlad Kroll, Miranda Lindl, Nema Milaninia, Marja-Lissa Overbeck, and Benjamin Wiles. University of California, Hastings College of Law; Tiffany Herrera, Christopher J. Kronzer, Erin N. Kupcunas, Joshua A. Reiss, and Leah A. Rush. South Texas College of Law

2006

Winner: Heather Harris and Erica Thonsgard. University of Houston Law Center

2005

Winner: Juliet Bikbova, Sara Boyd, Linda Burns, and Shama Patari. John Marshall Law School

2004

Winner: Dace Caldwell, Scott Henderson, and  Jennifer Miller. University of Oklahoma College of Law

2003

Winner: Stephanie Rahlfe and David Uyar. University of San Diego School of Law