Law Student Writing Competition 2026
Congratulations of PMC's 2026 Writing Competition Winner: Noah M. Manalo. Noah's paper, "Let Justice Be Bought?: Addressing the Problems of Spending in Pennsylvania Judicial Elections," can be read here.
Details on PMC's 2027 writing competition will be released in Winter 2027.
2026 Competition
Sponsored by Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Topic: In 2025, millions of dollars were spent on three elections for retention of justices on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, including, according to the Brennan Center, an estimated $9.5 million on television ads alone. What problems, if any, are posed by such spending with respect to electing or retaining nonpartisan justices who will serve the best interests of the Commonwealth and its residents, and what can be done to address those problems without infringing on the right to free speech and expression?
Award: The First Place winner will receive $3000.00 presented at PMC’s Spring Benefit on May 11, 2026 and the submission will be published and publicized.
Eligible Participants:
This Competition is open to full-time and part-time 1L, 2L, and 3L law students who are in good standing in this 2025-26 academic year at one of the following institutions:
- Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law
- University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
- Temple University Beasley School of Law
- Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law
- Widener University Commonwealth Law School
- Penn State Dickinson Law
- University of Pittsburgh School of Law
- Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University
Rules and Format: Candidates may submit a law review quality submission of 2000-2500 words. AI may be used only for background research and the identification of source materials, and it must be accurate; it may not be used to draft any portion of the essay.
The submission may not have been published previously, although it may have been prepared in connection with a law school course or for a law journal. The submission also may not have been submitted for any other competition during the time when it is under consideration for this Competition, until after the time when awards are announced. The submission must be the work of one author alone (joint submissions will not be considered), and the author must certify that the submission has been prepared without substantial editing from others and without the use of AI.
Judges: Members of PMC's Board of Advisors
Deadline: April 3, 2026
Submissions and Questions: dgross@pmconline.org
Past Winners
2025 - Sarah Ferguson, University of Pittsburgh School of Law '25
2024 - Randy R. Goldson, Temple University Beasley School of Law School '24
2023 - Anthony Jessel, University of Pittsburgh School of Law '23
2022 - Constance Hope Long, Rutgers Law School '22
2021 - Apratim Vidyarthi, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School '22
2020 - Jessica Rizzo, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School '21
2019 - Zane Podsobinski, Duquesne University School of Law '19
2017 - Christina Gallagher, Penn State Law '17