The 2023 Race and the Law Essay Prize, an initiative of the NSBS Racial Equity Committee, is now open for submissions.
The successful essay must demonstrate ‘race’ literacy insight. That is, it should demonstrate confidence, ease and skill in addressing ‘race’. The essay must also interrogate ‘race’ in a broad legal context and explicitly communicate novel insights that contribute to the emerging scholarship on ‘race’ and the law.
Scholarship on ‘race’ and the law includes, but is not limited to, discussions of the construction of ‘race’, the experience of legal institutions by racialized persons, and the law as it affects Indigenous peoples and issues of cultural diversity.
‘Race’ and the law may factor into any of the content areas of legal scholarship such as Contracts, Tax, Employment, Human Rights, Administrative, Jurisprudence, Constitutional, Aboriginal or International Law. In short, students should not feel limited in how they interpret and write about the topic of ‘race’ and the law.
Eligibility
Applicants must be currently or previously enrolled in the JD program at the Schulich School of Law. The essay must have been written in the past 24 months for the JD program.
Essays will be judged on form, content, and race literacy insight.
Submission & Deadline
Applicants must email a PDF or MS Word version of their essay to the Society’s Equity Office at [email protected]. Each paper must be accompanied by an abstract that clearly articulates the ‘race’ literacy aspects of the paper. Papers are accepted until May 19, 2023.
Notification
The successful applicant will be notified in June 2023. The successful applicant will receive a plaque and a cash prize of $500 at the NSBS Racial Equity Committee’s reception honouring racialized and Indigenous articled clerks.
Interested or looking for guidance? Contact the Society’s Equity & Access Advisor Vanessa Fells at [email protected]