Student Writing Competition
Share Your Voice on Technology & Law
The Computer & Technology Section of the State Bar of Texas invites law students at Texas law schools to submit original writing on cutting-edge issues at the intersection of technology and the law.
Award & Publication
Scholarship: $1,000 for the winning article!
Publication: Winning article published in Circuits, the e-journal of the Computer & Technology Section of the State Bar of Texas
Eligibility
This competition is open to:
- Students actively enrolled and in good standing at an ABA-accredited law school located in Texas or an LL.M. program at such a school at the time of submission; or
- Individuals who wrote the paper while enrolled at an ABA-accredited Texas law school and submit it within six months of graduation.
Additional eligibility rules:
- Individual authors only. Co-authored papers are not eligible.
- Previously published papers and simultaneous submissions are permitted.
- Papers may have been prepared for a course, law review or journal, competition, clinic, or other academic or extracurricular project.
Original Work & AI Policy
- Submitted work must be the student’s own original composition.
- Generative Artificial Intelligence tools (such as ChatGPT or similar systems) may not be used to draft, rewrite, or edit any portion of the submission. Basic spelling and grammar tools (for example, the built-in spelling and grammar check in a word processor) are permitted.
- By submitting, the student affirms that the work complies with this policy.
What We’re Looking For
Submissions should:
- Address timely and relevant technology-and-law issues
- Provide clear, balanced legal and policy analysis
- Offer realistic recommendations or analytical frameworks that could inform courts, policymakers, practitioners, or industry
- Be engaging and accessible to legal and technology professionals, not just academics
- Be 1,000–1,500 words in length (excluding footnotes)
Citation guidance
- Citations should follow a recognized legal citation standard (for example, the Bluebook).
- Footnotes are permitted and will not count toward the word limit.
Important Dates
Submission Deadline: January 15, 2026
Review Period: January 2026
Winner Announced: Spring 2026
Submission Instructions: Please email your submission as an attachment to: writing@sbot.org
Format:
File type: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or PDF
Font and spacing: A standard, readable font (such as Times New Roman or similar), 12-point, double-spaced text
Email subject line: "Student Writing Competition Submission"
Email body must include:
- Full name
- Law school (Texas) and program (J.D. / LL.M.)
- Expected graduation date (or graduation date, if within six months)
- Preferred email address
- Phone number
- Title of your submission
We look forward to reading your submissions!
For questions about eligibility, accessibility, or submission requirements, please contact: writing@sbot.org