Each year, Yale Law School faculty select recipients for a variety of prizes, drawing attention to notable papers, scholarship, and performance as a law student. 

Student Prizes

Charles G. Albom Prize 

Awarded annually to a student who demonstrates excellence in the area of judicial or administrative appellate advocacy in connection with a Law School clinical program.

Jackson Busch ’22
Patrick Monaghan ’22
Kathleen Olds ’22

 

Burton H. Brody Prize 

Best paper on constitutional privacy

Danny Li ’22    
Jurisdiction Stripping after Roe and Dobbs: Revisiting a Federal Courts Story

 

The Joseph A. Chubb Competition Prize

For excellence in legal draftsmanship and not legal scholarship. 

First Prize: Alan Chen ’23 and James Altschul ’23 
Brief in SFFA v. Harvard

Second Prize: David Hopen ’23
Bench Memo in United States v. Crain 

 

Barry S. Cohen Prize 

Paper on a subject related to literature and the law

Alexander Zhang ’23
Noticing the Law

 

Felix S. Cohen Prize 

Paper on subject relating to legal philosophy

Gregory Antill ’23
Police Perpetrated Homicides and the Case for Rethinking the Role of Intentional Harms in Criminal Law

 

Edgar M. Cullen Prize 

Best paper by a first-year student

Ella Bunnell ’24
A False Dichotomy? The Relationship Between Group-Based and Individualized Justice

Jamie Piltch ’24
Political Subdivisions and the Myth of Neutrality: Why Subdivisions Should Not Be Used in Electoral Redistricting

 

Thomas I. Emerson Prize 

Distinguished paper or project on a subject related to legislation

Jason Gardiner ’22
Putting Linguistics Back in CorpusLinguistics: A Contextualized Approach to Investigating Statutory Meaning

Alexander Zhang ’23
Noticing the Law

 

Ambrose Gherini Prize 

Best paper in the field of International Law, either public or private 

Sam Aber ’22
A Counter-Declaration on Friendly Relations: The Gulf Crisis of 1990–91 and the Fundamental Principles of International Hierarchy

Brian Liu ’24
Presidential Emergency Forfeiture Powers as Victim Compensation

 

Margaret Gruter Prize 

Best paper on how ethology, biology, and related behavior sciences may deepen our understanding of law

Jane Jacoby ’24
Fighting Fire with Fire: How NEPA’s Emphasis on Risk Prevents Prescribed Burns and Intensifies Wildfire

 

Jerome Sayles Hess Prize for International Law

Best student who demonstrates excellence in the area of international law

Chris Ewell ’22
Angela Remus ’22

 

Marshall Jewell Prize 

Best second-year student contribution to a Yale Law School journal other than the YLJ

Saylor S. Soinski ’23
Paid Donation: Reconciling Altruism and Compensation in Oocyte Transfer

 

Quintin Johnstone Prize in Real Property Law, established by the CATIC Foundation

To the student in his second or third year at the Law School who has demonstrated excellence in the area of real property law

Nathaniel Donahue ’22
Off the Beaten Path: Conscription, Localism, and the Rules of Roadmaking in 19th-Century America

 

William T. Ketcham Jr. Prize 

Best paper in the field of private international law to be awarded annually

Zachary Shelley ’23 and Gavin Landgraf ’23
Taming Conflict of Laws Through a Model Statute

 

Khosla Memorial Fund for Human Dignity Prize 

To the student who best demonstrates an active engagement in advancing the values of human dignity in the international arena.

Chris Ewell ’22 
Tim Hirschel-Burns ’22

 

Raphael Lemkin Prize 

Paper in the field of international human rights

Tim Hirschel-Burns ’22
Human Rights Obligations Sans Frontières: Transnational Distributive Processes and Extraterritorial Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights Obligations

 

Stephen J. Massey Prize 

To the student(s) who best exemplifies, in work on behalf of clients and in other community service, the values of the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization at Yale Law School

Medha Swaminathan ’22
Zoe Masters ’22
Evan Walker-Wells ’22
Estrella Lucero ’22

 

Judge William E. Miller Prize

For the best paper concerning the Bill of Rights

Nathaniel Donahue ’22
Off the Beaten Path: Conscription, Localism, and the Rules of Roadmaking in 19th-Century America

 

C. LaRue Munson Prize

To be divided equally between two students for excellence in the investigation, preparation, and [where permitted under the legal internship rule] presentation of civil, criminal, or administrative law cases, under the supervision of a law school clinical program

Alexander Fischer ’22
Casey Smith ’22
Nan Baker ’22
Phoenix Rice Johnson ’22

 

Joseph Parker Prize

Best paper on a subject connected with legal history or Roman law

Nathaniel Donahue ’22
Off the Beaten Path: Conscription, Localism, and the Rules of Roadmaking in 19th-Century America

 

Israel H. Peres Prize

Best student Note or Comment appearing in the YLJ

Samuel T. Ayres ’22
State Water Ownership and the Future of Groundwater Management

 

Clifford L. Porter Prize

Outstanding student performance in taxation open to students in other schools of the University

Danny Hirsch ’23
The CIC Services two-step and the Future of Litigation Against the IRS

Emmett Witkovsky-Eldred ’22
A Tale of Two Neighborhoods: How Pennsylvania’s Property Tax Reassessments Reinforce Inequality

 

Edward D. Robbins Memorial Prize

Best third-year student contribution to a Yale Law School journal other than the YLJ

Yolanda Bustillo ’22
Compassionate Release During Crises: Expanding Federal Court Powers

 

Benjamin Scharps Prize

Best paper by a third-year student

Samuel T. Ayres ’22
State Water Ownership and the Future of Groundwater Management

 

Colby Townsend Memorial Prize

Best paper by a second-year student

David Herman ’23
Treating Racism, Not Race: How to Constitutionally Combat Racial Disparities in Health

Jane Jacoby ’24
Fighting Fire with Fire: How NEPA’s Emphasis on Risk Prevents Prescribed Burns and Intensifies Wildfire

 

William K. S. Wang Prize 

Alex Brod ’24
Amir Perk ’23

 

Francis Wayland Prize 

For proficiency in preparing and presenting a case in negotiation, arbitration, and litigation

Atticus Ballesteros ’22
Anna Egas ’22
Alasdair Phillips-Robins ’22

 

Judge Ralph K. Winter Jr. Prize for Corporate Law

Awarded annually to the best student paper written in corporate law

Henry Bauer ’22 and Kristin Angelle Sharman ’22 
Bankruptcy, Liquidity, and the Structure of Corporate Credit Facilities

Jackson Skeen ’22
Uptier Exchange Transactions: Lawful Innovation or Lender-on-Lender Violence?

 

Judge Ralph K. Winter Jr. Prize for Law and Economics 

Awarded annually to the best student paper written in law and economics

Caroline Grueskin ’22
At Least as Effective: OSHA, the State Plans, and Divergent Worker Protections from COVID-19

 

Potter Stewart Prize

Established by alumni and friends of the School; to be awarded annually for the best student argument in advanced Moot Court competition

James Altschul ’23 
Alan Chen ’23

 

Thurman Arnold/ Harlan Fiske Stone Prize 

For the best oral argument by a student in Moot Court

Rubin Danberg Biggs ’23

 

Benjamin N. Cardozo/A. Leon Higginbotham Prize 

For the best brief submitted by a student in the Moot Court Competition

Cynthia Long ’23

 

John Fletcher Caskey Prize 

For the best presentation of a case on final trial in the Thomas Swan Barristers’ Union

Clio Sophia Koller ’22 

 

John Currier Gallagher Prize 

For the student showing most proficiency in the presentation of a case on final trial in the Thomas Swan Barristers’ Union

Ayesha Durrani ’24

 

Yale Law Journal Prize 
Michael Egger Prize

For the best student Note or Comment on current social problems in The Yale Law Journal, on recommendation of the board of directors

Samuel T. Ayres ’22
State Water Ownership and the Future of Groundwater Management

 

Clinical Legal Education Association Outstanding Clinical Team Award

Brendan Bernicker ’22
Elsa Lora ’23
Marnie Lowe ’22
Alexandra Ricks ’22

Charles G. Albom Prize 

Awarded annually to a student who demonstrates excellence in the area of judicial and/or administrative appellate advocacy in connection with a Law School clinical program

Sophie Laing ’21
Jordan Brewington ’21
Lily Halpern ’21
Jacob Schriner-Briggs ’21 
Ramis Wadood ’21

 

The Joseph A. Chubb Competition Prize

For excellence in legal draftsmanship and not legal scholarship; two prizes to be awarded

1st prize: Gabe Levine ’21
“Petitioner’s Brief, Trump v. Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, et. al.”

2nd prize: Holden Tanner ’21
“Petitioner’s Brief, Trump v. Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, et. al.”

 

Felix S. Cohen Prize 

Paper on subject relating to legal philosophy 

Gregory Antill ’23
"Fitting the Model Penal Code Into a Reasons-Responsiveness Picture of Subjective Culpability: A Skeptical Challenge To The ‘Standard Picture’ of Criminal Liability"

 

Edgar M. Cullen Prize 

Best paper by a first-year student
    
Russell Bogue ’23, Broderick Johnson ’23, and Shunhe Wang ’23
“The Road From Rhodes: The Impact of Double Celling on State Investment in Incarceration”

 

Thomas I. Emerson Prize 

Distinguished paper or project on a subject related to legislation    

Alexander Zhang ’23
“Legislative Statutory Interpretation”  

 

Ambrose Gherini Prize 

Best paper in the field of International Law, either public or private

Gregor Novak ’21 JSD
"Global Lawmaking and Social Change: The Varieties and Dynamics of Customary International Lawmaking"

Gershon Hasin ’21 JSD
"Ocean Governance in the 21st Century:  A New “Package-Deal” to Balance Mare Liberum and Mare Clausum"  

 

Margaret Gruter Prize  

Best paper on how ethology, biology, and related behavior sciences may deepen our understanding of law    

Saylor Soinski ’23 
"Paid Donation: Reconciling Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivations in Oocyte Transfer"
 

 

Jerome Sayles Hess Prize for International Law

Best student who demonstrates excellence in the area of international law    

Mark Stevens ’21

 

Marshall Jewell Prize 

Best second-year student contribution to a Yale Law School journal other than the YLJ    

Michael S. Avi-Yonah ’22
"The Nation-State that Never Sets: Hong Kong, Deglobalization, and the Endurance of Nation-States in Protecting Rights"
 

 

Quintin Johnstone Prize in Real Property Law. Established by the CATIC Foundation.  

To the student in his second or third year at the Law School who has demonstrated excellence in the area of real property law

Jordan Brewington ’21
"Dismantling the Master’s House: Reparations on the American Plantation"

Pat Reidy ’21
"Condemning Worship: Religious Liberty Protections and Church Takings"

 

Florence M. Kelley ’37 Family Law Prize

To the student who demonstrates exceptional interest or achievement in the area of family law

Shana Hurley ’21
"Vindicating the Right to Read"
 

William T. Ketcham Jr. Prize 

Best paper in the field of private international law to be awarded annually    

Michael Loughlin ’21 
"NAFTA Chapter 11 to USMCA Chapter 14: The Substantive Differences in the Investment Chapters of NAFTA and USMCA, the Motivations Behind These Changes, and the Likely Implications of These Modifications”

 

Khosla Memorial Fund for Human Dignity Prize 

To the student who best demonstrates an active engagement in advancing the values of human dignity in the international arena

Dianne Lake ’21

 

Raphael Lemkin Prize 

Paper in the field of international human rights    

Anna Wherry ’21
“Narrowing Responsibility: Colombia’s Violence Commissions and the Politics of Human Rights, 1958-2011”

 

Stephen J. Massey Prize 

To the student who best exemplifies, in work on behalf of clients and in other community service, the values of the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization at Yale Law School    

Felisha Miles ’21
Jeff Schroeder ’21
Molly Petchenik ’21
Julia Geiger ’21
Rebecca Steele ’21
Hannah Abelow ’21

 

Judge William E. Miller Prize

For the best paper concerning the Bill of Rights

Gilad Abiri ’20 JSD and Sebastian Guidi ’23 JSD
"The Pandemic Constitution"

Duncan Hosie ’21
“The First Amendment, Janus, and the Movement Dissent”

 

C. LaRue Munson Prize

To be divided equally between two students for excellence in the investigation, preparation, and [where permitted under the legal internship rule] presentation of civil, criminal, or administrative law cases, under the supervision of a law school clinical program     

Eli Feasley ’21
Adam Kinkley ’21
Keith Woolridge ’21
Daniel Ki ’21
Lisa Chen ’21
Alex Boudreau ’21

 

Joseph Parker Prize

Best paper on a subject connected with legal history or Roman law    

Alexander Zhang ’23
“Legislative Statutory Interpretation”

 

Israel H. Peres Prize

Best student Note or Comment appearing in the YLJ

Simon Brewer ’20
“The Attorney General’s Settlement Authority and the Separation of Powers”

Caroline Lawrence ’21 and Blake Schultz ’21
“Divide and Conquer? Lessons on Cooperative Federalism from a Decade of Mental-Health Parity Enforcement”

 

Clifford L. Porter Prize

Outstanding student performance in taxation open to students in other schools of the University     

Ezra Kagan ’22 
“The Tax Procedure Trap: Why Undermining the IRS Will Harm Low-Income Taxpayers”

 

Edward D. Robbins Memorial Prize

Best third-year student contribution to a Yale Law School journal other than the YLJ     

Geoffrey Block ’21
“Turf Wars: Arming Congress's Gang (of Eight)”

 

Benjamin Scharps Prize

Best paper by a third-year student 

Joshua Feinzig ’21
“Political Re-Enfranchisement and the Boundary Problem of 'Lost' Rights”

Matthew Quallen ’21
“How to Save the Census: Political Control and the United States Census Bureau”

 

Colby Townsend Memorial Prize

Best paper by a second-year student    

Alexander Zhang ’23 
“Legislative Statutory Interpretation”

 

William K. S. Wang Prize 

Braden Currey ’23
Kaleb Mount ’23
Sherry Tanious ’21

 

Francis Wayland Prize 

For proficiency in preparing and presenting a case in negotiation, arbitration, and litigation    

Isabel Echarte ’21
Karen Anderson ’21
Emily Yeh ’21
Camila Bustos ’21
Mollie Berkowitz ’21

 

Judge Ralph K. Winter Jr. Prize for Law and Economics 

Awarded annually to the best student paper written in law and economics

Andrew Brod ’22
“Mechanism Design and Behavioral Economics: Incentivizing Optimal Pre-Trial Discovery” 

David Herman ’21
“Debiasing McDonnell Douglas: Background Circumstances Analysis for Traditional Discrimination Plaintiffs”

 

Judge Ralph K. Winter Jr. Prize for Corporate Law

Awarded annually to the best student paper written in corporate law

Dhruv Aggarwal ’21 
“Transactional Lawyers as Transnational Legal Actors"

 

The following are additional prizes from the 2020-2021 academic year not selected by the faculty:

Potter Stewart Prize

Established by alumni and friends of the School. To be awarded annually for the best student argument in advanced Moot Court competition

Marnie Lowe ’22
Akanksha Shah ’22

 

Thurman Arnold/Harlan Fiske Stone Prize

For the best oral argument by a student in Moot Court    

Erik Fredericksen ’22

 

Benjamin N. Cardozo/A. Leon Higginbotham Prize 

For the best brief submitted by a student in the Moot Court Competition

Elise Kostial ’21

 

John Fletcher Caskey Prize

For the best presentation of a case on final trial in the Thomas Swan Barristers’ Union

Nick Barile ’23

 

John Currier Gallagher Prize

For the student showing most proficiency in the presentation of a case on final trial in the Thomas Swan Barristers’ Union

Ryanne Bamieh ’23

 

Yale Law Journal Prize (Michael Egger Prize)

For the best student Note or Comment on current social problems in The Yale Law Journal, on recommendation of the board of directors 

Jordan Brewington ’21    
“Dismantling the Master’s House: Reparations on the American Plantation”

 

Clinical Legal Education Association Outstanding Clinical Team Award     

Matt Kellner ’21
Natalie Cauley ’21
Leila Blatt ’21
Shiv Rawal ’21