Stanford Law School Student Paper Prizes
Stanford Law School sponsors yearly writing competitions in several different subject areas. Winners in each category receive a cash prize. Submissions for the 2025-26 writing competitions are now being accepted. Please submit your entry by 11:59 pm on June 7, 2026. Stanford Law students are encouraged to submit papers they have written for the following awards:
Carl Mason Franklin Prize in International Law
Rewards distinguished written work in the area of international law.
Olaus and Adolph Murie Award for Environmental Law
Rewards distinguished written work in the area of environmental law.
Daniel S. Goodman Prize
Awarded to a 3L student who has demonstrated exceptional legal ability through written work published in the Stanford Law Review.
Richard S. Goldsmith Award
This prize is awarded to a student research paper relevant to dispute resolution and to support research concerning dispute resolution that results in a paper or article.
Stanford Law School Legal History Paper Prize
The Stanford Center for Law and History invites paper submissions from Stanford Law students (including all JD and Advanced Degree students) on any topic in legal history. This prize has a separate application process. More information is available here.
Prize winners for each award are listed below.
The Carl Mason Franklin Prize in International Law
The Carl Mason Franklin Prize in International Law is awarded in honor of Dr. Carl Mason Franklin, MA '35, who was the University of Southern California’s vice president for financial affairs, chief legal officer, and a law professor, teaching subjects ranging from international law to contracts and restitution. In addition to his master’s degree in economics from Stanford, Dr. Franklin received an AB from the University of Washington (1931), an MA in university administration from Columbia University (1939), an MBA from Harvard Business School (1940), a JD from the University of Virginia (1948), and a JSD in international law from Yale Law School (1956). He served as a Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy during World War II, and also taught at the US Naval War College and the University of Oklahoma.
Michelle Shim, JD ’25
“Killer Code: Navigating the Legal and Ethical Frontier of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems in Modern Conflict”
Garrett Walker, JD ’25
“A Fretful Realm in Awe: Governance Frameworks for an AI-Assisted World”
Yufei Peng, JSM ’24 Law, JSD ’27
“The Tale of Two Cities: Corporate Social Responsibility with Chinese Characteristics and Within International Law”
Samuel Wallace-Perdomo, JD ’23
“Defining Ecocide: Liability Standards in International Law”
Thiago Nascimento dos Reis, JSM ’16, JSD ’23
“Pretrial Decision-Making in the First 100 Days After the Arrest: A Case Study of Brazil’s (Non)Compliance with Inter-American Human Rights Law”
Anna Patej, JD ’21
“A Survey of International Practices Supporting Enhanced Senate Scrutiny of Ex Ante Congressional-Executive Agreements”
Justin Bryant, JD ’21
“Africa in the Information Age: Challenges, Opportunities, and Strategies for Data Protection and Digital Rights”
Prize not awarded
YooMin Won, JSM ’16, JSD ’19
“Why Human Rights Treaty Bodies Make a Difference: An Empirical Study of the Human Rights Committee’s Monitoring System and Domestic Implementation”
Luis Bergolla, JSM ’18
“Taxonomy of Investor-State Arbitration Cases Involving Party-Appointed Quantum Experts: An Empirical Study of ICSID Awards”
Thiago Nascimento dos Reis, JSM ’16, JSD ’23
“Detainees on Stage: Achievements and Challenges of the Newly-Implemented Bail Hearings in Sao Paulo State Courts”
Rina Kuusipalo, LLM ’17
“Exiled by Emissions: Climate change related migration in international law: Gaps in global governance and the role of the UN Climate Convention”
Gilat Juli Bachar, JSM ’13, JSD ’17
“When Lawyers Go to War: A Student of Lawyers Litigating Palestinians’ Civil Claims Against Israel”
Shiri Krebs, JSM ’11, JSD ’16
“Rethinking Targeted Killing Policy: Protecting Civilians from both Terror and Counter-Terror Attack”
Hajin Kim, JD ’14
“Do trade liberalization and international trade law constrain domestic environmental regulation?”
Vivek Viswanathan JD/MBA ’13
“Crafting the Law of the Sea: Elliot Richardson and the Search for Order on the Oceans”
Gilat Juli Bachar, JSM ’13, JSD ’17
“The Occupation of the Law: Power dynamics between the Israeli judiciary and legislature over controlling Palestinians’ tort claims against IDF”
Adam Kretz, JD ’13
“Gay Rights are Human Rights: LGBT Rights in International Law, Antigay Legislation, and a Critical Analysis of British and American Foreign Aid Policies Designed to Protect Sexual Minorities”
Saurav Ghosh, JD ’11
“Boumediene Applied Badly: The extraterritorial constitution after Al-Maqualeh v. Gates”
Shiri Krebs, JSM ’11, JSD ’17
“Designing International Fact-Finding: Some lessons from the Goldstone Mission on the Gaza Conflict
The Olaus and Adolph Murie Award for Environmental Law
This award is named in honor of Olaus and Adolph Murie, two brothers who were leading 20th century American conservationists. Adolph, the first scientist to study wolves in their natural habitat, was a naturalist, author, and wildlife biologist who pioneered field research on wolves, bears, and other mammals and birds throughout Alaska. Olaus, called the "father of modern elk management," was a naturalist, author, and wildlife biologist who did groundbreaking field research on a variety of large northern mammals.
First Place: Frishta Qaderi, JD ’26
“Toxic Accountability: Tort Law, Transboundary Pollution, and the Failure of Environmental Governance in the Tijuana River Crisis”
Second Place: Victor Wu, JD ’25
“Deregulation by Disaster: Emergency Exemptions of Environmental Law”
First Place: Victor Wu, JD ’25
“Watering Down Justice: Inadequate Criminal Liability in State Clean Water Act Programs”
Second Place: Heloísa Zerbinatti Sato, LLM ’24
“Market design and public policy for Battery Energy Storage System penetration: Case study Brazil”
First Place: Ben Clark, JD ’23
“Long Energy Transitions in Power Plant Communities: Coal Ash, Community Resistance, and County Infrastructure”
Second Place: Samuel Joyce, JD ’23
“Climate Injunctions: The Power of Courts to Award Structural Relief Against Federal Agencies”
First Place: Leehi Yona, JD ’23, PHD ’24
Prize not awarded
Prize not awarded
Prize not awarded
First Place: Taylor Williams, JD ’20
Second Place: Elliott Higgins, JD ’18
First Place: Rina Kuusipalo, LLM ’17
“Exiled by Emissions: Climate change related migration in international law: Gaps in global governance and the role of the UN Climate Convention”
Second Place (Tie): Rylee Kercher Olm, JD ’17, MS ’17
“Power Marketing Administrations: An Expanded Role in Advancing U.S. Transmission”
Second Place (Tie): Maia Wikaira, LLM ’17
“Provision for a ‘Maori development’ allocation in the reform of New Zealand’s water allocation framework”
Co-Winner: Elizabeth Jones, JD/MS ’16
“Drinking Water in California Schools: An Assessment of the Problems, Obstacles, and Possible Solutions”
Co-Winner: Jason Perkins, JD/MS ’17
“The Case for Co-Benefits: Regulatory Impact Analyses, Michigan v. EPA, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.”
First Place: Cynthia Barmore, JD ’15
“Auer Deference After Talk America”
First Place: Alessandra Lehmen, LLM ’14
“The Case for the Creation of an International Environmental Court: Non-State Actors and International Environmental Dispute Resolution”
Second Place (Tie): Hajin Kim, JD ’14, PhD ’17
“An Argument for WTO Oversight over Ecolabels”
Second Place (Tie): Raunaq Kohli, LLM ’14
“The Future of the U.S. Electric Utility Industry: A Matter of Perception”
First Place: Lindy Rouillard-Labbé, LLM ’13
“Justice in the Aftermath of Disaster”
Second Place (Tie): Joel Minor, JD/MS ’14
“Local Government Regulation of Fracking”
Second Place (Tie): Danny Cullenward, JD/MS ’13, and David Weiskopf, JD/MS ’13
“Resource Shuffling and the California Carbon Market”
First Place: Khalial Withen, JD ’12
“How Should We Manage Methane Emissions from Shale Gas?”
First Place: Brian A. Shillinglaw, MS ’08, JD ’08
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The Daniel S. Goodman Prize
The Daniel S. Goodman Prize was established in honor of Daniel S. Goodman, '83, JD '86 who served for 20 years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles until his death in 2010. A plaque dedicated to him in the U.S. Attorney's office describes him as "a true friend and colleague with a brilliant mind and keen wit, wise counsel, great judgment and common sense."
Peter O’Neill, JD ’24
“Younger and the Youth: The Younger Abstention Doctrine in the Child-Welfare Context”
Mariah Elisa Mastrodimos, JD ’23
“Self-Imposed Agency Deadlines”
Bailey R. Ulbricht, JD ’22, Christopher Moxley, JD ’22, Mackenzie D. Austin, JD ’22, and Molly D. Norburg, JD ’22
“Digital Eyewitnesses: Using New Technologies to Authenticate Evidence in Human Rights Litigation”
The Stanford Law School Legal History Paper Prize
A list of winners of the Stanford Law School Legal History Paper Prize can be found here.
Richard S. Goldsmith Award
This prize is awarded to a student research paper relevant to dispute resolution and to support research concerning dispute resolution that results in a paper or article. For these purposes, the student research may concern disputes of any sort, between individuals, organizations, or nations. Relevant procedures of resolution include not simply judicial or adjudicatory procedures, but also such alternatives as mediation, arbitration, and negotiation.
Carlos Tamayo, LLM ’25
“Arbitrating Access: The Role of Investment Arbitration in Patent Compulsory Licensing Governance—Columbia as a Case of Study”
Shiri Krebs, JSM ’11, JSD ’17
Desha Girod, PHD ’08, Political Science; Oliver Kaplan, PHD ’10, Political Science
Todd S. Sechser, PHD ’07, Political Science; Eugene D. Mazo, JD ’04
“Russia’s ‘Russian Roulette’: An Analysis of the Negotiations Between Russia’s President and Parliament over the Appointment of a Prime Minister, 1993-2002”
Hunter Gehlbach, Graduate School of Education
“Perspective Taking and Conflict Resolution: A multidimensional approach for educators”
Ron E. Hassner, Department of Political Science
“Understanding and Resolving Disputes over Sacred Space”
Donna Shestowsky
“Procedural Preferences — A Closer, Modern Look at an Old Idea”
J. Alexander Thier
“Establishing Arms-Industry Liability for Human Rights Abuses”
Blake Mobley
“Constructive Ambiguity in Peace Processes: Northern Ireland & Zimbabwe”
Anne Cheung
“Strategic Ambiguity in the Fight for Press Freedom in Hong
Kong? A Study of Newspaper Coverage of the China-Taiwan Cross
Strait Tension of Summer 1999”