The Virginia Law Review (VLR) Online is excited to announce the topic for our fifth annual essay competition. This competition is open to all current law students (including LLMs) and recent graduates (from the Classes of 2021–2024) from any ABA-accredited American law school. We will choose up to three winning submissions, each of which will be awarded a $300 cash prize (subject to any applicable tax reporting and withholding requirements). Current UVA Law students whose pieces are accepted for publication will be extended invitations to join the Virginia Law Review. All pieces must be submitted by October 25, 2024, at 11:59 p.m.
Prompt: In Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment, LLC, Justice Kagan underscored that “[a]ll our interpretive decisions, in whatever way reasoned, effectively become part of the statutory scheme.” 576 U.S. 446, 457 (2015). As the jurisprudence of statutory interpretation undergoes monumental changes, so too does the proper understanding of statutes themselves. Further, the rapidly evolving state of statutory legal frameworks not only presents novel challenges to the legal community, but also leads to pronounced impacts on the public. We are curious about innovations in statutory interpretation and would like to hear your novel thoughts on their upsides and drawbacks.
This topic is intentionally broad. A strong submission may trace overarching developments in the landscape of statutory interpretation, the effects on the interpretation of individual statutes, and/or the tangible consequences of shifting interpretive regimes.
Rules: Each individual may submit no more than one piece, and submissions must be previously unpublished. Jointly-written pieces up to three authors will be accepted. Pieces do not need to be exclusively submitted to VLR Online during the competition window; however, if you choose to publish the piece elsewhere, you must inform VLR Online by emailing Online Development Editor Kevin Hoang (bga4jv@virginia.edu) within 24 hours of acceptance. Students may not receive advising from VLR Online or Notes advisors on their pieces. Pieces may reflect conversations and light comments from professors and other students. They should not, however, be heavily edited by anyone other than the author(s).
Length: Pieces published as part of the VLR Online Student Essay Competition are footnoted and must be no more than 7,000 words in length (including footnotes).
Deadline: All pieces must be submitted by October 25, 2025, at 11:59 p.m.
Submission: Pieces must be emailed to valawrev.online@gmail.com in .docx format. The document must abide by these guidelines:
- The document should include a cover page containing:
- The title of the piece;
- An abstract of 250 words or less; and
- A word count for the piece, both with and without footnotes.
- The file must be the [Piece Title], and the subject line of the email must be “VLR Online Essay Competition Submission”.
- Any identifying information must be removed from the body of the document as well as the personal information embedded in the digital file by following the instructions below. This includes removing identifying information typically included at the beginning of a Note in a * footnote. Correctly following all instructions will maintain each author’s anonymity.
- Word 2010, 2013, 2016:
- Go to File, select “Info”
- Click on “Check for Issues”
- Click on “Inspect Document”
- In the dialog box, click “Remove All” and close box
- Save document.
- Word for Mac 2016, 2018:
- Go to Tools
- Select “Protect Document” or select “Protect Document” button on Review tab
- Save document.
- Word 2010, 2013, 2016:
- In addition to the document above, all submissions must include the following information in a separate document, which is to be attached to the same email in .pdf format. The PDF should be titled “[Piece Title].Confidential”. This separate document should be a single page and include:
- Your name, phone number, e-mail address, and mailing address;
- The title of your submission; and
- A signed statement (an electronic signature will be accepted) that your piece was not heavily edited by anyone other than the author(s).
Any questions should be directed to the Online Development Editor, Kevin Hoang (bga4jv@virginia.edu).