Writing Prize

2025 California Water Law Writing Prize

Submission Deadline: Wednesday, January 15th 2025

Writing Prize

$1000 Writing Prize
to be presented at the 2025 California Water Law Symposium

Co-sponsored by

The California Water Law Symposium
The California Water Law Journal
(McGeorge School of Law)

Eligibility

Any student enrolled at any ABA- or California-accredited law school in the United States may apply.

Submissions must address some aspect of water law and/or policy and must be the student's original, previously unpublished work. While a California focus is preferred, it is not required.

Deadline
Wednesday, January 15th 2025

Requirements

Length
Maximum of 5,000 words, not including endnotes.

Papers longer than 5,000 words may be trimmed to meet the 5,000 word maximum, with brief summaries (not included in the word count) of the excised material. Students submitting a trimmed paper must provide two versions of the paper: (1) the trimmed version that meets the 5,000 word requirement, and (2) the complete version. Shorter submissions are very welcome. All submissions will be given equal consideration.

Format
Microsoft Word, 8.5 x 11"

Font
12 point Times New Roman

Spacing
Double-spaced

Margins
1 inch

Citation Format
Citations and other notes should be in the form of endnotes.

Right of Publication
The winning piece must first be published by the California Water Law Journal. The author retains the right of republication.

Submit to:
Nell Green Nylen, WLS Board Member
[email protected]

Past Writing Prize Recipients

Congratulations to the worthy recipients of the California Water Law Writing Prize!

2024 WLS:
"Tribal Beneficial Use Designations as a Catalyst for Reallocating Water in California"
by Alina Werth, UC Davis School of Law, JD 2025

2023 WLS:
"Redesigning the Glass Slipper that is Water Code Section 1707"
by Nicole Kuklo, McGeorge School of Law, JD 2024

2022 WLS:
"Legal Solutions for Physical Barriers: How to Challenge Sea Walls in a Century of Sea-Level Rise"
by Van Le, Berkeley Law, JD 2023

2021 WLS:
"Making Every Drop Count: The Keys to Successful SGMA Implementation"
by Alex Van Roekel, UCLA School of Law, JD 2021

2020 WLS:
"The Problem with Proportionality: The Effect of Proposition 218 on Retail Water Rates for Community Gardens in Los Angeles"
by Laura Yraceburu, UCLA School of Law, JD 2020

2019 WLS:
"California's Human Right to Water: Progress Made, Lessons Learned, and Next Steps (a Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund)"
by Sarah M. Rowan, Stanford Law School, JD/MS 2019

2018 WLS:
"Sedimentation in California Reservoirs: A Long-Term Problem of Immediate Concern" 
by Ryan Mahoney, McGeorge School of Law, JD 2017, LLM 2018

2017 WLS:
"The Exclusivity of Inclusion: Involving Environmental Justice Communities in California's Central Valley in the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act"
by Shampa Panda, Berkeley Law, JD 2016