About the Competition

The Inaugural Privacy Law Section Writing Competition invites 2L, 3L, and LLM students to explore cutting-edge issues shaping the future of privacy law and to showcase practical, forward-thinking analysis that can inform real-world practice.

Why Participate

• Gain recognition from leading privacy practitioners.
• Strengthen your writing and policy analysis skills.
• Build your professional reputation in one of the fastest-growing areas of law.

Awards & Recognition

First Place

• Complimentary registration to the 2026 Annual Privacy Summit, offering an opportunity to network with leading privacy professionals. *More details to follow.
• Have your essay published in the Annual Privacy Law Journal, showcasing your work to a wide legal and policy audience.
• Be recognized during the conference awards ceremony, highlighting your achievement to peers and experts in the field.

Runner-Up(s)

• Enjoy featured publication on the Privacy Section website and newsletter, giving your work broad exposure.
• Recognition across event and social media platforms, celebrating your accomplishment with the wider privacy law community.

2026 Essay Prompt: Human Oversight and Machine Privacy: Who’s accountable when AI makes mistakes

Submission Guidelines

Eligibility

• The competition is open to 2L, 3L, and LLM students enrolled at an accredited California law school.
• Submissions must be original and unpublished.
• Only one entry per student will be accepted.
• Co-authored papers are not eligible.
• Submission Deadline: January 9, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (PST).

Submission Requirements

All entries must be uploaded directly through the competition website using the online submission form below.

• Length: Essays must be at maximum five pages, not including citations.
• Tone: Submissions should be clear, analytical, and persuasive, appropriate for a professional audience of practitioners and policymakers.
• Format: Essays must be submitted as PDF files, using 12-point Times New Roman, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins.
• Citations: All citations should follow Bluebook format, with endnotes preferred

*Do not include your name or any other identifying information in the title or body of the PDF.

Judging Criteria

Submissions will be evaluated through a blind review process by a panel of privacy law practitioners, academics, and industry leaders.

Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

• Originality and clarity of thought will be assessed based on the creativity, insight, and clarity with which ideas are presented.
• Legal accuracy and analytical depth will be evaluated on the strength of the legal reasoning and understanding of privacy law.
• Practical insight and policy relevance will be judged by how effectively the entry connects legal analysis to real-world or policy implications.
• Writing quality and structure will be considered in terms of organization, coherence, and overall polish.
• Adherence to submission guidelines will be determined by compliance with the word limit and proper disclosure of any use of AI tools.

AI Use Policy

Students may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools or platforms for research purposes only. All portions of the submitted essay must be the original work of the student and may not, in whole or in part, be generated by an AI tool or platform. The use of standard spellcheckers and grammar checkers is permitted and not considered AI usage. Please note that generative AI is not considered a primary source of legal research, as it can contain inaccuracies.

Students must complete the AI Disclosure section of the submission form, if AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Lexis+ AI, etc.) were used in developing the analysis.

Students must:

• Disclose that AI tools were used;
• Describe the purpose and manner of their use; and
• Explain how the output was reviewed and verified for accuracy and originality.

Copies of any prompts or AI-generated output may be requested by the judging panel.

Publication Rights

A student retains ownership of the essay they submit to the Privacy Law Section. The Section has the first right of publication of a selected essay. If the Section chooses to not publish an essay, the student may freely seek to publish the work elsewhere.

After the Privacy Law Section publishes a student’s essay, the student may re-publish the essay on another platform. The student is required to include an attribution to the Privacy Law Section of the California Lawyers Association as the original source of the re-published essay and include the original date of publication.