The Hogan/Smoger Access to Justice Essay Contest is a $5,000 cash award given to the author of the winning essay.  The 2011 topic is:  The Gulf Oil Spill: Who Are The Victims and How Do They Get Compensated?  Any student currently enrolled in an accredited American law school may submit a legal essay for the competition.  Essays can only be written during the academic year covered by the competition and may not be prepared as part of paid legal work outside of law school.

 INTENT-TO-ENTER SUBMISSION DEADLINE:  JANUARY 31, 2011

 ESSAY CONTEST DEADLINE:  MARCH 31, 2011

 After 40 remarkable years, the Roscoe Hogan Environmental Law Essay Contest has changed to the Hogan/Smoger Access to Justice Essay Contest.  If you are not familiar with the previous contest, it was established in 1970 by the prominent environmental lawyer, the late Roscoe B. Hogan of Birmingham, Alabama, and served to provide law students the opportunity to investigate and offer solutions to the multitude of injustices inflicted on the environment.  With additional support from noted attorney and former Public Justice Foundation President Gerson Smoger, the contest was renamed and has a broader scale: it now focuses on whether and how the courts can be used to obtain justice in all areas, including for injuries to the environment.

 The competition will be judged by a panel of nationally known trial lawyers and law professors.  Information about the rules and criteria are posted on the Public Justice website www.publicjustice.net/What-We-Do/Awards/Law-School-Essay-Contest.aspx.

 The Public Justice Foundation is a non-profit membership organization of over 3,000 attorneys, law students and others supporting the national public interest law firm Public Justice, P.C.  For more information about this organization, visit their web site www.publicjustice.net.