Arizona State Announces Morrison Prize

Arizona State University’s Program on Law and Sustainability is pleased to announce its Call for Entries for the 2016 Morrison Prize contest.

The Morrison Prize is a new $10,000 cash prize that will be awarded annually to the author(s) of the most impactful sustainability-related legal academic paper published in North America during the previous year. The 2016 prize winner(s) will present the winning paper in a plenary session at the second annual Sustainability Conference of American Legal Educators on May 13, 2016, at ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

Eligibility Requirements:

The 2016 Morrison Prize contest is open to full-time law professors who have published environmental sustainability-related papers in printed U.S. or Canadian legal academic journals during the contest period. All papers appearing in a qualifying journal’s final 2014 issue or in an issue printed and circulated prior to November 15, 2015, fall within the 2016 contest period. Works-in-progress and papers that are not published in print form before the deadline are not eligible. Papers focused on topics in environmental law, water law, energy law, natural resources law, land use law, disaster law, climate change law, agricultural law meet the subject matter requirements for eligibility.

Judging Process and Criteria:

The Morrison Prize seeks to recognize the paper published within the eligibility period that is likely to have the most significant positive long-term impact on the advancement of the environmental sustainability movement. All eligible papers entered into the prize contest will undergo independent review and scoring by a diverse group of full-time law professors who teach in environmental sustainability-related areas at four different accredited North American law schools. The identities of these professors will be revealed at the Sustainability Conference of American Legal Educators in May 2016.

The contest scoring system focuses primarily on a paper’s (i) quality and originality of analysis (20%) and (ii) potential for real-world impact on policy developments directly related to environmental sustainability goals (80%). The author’s seniority, home institution, reputational stature and existing body of research are not relevant to the scoring process.
The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law will announce the 2016 Morrison Prize winner and winning paper in February of 2016. The winner must present the winning paper at the May 2016 Sustainability Conference of American Legal Educators to claim the cash prize. A display in the College of Law’s new Center for Law and Society will honor all Morrison laureates and the generosity of Richard N. Morrison as the founder and funder of the prize.

How to Enter:

To enter the 2016 Morrison Prize contest, mail a cover letter and five (5) offprints of your qualifying paper to: Lauren Burkhart, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, P.O. Box 877906, Tempe, AZ 85287-7906. The deadline for submitting papers is November 30, 2015. For any questions regarding the contest, please contact Lauren Burkhart at (480) 965-2465 or [email protected].