After receiving numerous excellent submissions, the HULR is excited to announce our Fall 2021 Essay Contest Winners. We thank all applicants for their enthusiasm and commitment to participating in our contest, as well as all the teachers who helped spread the word about us and supported students in their work! We have extended our contest to schools worldwide for the first time and were delighted to receive many submissions from schools outside of the United States.

Award winners were offered a book of their choice as well as a diploma. All winning submissions can be viewed below, and instructions can be found here.

1st Place

Aaron Rucinski, Sophomore at Shore School, Sydney, Australia

2nd Place

John Chang, Senior at Eton College, Windsor, United Kingdom

3rd Place

Sienna Berreby, Junior at École Jeannine Manuel, Paris, France

2021 Essay Contest Theme

The theme for the HULR’s Fall 2021 Essay Contest is “Law in a Politicized World.” The question of whether law is an impassive, apolitical device of judgement and justice has persisted throughout American history. In our ever-politicizing status quo, what is the function of law, and what is the unique duty of lawmakers and legal professionals who must contend with the legislative and political desires of their colleagues and constituencies? We encourage writers to focus on specific legal bodies such as the Supreme Court in their argumentation and analysis and are curious whether writers are in favor or against certain proposals for reform within the judicial system.