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The purpose of the competition is to create greater interest in the field of dispute resolution among law students at U.S. law schools.

One prize of $1,000 dollars will be awarded for the best entry as judged by the Boskey Essay Committee, comprised of representatives from the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution.

The essay may address any aspect of dispute resolution practice, theory, or research that the contestant chooses.

Read the James Boskey Dispute Resolution Essay Competition Rules for entry specifications. Failure to follow the essay and entry requirements will result in automatic disqualification.

Entry Deadline

Submission information will be available in Spring 2025. A winner will be announced in Fall 2025.

2024

Winner:
Brooklyn D. Johnson
University of Oregon School of Law
Interest-Based Negotiation (Taylor’s Version)

2023

Winner:
Daniel Partiyeli
University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
Rabbinical Arbitration: Controversy Over a Growing Trend

2022

Winner:
Liza Lawson Risoldi
Arizona State University
Power in Mediation

2021

Winner:
Sean Lauron McLaughlin
Yeshiva University, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Preserving the Promise of Spring - Lessons from Tunisia and Egypt on the Early Application of the National Dialogue Model

2020

Winner:
Olivia Stitz
Arizona State University
Casting a Wide Net Over Consent

2019

Winner:
Jonathan McClurg
Brigham Young University - J. Reuben Clark Law School
Wampum, Buffalo, and Taliban: How embracing lessons on violence and negotiation from the American Indian Wars will help end the War in Afghanistan

Honorable Mention:
Ariel Cox
Benjamin Cardozo School of Law
Serve & Protect, Honor & Respect: Restoring the Victims and Rebuilding Police and Community Ties After Racially Charged Civilian-Police Incidents

2017

Winner:
John Kelly
Loyola School of Law
The Cannabis Industry: Harvesting the Benefits of a Counter-Narrative Model to Arbitration

Honorable Mention:
Brian Holb
The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
Making the Case for Mediation in Public Sector Labor Relations

2016 

Winner:
Emily Chumas
Quinnipiac University Law School
How Alternative Dispute Resolution Encourages Subsequent Remedial Measures After Medical Malpractice, Medical Negligence, or Adverse or Unanticipated Events

Honorable Mention:
Olga Y. Bykov
University of California, Davis School of Law
Escaping Arbitrability: Challenging Delegation Clauses Based on Cost, Choice of Law and Arbitrator's Self-Interest

2015

Winner:
Joseph Kammerman
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
One Hundred Years of Local Conflict and One National Tragedy: Trayvon Martin & Dispute Resolution in Sanford, Florida

Honorable Mention:
Brian Kelso
The Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
Drawing Outside the Lines: Utilizing International Approaches to Resolve Due Process Concerns in Med-ARB

2014

Winner:
Joshua M. Whitaker
Harvard Law School
Rethinking The Relationship Between Mediator Pressure and Party Self-Determination

Honorable Mention:
Margaret E. Randels
University of Georgia School of Law
But We can Consent to that, Right?: The Constitutionality of Arbitration Under Article III Doctrine

2013

Winner:
Sarah Gonski
Harvard Law School
Easing Gridlock in the United States Congress through Mediation: Letting Our Cities and States Teach Us Lessons on Getting Along

2012

Winner:
Franklin Branch
University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
Mediation over Prosecution: The Right Approach to Increasing School Attendance in Baltimore City

2011

Winner:
Jon Philipson
University of Florida, Levin College of Law
The Kids Are Not All Right: Mandating Peer Mediation as an Anti-Bullying Measure in Schools

Honorable Mentions:

Emily Bennett
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
The Innovation of Collaboration: When "Win-Win" Wins

Samuel Permutt
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
The “Honor” Killing Problem in Arab-Israel Communities: A Case for Sulha

2010

Winner:
Flora Go
Harvard Law School
Mediation as Practiced in Criminal Law: The Present, the Pitfalls, and the Potential

2009

Winner:
Andrea Yang
Georgetown University Law Center
Ethics Codes for Mediator Conduct: Necessary But Still Insufficient

Honorable Mention:
Ari Fontecchio
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Naming, Framing and Taming: Why Timing and Emotional Intelligence Really Matter in Crisis Intervention

2008

Winner:
Adam Gregg
Drake University School of Law
Contractual Expansion of the Scope of Judicial Review After Hall Street: Time to Amend the FAA

Honorable Mention:
Michael Kleinman
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Diaspora Discussions: Moving From Jewish Enclave Deliberation to Interfaith Dialogue--A Case Study in Conflict Resolution at Rutgers University

2007

Winner:
Kimberly Grant
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Ten Dollars for Twenty Years: Providing Justice for Exonerees Using Victim-Offender Mediation


Honorable Mention:
Christopher McKinney
University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law
Too Many Motions for Vacatur of Commercial Arbitration: The Eleventh Circuit Sanctions Unwary Litigants

2006

Winner:

Carol Pauli
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
News Media as Mediators

Honorable Mention:

Gillian Goldberg
UCLA School of Law
A Second Look at Community Mediation as a Means to Increase Access to Justice for the Poor

Megan Dunham
University of California Hastings College of Law
Evaluative Mediation: The Usefulness of Evaluative Techniques Within a Mediation

Michelle Robinson
Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
Mediator Certification: Realizing Its Potentials and Coping With Its Limitations

2005

Winner:

Nivine Zakhari
University of Houston Law Center
ADR Class Action Waivers

Honorable Mention:

Tracey Pastan
Benjamin Cardozo School of Law
Permission Plus: Reaching the Pareto Optimal Guideline for Contingency Fees in Mediation

Jeff Goldfien
University of Missouri School of Law
Negotiated Rulemaking and the Public Interest

2004

Winner:

Kristen Blankley
The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
Confidentiality or Control: Which Will Prevail as Confidentiality and "Good Faith" Negotiation Statutes Collide in Court-Annexed Mediations?

Lowell Pearson
University of Missouri-Columbia
The Case for Non-Party Discovery Under the Federal Arbitration Act

Honorable Mention:

Michael Pappas
The University of Texas at Austin
Flexible Framework for the Prevention and Resolution of Construction Disputes

Philip Kimball
Benjamin Cardozo School of Law
Syndi-Court Justice: Judge Judy and Exploitation of Arbitration

2003

Winner:

Heidi Marie Tauscher
Emory University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Division of Religion
Spiritual Practices for Mediation Challenges: Pragmatic Mediation Approaches from Five Major World Religious Traditions

Henry Abromson
Marquette University Law School
The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy: Will Alternative Dispute Resolution Succeed Where the Courts Have Not: A Proposed Solution to an Imperfect System.

Honorable Mention:

Cynthia Miller Jones 
University of California-Hastings College of Law
NAFTA Chapter 11 Arbitration and The Minimum Standard of Treatment Under NAFTA Chapter 11 Arbitration Article 1105: What Does International Law Guarantee to Investors?

Clarissa Keil
Monash University
The International Criminal Court and International Law

2002

Winner:

Stephen Anway
Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
Mediation in Copyright Disputes: From Compromise Created Incentives to Incentive Created Compromises. 

Jessie Sutherland
The University of Victoria
Colonialism, Crime, and Dispute Resolution: A Critical Analysis of Canada's Aboriginal Justice Strategy

Honorable Mention:

Alyssa Shenk
The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
Mandatory Employment Arbitration Agreements: The Key to Avoiding a Charge of Unconscionability

Edward R. Ergenzinger, Jr.
Wake Forest University School of Law
Conversations With Phineas Gage: A Neuroscientific Approach to Negotiation Strategies

Gregory Todd Jones
Georgia State University
Evaluative ADR, Uncertainty & Information 

2001

Winner:
Rene Rimelspach
The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
Mediating Family Disputes in a World with Domestic Violence: How to Devise a Safe and Effective Court-Connected Mediation Program

David Perlman
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Mediation and Ethics Consultation: Towards a New Understanding of Impartiality

Honorable Mention:

Alexandra Zylestra
University of Missouri at Columbia School of Law
Good Faith Requirements in Mandatory Family Mediations: Process Protection or Potential Disaster?

Christopher Todd Hagins
University of South Carolina School of Law

Marcus J. Rael, Jr.
University of New Mexico School of Law
The Storm on the Horizon: Mediator Certification in New Mexico

2000

Winner: 
J. Keith Essmeyer, Jr.
University of Missouri College of Law
Are We Playing the Same Game: The Black Self-Image and Negotiations

Honorable Mention: 

Lydia Lazar, Chicago-Kent College of Law
When Mandatory is not Mandatory: The Case of Eco Swiss China Time Ltd. V Benetton International NV Case C-126/97

Brenda Tofte
Hamline University School of Law
When Public Policy, Public Perception and Public Employment Collide: The Public Policy Exception to the Finality of Arbitration Awards. Why the Narrow Interpretation Best Furthers the Goals of Labor Arbitration City of Minneapolis v. Policy Officers' Federation of Minneapolis.