2014 Louis Jackson National Student Writing Competition Winners Named

The law firm of Jackson Lewis PC and the Institute for Law and the Workplace at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law have announced the winners of the 2013–14 Louis Jackson National Student Writing Competition in Employment and Labor Law. Awards were presented to the top three entries.

Christopher J. Bryant, a third-year student at Duke University School of Law, won top honors for his paper "An Untrustworthy Presumption: Replacing the Moench Presumption With a Sound Standard for Stock-Drop Litigation." Bryant will receive a $3,000 cash prize, and his paper has been published on the Institute for Law and the Workplace website.

Third-year student M. Caroline Hyatt of the University of Cincinnati Law School won for her paper "The Legal Enforcement of ‘Proper' Gender Performance Through Title VII." In addition, second-year student Amy Berenbaum of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law won third place for her paper "Healthcare Workers' Religious Objections to Mandatory Influenza Vaccination: Examining Title VII's Religious Accommodation Requirement." Hyatt and Berenbaum will each receive a $1,000 cash prize. Their papers likewise have been published on the institute's website.

Established in 1998, the writing competition is named for the late Louis Jackson, founding partner of Jackson Lewis PC. The firm, which has more than 770 attorneys practicing in 55 locations throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, has represented management in the practice of employment, labor and benefits law for more than 50 years.

"From 1958 until his death in 1997, Louis Jackson provided inspiration, guidance, friendship and good humor to his colleagues," said Felice Ekelman of the law firm. "It is fitting that we honor his memory by carrying on his commitment to the future of the profession through this national student competition."

"We are pleased to join with Jackson Lewis in encouraging scholarship by law students interested in careers in labor and employment law," said Martin H. Malin, IIT Chicago-Kent professor and director of the Institute for Law and the Workplace.

IIT Chicago-Kent's Institute for Law and the Workplace administers the annual competition. Entries are blind-judged by an independent panel of law professors from across the United States. The determination of the judges' panel is final, and neither Jackson Lewis PC nor the Institute for Law and the Workplace is involved in judging the competition. 

Founded in 1888, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school of Illinois Institute of Technology, a private, Ph.D.-granting institution with programs in engineering, psychology, architecture, business, design and law. Established in 1996 at IIT Chicago-Kent, the Institute for Law and the Workplace is a national center for research, training, dialogue and reflection on the law that governs the workplace. The institute also serves as an intellectual home for the labor and employment law community, both in the Chicago area and nationwide. It pools the resources of leading academic scholars and the practicing professional community to train students and professionals, monitor policies and trends, and reflect upon issues confronting the labor and employment law community in a neutral setting.

Editors please note: The name of the law firm is Jackson Lewis. The competition is named in honor of the late Louis Jackson.