ILBF law undergraduate essay competition 2025
The ILBF’s law undergraduate essay competition 2025 is launched!
The competition is sponsored by international firm Brown Rudnick and is open to all undergraduates studying law at UK universities.
The Rt. Hon. the Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, launched the competition on 6th January 2025 in this film.
The ILBF essay competition is an opportunity for all undergraduates currently studying law at university in the UK to think about a key issue.
In this year, the ILBF’s 20th anniversary year, we ask law students to consider the challenges to the rule of law in the coming 20 years, with the chance to win an exciting prize, as well as an opportunity to research and express their insights and ideas on this timely and important topic.
Essay topic
What will be the challenges to the rule of law in the next 20 years?
Max word limit: 1000
The competition rules and details of how to enter are on this page.
Follow the ILBF on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for regular updates as well as short films to inspire you to take part.
Key dates
- 6 January 2025: Launch of competition by The Rt. Hon. Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales
- 25 February 2025 5pm-6.30pm: Online panel discussion with experts from across the legal profession discussing what the rule of law could look like in 20 years, hosted by LexisNexis. If you missed the event or want to refresh your memory of the discussion, watch the film here.
- 22 April 2025, 4pm: Deadline for submissions
- May 2025: The winner will be announced at the ILBF’s 20th anniversary event at Clifford Chance in London
Prizes
Finalists
The finalists will be invited to the ILBF’s 20th anniversary event on14th May in London, hosted by Clifford Chance, when the winner will be announced.
Winner
- A week’s internship in summer 2025 at Brown Rudnick
- Publication of the winning essay in the Commonwealth Lawyers Association newsletter
- Publication of the winning essay on the ILBF’s website
Runner up
- The runner up essay will be published on the ILBF website.
All entries
The ideas and insights from all entrants will be compiled into a grand summary to be shared on the ILBF website and with legal media, to help stimulate debate around this key topic.
Competition judges
- The Rt. Hon. Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Patron of and driving force behind the ILBF
- The Rt. Hon. Lord Carnwath of Notting Hill CVO, former Supreme Court Justice, and founding member of the EU Forum of Judges for the Environment, and of the Global Institute of Judges on the Environment
- Yasmin Batliwala MBE, Chief Executive of Advocates for International Development: A4ID
Competition Judging Team
- Jane Colston, Brown Rudnick and ILBF Trustee
- Sophia Dirir, Head of Legal, Cancer Research UK, ILBF trustee
- Dr Tawanda Hondora, High Court of Belize, ILBF trustee
- Maryann McMahon, JUSTICE Council Member, ILBF Trustee
- Fernanda Pirie, Professor of the Anthropology of Law, University of Oxford
- Katrina Crossley, Chief Executive of the ILBF
- Ellen Lake, Rio Tinto , ILBF Operating Committee
- Chiara Iorizzo, Skadden
- Goviintha Krishnan, President, The United Kingdom & Eire Malaysian Law Students’ Union
For more information, see our blog post about the essay competition launch.
The ILBF supports the rule of law and access to justice for all through sharing legal knowledge. Since the charity’s foundation 20 years ago, the ILBF has distributed over 95,000 legal textbooks to more than 285 organisations in 62 countries. Our books support law students, teachers, lawyers and judges across the world.
