Fall 2022 Winners
After receiving numerous excellent submissions, the HULR is excited to announce our Fall 2022 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 encouraged their students to apply.
Award winners are offered a book of their choice as well as a diploma. All winning submissions can be viewed below.
1st Place
Andrew Jin, Deterring Gray-Zone Cyberwar: A Legal Critique
2nd Place
Ashwin Telang, Lawyerless Justice: Stagnating the Development of Law and Dismantling Civil Rights
3rd Place
Kriya Shah, How India Fails its Future
2022 Essay Contest Theme
The theme for the HULR’s Fall 2022 Essay Contest is “Keeping up with the Times.” In recent decades, governments and the law have been criticized for failing to adapt to a world that is changing much faster than them. How can a relatively static institution like the law keep up with an ever-changing world? You are encouraged to discuss any areas of the law in which you believe legal institutions have not been dynamic enough to provide an adequate structure for the problems they face. To substantiate your claims, you may discuss the legal system(s) of any nation, state, or locality with which you are familiar.
Lawyerless Justice: Stagnating the Development of Law and Dismantling Civil Rights
Lawyers are the most dynamic and critical component of America’s justice system. As the enforcer of constitutional rights, a lawyer assumes far-reaching levels of importance in daily life. Law has no meaning without lawyers. When Congress is slow to act, attorneys respond to national changes swiftly by protecting their clients. They ensure that growing threats to democracy, economic liberty, and basic rights are immediately put to rest. However, today’s lawyers are almost entirely exclusive to the elite. The cost of lawyers has ballooned by over 41% since 1986. As a result, a staggering 92% of low-income Americans do not have access to civil lawyers. This drives a dangerous phenomenon—lawyerless justice—where poor, uneducated Americans are ambushed by wealthy, well-versed lawyers.