The American College of Environmental Lawyers (“ACOEL”) announces its annual Stephen E. Herrmann Environmental Writing Award (“Herrmann Award”) for the 2022-23 academic year. Stephen E. Herrmann is a distinguished, nationally recognized environmental lawyer. For over forty years, Mr. Herrmann has been a leader in the area of environmental law as a practitioner, teacher, and writer. Through this award, the ACOEL honors his leadership in environmental law and his role in the formation of the ACOEL.
The ACOEL is a professional association of distinguished lawyers who practice in the field of environmental law. ACOEL Fellows come from the private bar, not for profit organizations, government, and law schools. Membership is by invitation. Fellows are recognized by their peers as preeminent in their field. The ACOEL is dedicated to maintaining and improving the ethical practice of environmental law, the administration of justice, and the development of environmental law at the state and federal levels.
Eligibility: Student-edited law journals or equivalent publications published by accredited U.S. law schools are eligible annually to nominate one student-authored article, note, case comment, or essay either (1) published by the submitting law journal during the current academic year, or (2) scheduled for publication in the next academic year. The article should be selected for its ability to promote understanding of legal issues in the broad field of environmental law, including natural resources law and/or environmental or resources aspects of energy law. The article must have only one author, and the author may be a current J.D., LL.M., or S.J.D. degree student at the time of the nomination or a 2023 J.D., LL.M., or S.J.D. degree candidate/graduate at the time of the nomination. Work by students graduating prior to January 2023 may not be nominated.
Award: The Herrmann Award is a stipend of $3,500 to the author of the winning submission, whether an article, note, case comment, or essay, and $500 to the submitting law journal. The winner of the Herrmann Award will be invited to discuss his or her submission to the Fellows at the ACOEL Annual Meeting, which in 2023 will be held October 5 – 7 in Park City, Utah (ACOEL will reimburse reasonable travel expenses).
Judging Criteria: The prize will be awarded to the author of a student article, note, case comment, or essay either (1) published by the submitting law journal during the current academic year, or (2) scheduled for publication in the next academic year, that in the judgment of the ACOEL best presents a current topic within the broad field of environmental law. Submissions will be judged based on originality, quality of research, presentation and writing, and significance of contribution to the field of environmental law. Entries will be judged by the ACOEL Stephen E. Herrmann Award Committee. Please note that to ensure a fair and unbiased judging process, the Committee will redact the author’s and journal’s names for each submission prior to judging. Journals need not redact.
Submission Schedule and Guidelines: Please email one electronic copy of your journal’s submission to the Stephen E. Herrmann Environmental Writing Award, ACOEL, using same as the email “Subject” line, to Professor J.B. Ruhl at jb.ruhl@vanderbilt.edu. Entries must be received no later than June 2, 2023. Please include with your entry: (1) a cover letter or e-mail message stating the name of the submitting law journal, (2) email addresses of the author and a journal contact (with post-graduation email address if applicable), (3) year of author’s graduation or anticipated graduation, and (4) a statement that the submission was not written as part of paid employment. If you have questions, please contact J.B. Ruhl by email referencing the same subject to ensure a prompt response.