Student Writing Competition

Legal Writing Competition for Law Students

The Mary Moers Wenig Student Writing Competition was created to honor the late Mary Moers Wenig, an Academic Fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), who served as a law school professor for over 30 years. Writing competition entries are judged by members of ACTEC’s Legal Education Committee, which Mary served on for many years. The competition is judged by law school professors who teach in the area of trusts and estates and practitioners who teach as adjuncts in the trust and estate field. The Mary Moers Wenig Student Writing Competition has awarded over $142,000 during its 15-year existence.

Consistent with ACTEC’s mission, this competition was created by ACTEC’s Legal Education Committee to encourage and reward scholarly works in the area of trusts and estates. The Legal Education Committee focuses on the quality and relevance of trust and estate courses offered in law schools, strategies for incorporating skills training into courses, ideas for mentoring new lawyers in estate planning, the role of adjunct professors, and trust- and estate-related scholarship, case law, statutory law, and current developments. The funding for the competition is provided by The ACTEC Foundation.

The competition is open to law students in good standing (full-time or part-time) who are currently or recently enrolled as a J.D. or LL.M. candidate in an ABA-accredited law school within the U.S. or its possessions.

Read the Official Competition Rules.