Harry J. Kalven Jr. Prize.
The Harry J. Kalven, Jr. Prize is awarded annually (biennially prior to 1999) by the Law and Society Association for
"empirical scholarship that has contributed most effectively to the advancement of
research in law and society." It is not a book prize, but is given in recognition of
a body of scholarly work. Neither is it a career achievement award, however, at least some
portion of the work for which the award is given should have been completed within the
past few years. The prize is a cash award of $500 and appropriate recognition
of the recipient(s) during the Association's Annual Meeting.
Call for nominations for 2008 prize. Click here
for a list of previous winners.
J. Willard Hurst Prize.
The Hurst prize is given annually (biennially prior to 2002) by the Law and Society Association for the best work
(in English) in sociolegal history published in the previous year. In the
spirit of Willard Hurst's own work, the field of sociolegal history is broadly
defined to include the history of interrelationships between law and social, economic, and
political change; the history of functions and impact of legal agencies,
legislative and administrative as well as judicial; the social history of the
legal profession; and similar topics. The Association seeks studies in legal
history that explore the relationship between law and society or illuminate
the use, function, and cultural meaning of law and society. Preference is
normally given to books, but articles and monographs of exceptional quality
may also be submitted. The Association discourages submission of purely
doctrinal studies in the evolution of appellate case law. Also, edited
volumes, textbooks, and casebooks are not eligible. The prize is a cash award of $500 (shared among multiple
awardees) and appropriate recognition of the recipient(s) during the Association's Annual Meeting.
Call for nominations
for 2008 prize. Click here for a list of previous
winners.
Herbert Jacob Book Prize.
This is an biennial award established in 1996 as the LSA Book Prize, and in 1997 re-named
in memory of Herbert Jacob. Herb was a Past President of LSA, the founder of the first
internet book review in the field, Law and Politics
Book Review, a creative, energetic scholar who took on a wide variety of
questions and issues, and a warm human being whose own work has been a major contribution
to the field of law and society. The competition is open to books from all fields of, and
approaches to, law and society scholarship—excluding only works of
sociolegal
history, which are considered for the Hurst Prize—published in the prior year. The
prize is intended to recognize new, outstanding work in law and society scholarship.
Nominations are accepted from all aspects of the field and any country of origin and may
include first books of young scholars to books that are capstones of long careers in law
and society research and publication. The Jacob Prize is announced
during the Association's Annual Meeting.
As of 2004, the prize does not include a cash component,
however, contributions are solicited to permit the award to again have this
aspect in the future.
Call for nominations
for 2008 prize Click here for a list of previous winners.
Law and Society
Association Article Prize.
Awarded annually (alternate years until 1999), the Article Prize is to recognize exceptional scholarship in
the field of sociolegal studies for an article published in the previous two
years. The Award is announced during the Annual Meeting.
The prize does not include a cash component, however,
contributions are solicited to permit the award to again have this aspect in
the future
The competition is open to all forms of law and
society scholarship, to authors at any stage of their careers, and to authors
from any country of origin, although article copies submitted to the committee
must be in English. Articles may be published in any scholarly journal,
including socio-legal journals, journals in other disciplines, and law reviews.
Call for nominations
for 2008 prize. Click here for a list of previous winners.
Law and
Society Association International Prize. The International Prize is
offered biennially to a scholar, normally resident outside the
United States, in recognition of scholarship that has contributed
significantly to the advancement of knowledge in the field of law and society.
It is not a book prize, but is given in recognition of a body of scholarly
work. Neither is it a career achievement award, however, at least some portion
of the work for which the award is given should have been completed within the
past few years. The prize includes reimbursed of travel costs up to $400 to
attend the Association's Annual Meeting where the prize is awarded. Click
here for a list of previous winners.
Paper Prizes
The Law and Society Association annually offers awards to an undergraduate student and a graduate student whose nominated papers best represent outstanding law and society research. The awards are $100 cash and a travel subsidy up to $400 for expenses to attend the Annual Meeting. Nominations can be made only by a non-student member of the Law and Society Association and through the submission of the recommended paper to the Committee on Student Awards. The subject matter of nominated papers should be in the interdisciplinary tradition of law and society research, and should reflect the style of articles that appear in the Law & Society Review. Nominated papers should be work that examines law in culture and society, including interpretative, historical, social scientific, and jurisprudential scholarship. All papers entered in the competition must be written by matriculated students at any (U.S. or non-U.S.) institution of higher education in the two previous years. Submissions will be evaluated within categories of undergraduate and graduate student. Calls for nominations for 2008 Prizes: Graduate Student Paper Prize and Undergraduate Student Paper Prize. Click here for a list of previous winners.
Dissertation Prize
The paper prizes are not intended for dissertation chapters. The Association has a separate dissertation prize which is also awarded annually. The prize consists of a certificate, and up to $500 for travel to attend the LSA Annual Meeting. Submissions must be accompanied by a letter of nomination from a faculty member and must have been completed in calendar year preceding the award (i.e. in 2003 for 2004 award, in 2004 for 2005 award, etc.). The prize is awarded by a committee to the dissertation that best represents outstanding law and society scholarship. Calls for nominations for the dissertation prize are announced in the Newsletter and the prizes are awarded during the annual meeting in the following summer. The Dissertation Prize was first awarded in 1999. Call for nominations for the 2008 prize. Click here for a list of previous winners.