The Michael Greenberg Student Writing Competition was established in memory of Michael Greenberg, a former National LGBTQ+ Bar Association board member and Philadelphia attorney who died in 1996 from complications of AIDS. This exciting competition is dedicated to encouraging and recognizing outstanding law student scholarship on the legal issues affecting LGBTQ+ persons. The winning article is considered for publication each year in the Tulane Journal of Law & Sexuality: A Review of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the Law, the first student-edited law review devoted to the intersection of LGBTQ+ issues and the law in the United States.

Founded in 1991, the Tulane Journal of Law & Sexuality: A Review of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the Law is the first student-edited law review in the country devoted solely to covering legal issues of interest to the LGBTQ+ community. To fully address the legal developments in this field, the Journal publishes annually on topics ranging from constitutional, employment, and family law to health, military, and insurance law. Articles, essays, and comments published in the Journal use theoretical and practical approaches to analyze these issues and their impact on the LGBTQ+ community. This journal is published every year and has broad national and international circulation. For more information about the Journal, please visit https://law.tulane.edu/tjls.  First-place winners will also receive a $500 cash prize.

After you carefully review the guidelines, please submit your article to programs@lgbtqbar.org. You must include the following subject line on the email: 2024 Michael Greenberg Competition. 

2025 Winner: “Obscenity and Queerness: The Lasting Legacy of the Comstock Era”

Justin M. Bunch is a 2025 graduate of Tulane University School of Law and the recipient of the Michael Greenberg Writing Competition award for his comment, ‘Obscenity and Queerness: The Lasting Legacy of the Comstock Era.’ A gay man from rural Kentucky, Justin draws on his experiences to inform his commitment to advancing equity and inclusion in the legal system. During law school, he completed over 220 hours of pro bono service, completed advanced training in mediation and negotiation, and received the Journal of Law and Sexuality’s Richard G. Evans Award for Especially Creative Writing. He will soon begin serving as a Legal Fellow with the New York City Family Court in Kings County.

2025 Runner Up: “Movement Lawyering and the Fight for Inclusive LGBTQI+ Rights”

Joseph Holden (he/him) is a rising 3L at The University of Texas School of Law. He serves as Symposium Editor for the Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal and is active in Texas OUTLaw, the Thurgood Marshall Legal Society, and the Mithoff Pro Bono Program, where he has contributed to the law school’s Gender Affirmation Project. He has gained legal experience in both the public and private sectors, including work with a federal judge, an in-house legal department, and the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office. Before law school, Joseph served as a Naval Surface Warfare Officer in San Diego, CA. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry & Cell Biology, with a minor in Naval Science, from Rice University. He thanks Professor Shavonne Henderson for her feedback and support throughout the writing process.

Previous Awardees:

• 2024 | Lavender Law - Washington D.C.

  First Place: Siena Hohne, Georgetown University Law Center
  “The Role of the Courts in Evaluating Medical Evidence in Cases Challenging Gender-Affirming Care Bans: Lessons from L.W. v. Skrmetti”

  Runner-Up: Kyle Hildebrand, Georgia State University College of Law
  “Praying for PrEP: Can Preventative Services be Denied on the Basis of Religion?”

• 2023 | Lavender Law - Chicago

  First Place: Brett Ries, Duke University School of Law
  “Don’t Be A Drag: How Drag Bans Can Violate the First Amendment”

  Runner-Up: Heidi Sandomir, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
  “Towards Equality and Inclusion: Examining Legal Reforms and Social Change for Sexual and Gender Minorities in India”

• 2022 | Lavender Law - Los Angeles

  First Place: Kailey Peel, Florida State University College of Law
  “Discriminatory Anti-Transgender Legislation Disguised as ‘Fairness in Women’s Sports’: An Analysis Under the Equal Protection Clause and Title IX”

  Runner-Up: Chelsey Borchardt, University of Nebraska College of Law
  “Gibson Prison Blues: Categorical Bans on Gender Confirmation Surgery for Inmates as Per Se Unconstitutional”

• 2021 | Lavender Law - Virtual

  First Place: Aneri Shah, Seton Hall University
  “Under the Supreme Court’s Eye: Religious Exemptions are Undermining Civil Rights”

  Runner-Up: Stephanie Yim, University of California, Hastings
  “LGBTQ Asylum Seekers of Color: Unique Challenges Unrecognized by Evidentiary Standards that Give Too Much Discretion”

• 2020 | Lavender Law - Virtual

  First Place: Cassidy Duckett, Temple University
  “Downtowns and Diverted Dollars: How the Metronormativity Narrative Damages Rural Queer Political Organizing”

  Runner-Up: Ellen Bertels, University of Kansas
  “Protecting the Trans Franchise: Voter IDs, ID Amendments, and the Disenfranchisement of Transgender Votes”

• 2019 | Lavender Law - Philadelphia

  First Place: Matt Kellner, Yale Law School
  “Queer and Unusual: Capital Punishment, LGBTQ Identity, and the Constitutional Path Forward”

  Runners-Up: Ariana Aboulafia, University of Miami School of Law
  “The New John Lawrence: An Analysis of the Criminalization of LGBTQ Homelessness” and
  Chuqiao “Chris” Zhao, University of Notre Dame Law School
  “Happily (N)ever After?: Addressing Legal Barriers for Same-Sex Parenting in the Post-Obergefell Era”
  

• 2018 | Lavender Law - New York City

  First Place: Emily Lamm, Vanderbilt Law School
  “Bye, Bye, Binary: Updating Birth Certificates to Transcend the Binary of Sex”

  First Runner-Up: Candelario Saldana, University of Miami School of Law
  “Queering the Dream – The Impact Trump’s Decision has on LGBTQ+ Dreamers and the Inability to Attain Asylum”

• 2017 | Lavender Law - San Francisco

  First Place: Sarah Capasso-Kosan, Brooklyn Law School
  “A Proposal for the First National Equality Tax Credit Act”

  First Runner-Up: David Mendoza, Whittier Law School
  “Transitioning from Polarization to Understanding: An Objective Analysis of Gloucester County School Board v. G.G.”

• 2016 | Lavender Law - Washington, D.C.

  First Place: Elizabeth B. Booker, University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law
  “The ADA’s Exclusion of Gender Dysphoria: An Analysis of the Rift between Jurisprudence and Mental Health”

  First Runner-Up: Meredith Fierro, Boston College Law School
  “Invalidating Identity: Religious Freedom, Gender Identity, and HHS’ Rule on Nondiscrimination in Health Services”

• 2015 | Lavender Law - Chicago

  First Place:  Viktoriya Kruglyak, St. John’s University School of Law
  “The Need for Guidance for the USCIS: The Aftermath of DOMA and its Effect on Immigration”

  Runner Up: Alexi Machek Velez, Rutgers School of Law
  “On Why Courts Cannot Grasp ‘Gender’: Conflation, Assumption, and the Faulty Binary Paradigm that Underscores it All”

• 2014 | Lavender Law - New York

  First Place:  Jillian Lenson, Boston College Law School
  “Litigation Primer Attacking State ‘No Promo Homo’ Laws: Why ‘Don’t Say Gay’ is not O.K.”

  First Runner Up: Ginger Grimes, University of California, Irvine School of Law
  “Masking the Reemergence of Immutability with ‘Outcomes for Children’”

  Second Runner Up:  Andrew Stankevich, Mississippi College School of Law
  “Uncle Sam’s Choice to Live as Lady Liberty: Advocating for Transsexuals’ Choice of Sex as a Fundamental Constitutional Right”

• 2013 | Lavender Law - San Francisco

  First Place:  Natacha Lam, Harvard Law School
  “Clash of the Titans: Seeking Guidance for Adjudicating the Conflict between Equality and Religious Liberty in LGBT Litigation”

  First Runner Up: Brian Kaufman, Emory University School of Law
  “The Ambivalence of Colonial Residue: Comparative Perspectives of Sexual Identity Construction, Politics, and Culture in Zimbabwe and South Africa”

  Second Runner Up:  Elizabeth Levy, UC Irvine School of Law
  “Virgin Fathers: Paternity Law, Assisted Reproductive Technology, and the Legal Bias Against Gay Dads”

• 2012 | Lavender Law - Washington, DC

  First Place:  Govind Persad, J.D./Ph.D Student, Stanford Law School
  “What Marriage Law can Learn from Citizenship Law (and Vice Versa)”

  First Runner Up:  Jane Tanimura, USC School of Law
  “A Duty to Protect Female Transgender Inmates from the Obvious and Foreseeable Risk of Sexual Assault”

  Second Runner Up:  Ryan Castle, Seattle University School of Law
  “The Gay Accent, Gender, and Title VII Employment Discrimination: Adapting to Modern Understandings of Bias in the Workplace”

• 2011 | Lavender Law - Hollywood

  First Place:  Michael Stefanilo, Northeastern School of Law
  “Identity Interrupted: The Parental Notification Requirement of the Massachusetts Anti-Bullying Law”

  First Runner Up:  Natalie Amato, University of Maryland School of Law
  “Black v. Simms: A Lost Opportunity to Benefit Children by Preserving Sibling Relationships When Same-Sex Families Dissolve”

  Second Runner Up:  Shawn Carrol Casey, University of Arizona College of Law
  “Illicit Regulation: A Framework for Challenging the Procedural Validity of the Gay Blood Ban”

• 2010 | Lavender Law – Miami Beach

  First Place:  Tina Sohaili, University of Southern California Gould School of Law
  “Securing Safe Schools: Using Title IX Liability to Address Peer Harassment of Transgender Students”

  First Runner Up:  Maureen Brocco, University of Maryland School of Law
  “Note: Familiar Stories: An International Suggestion for LGB Family Military Benefits After the Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’”

  Second Runner Up:  Alison Davidian, Harvard Law School
  “Beyond the Locker Room: Changing Narratives on Early Surgery for Intersex Children”

• 2009 | Lavender Law – Brooklyn

  First Place: Krista Stone-Manista, Northwestern University School of Law
  “Parents in Illinois Are Parents in Oklahoma: An Argument for Mandatory Interstate Recognition of Same-Sex Adoptions”

  First Runner Up:  C. Hays Burchfield, University of Mississippi School of Law
  “Gay or Straight – Marriage Should Not Be a Requirement for Enforceable Gestational Surrogacy Agreements”

  Second Runner Up: Matthew Coleman, Rutgers School of Law Newark
  “Segregating the Cycle: Same-Sex Domestic Violence and the Threat of State Constitutional Amendments Limiting Marriage”

• 2008 | Lavender Law – San Francisco

  First Place: Luke Boso, West Virginia University College of Law
  “A (Trans) Gender Inclusive Equal Protection Analysis of Public Female Toplessness”

  First Runner Up:   Kathleen Doty, University of California Davis School of Law
  “From Fretté to E.B.: The European Court of Human Rights on Gay and Lesbian Adoption”

  Second Runner Up: Victoria Snyder, City University of New York School of Law at Queens College
  “Romeo and Romeo: Coming Out from Under the Umbrella of Sexual Abuse”

• 2007 | Lavender Law 2007 – Chicago

  First Place:  Adam R. Pulver, Columbia Law School – “Gay Blood Revisionism: A Critical Analysis of Advocacy and the ‘Gay Blood Ban’”

  First Runner Up:  L. James Lyman, University of Colorado Law School – “Legislators Gone Wild! The (Mis)Use of Criminal Law to Prevent the Spread of HIV”

  Second Runner Up: Daniel Ryan Koslosky – University of Florida College of Law – “Sexual Identity as Personhood: Towards an Expressive Liberty in the Military Context ”

• 2006 | Lavender Law 2006 – Washington DC

  First Place: Anne C. DeCleene, University of Wisconsin Law School, The Reality of Gender Ambiguity:  A Road Toward Transgender Healthcare Inclusion.

  First Runner Up:  Caitlin Barry, James E. Beasley School of Law, Temple University, Underage & Underprotected:  Recognizing the Rights of Gender Nonconforming Youth

  Second Runner Up: Lauren Dubick, Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, The 1st Amendment in Public Schools:  Restricting Religiously Based Anti-Homosexual Messages

• 2005 | Lavender Law 2005 – San Diego

  First Place:  Deborah A. Morgan, American University Washington College of Law, Not Gay Enough for the Government: Racial Stereotypes in Sexual Orientation Asylum Cases

  First Runner Up:   Shannan W. Leelyn, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Penal Implants: Transsexuals (Mis)Housed in the Criminal Justice System

  Second Runner Up: Steve Sanders, University of Michigan Law School,Federalism and Same-Sex Marriage

• 2004 | Lavender Law 2004 – Minneapolis

  First Place:  Anne Tamar-Mattis, University of California at Berkeley School of Law, Implications of AB 458 for California LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care

  First Runner Up:    Natasha Ernst, Lewis & Clark Law School, Same-Sex Marriage and Equal Protection under Article I, Section 20 of the Oregon Constitution

  Second Runner Up: Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona State University College of Law,A Bittersweet Victory in Smith v. Salem: How the Landmark Decision for Transgender Title VII Plaintiffs Doesn’t Pave the Way.

• 2003 | Lavender Law 2003 – New York

  First Place:  Keith Hilzendeger, Arizona State University College of Law,Walking Title VII’s Tightrope: Advice for Gay and Lesbian Title VII Plaintiffs

  First Runner Up:  Zachary A. Kramer, University of Illinois College of Law, The Neutered Homosexual: Why Gays and Lesbians Should Champion Martha Fineman’s Re-Visioned Family Law

  Second Runner Up:  Sarah Drescher, University of Oregon College School of Law, ’Til Death Do Us Part . . . Or Until We Travel to Another State

  Second Runner Up: Stacey Meadow, Fordham Law School, Gender Outlawed – Transsexuality and the Creation of a Legal Impossibility

• 2002 | Lavender Law 2002 – Philadelphia

  First Place:  Mary Beth Heinzelmann, Hofstra University School of Law, The ‘Reasonable Lesbian’ Standard: A Potential Deterrent Against Bias in Hostile Work Environment Cases

• 2001 | Lavender Law 2001 – Dallas

  First Place:  Christopher S. Hargis, University of Kentucky College of Law, The Scarlet ‘H’: The Status and Expression of Homosexuality

• 2000 | Lavender Law 2000 – Washington DC

  First Place:  B.J. Chisholm, Howard University School of Law, The Back(door) of Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.: ‘Outing’ Heterosexuality as a Gender-Based Stereotype

• 1999 | Lavender Law 1999 – Seattle

  First Place:  Laurie Rose Kepros Queer Theory: Weed or Seed in the Garden of Legal Theory?

• 1998 | Lavender Law 1998 – Boston

  First Place:  Dirk Selland Will Maryland Enter the Twenty-First Century in the Right Direction by Rescinding Its Ancient Sodomy Statutes?