Louisville Law students sweep 2019 KBA Student Writing Competition

A pen on top of a notebook

For the fourth year in a row, a Louisville Law student has won first place in the Kentucky Bar Association's Student Writing Competition.

Rising 3L Anita Zipfel won the 2019 competition with her article, "Courts v. Clinicians: The Civil Commitment Standard for Substance Use Disorder."

The second- and third-place awards also went to Louisville Law students:

  • 2nd Place: Kelly Clan, "Measuring the Meter: The Current and Future State of the Solar Industry in Kentucky"

  •  3rd Place: John Stocking, "Buprenorphine Medication Assisted Treatment (B-MAT) as the Test Case for Modern Informed Consent"

The competition is open to all Kentucky law students. The articles do not have to conform to a theme and can be articles students have written for class assignments.

Winners receive a monetary prize, and the first-place winner has the possibility of having his or her article published in the KBA's Bench & Bar magazine.

Zipfel, Articles Selection Editor for Volume 58 of the University of Louisville Law Review, says her article was inspired by her work researching Casey's Law as an intern for Judge Stephanie Pearce Burke of Jefferson District Court. Casey's Law allows for the involuntary commitment of an addicted person to treatment.

Zipfel credits Professor JoAnne Sweeny and Professor Les Abramson with building her writing skills and providing advice during her research.