About the Essay Contest

Now in its 25th year, the Essay Contest was started by the Foundation’s James W. Cooper Fellows in 2000.  The purpose of the essay contest is to get young people in Connecticut thinking about and exploring legal issues relevant to them.

In 2011, the Essay Contest was named after Quintin Johnstone, who was a professor at Yale Law School before his death in 2014.  Johnstone served as past president of the Connecticut Bar Foundation, participated in a variety of Fellows projects for many years, and was a longtime member of the Fellows Education and Program Committee, which helps to organize Fellows projects like the annual Essay Contest.

Last year's contest generated over 100 entries from across Connecticut.  The Foundation thanks the student essayists, and the schools and teachers who supported them, for their participation.

We also wish to thank the Connecticut Supreme Court for their continued support of the Essay Contest, and for welcoming us back to the court on June 4, 2024, for our awards ceremony.

Finally, we want to thank the over 140 attorneys and judges from across the state who reviewed and scored the essays last year. Justices and judges who participated in the final round of judging for the 2023-2024 contest were: Justice Richard Palmer, Justice Raheem Mullins, Judge Alexandra DiPentima, Judge Ingrid Moll, and Judge Maureen Dennis.

2024-2025 Essay Contest Committee

Justine C. Rakich-Kelly, co-chair
Sonia Pedraza, co-chair

Hon. Claudia Baio
Jeff Blumenthal
Sheila Charmoy
Matthew Cholewa
Ann-Marie DeGraffenreidt
Hon. Anna Ficeto
Susan Freedman
Gary Giaimo
Emily Gianquinto
Gary R. Gold
Hon. Ernest Green, Jr.
Sara Greene
Gail Hardy
Rob Harris
Hon. Maureen Keegan
Noah Kores
Tamara Kagan Levine
Bill Logue
Ernest Mattei
Yamuna Menon
Colleen M. Murphy
Sara Nadim
Hon. Maureen Price-Boreland
Linda Randell
Hon. Angela Robinson (Ret.)
Dan Schwartz
Carolyn Signorelli
Hon. Nada Sizemore (Ret.)
Jack G. Steigelfest
Hon. James Tancredi
Hon. Cecil J. Thomas
Hon. Erika Tindill
Dave Vatti
Gayle Wintjen

About the Essay Contest

Now in its 24th year, the Essay Contest was started by the Foundation’s James W. Cooper Fellows in 2000.  The purpose of the essay contest is to get young people in Connecticut thinking about and exploring legal issues relevant to them.

In 2011, the Essay Contest was named after Quintin Johnstone, who was a professor at Yale Law School before his death in 2014.  Johnstone served as past president of the Connecticut Bar Foundation, participated in a variety of Fellows projects for many years, and was a longtime member of the Fellows Education and Program Committee, which helps to organize Fellows projects like the annual Essay Contest.

This year's contest generated over 100 entries from across Connecticut.  The Foundation thanks the student essayists, and the schools and teachers who supported them, for their participation.

We also wish to thank the Connecticut Supreme Court for their continued support of the Essay Contest, and for welcoming us back to the court on June 4, 2024, for our awards ceremony.

Finally, we want to thank the over 140 attorneys and judges from across the state who reviewed and scored the essays this year. Justices and judges who participated in the final round of judging for the 2023-2024 contest were: Justice Richard Palmer, Justice Raheem Mullins, Judge Alexandra DiPentima, Judge Ingrid Moll, and Judge Maureen Dennis.

Click here to view a complete list of the 2023-2024 Essay Contest Judges

2023-2024 Essay Contest Committee

Justine C. Rakich-Kelly, chair
Hon. Claudia Baio
Jeff Blumenthal
Sheila Charmoy
Matthew Cholewa
Ann-Marie DeGraffenreidt
Susan Freedman
Gary Giaimo
Emily Gianquinto
Gary R. Gold
Hon. Ernest Green, Jr.
Sara Greene
Gail Hardy
Rob Harris
Hon. Maureen Keegan
Noah Kores
Tamara Kagan Levine
Bill Logue
Ernest Mattei
Yamuna Menon
Colleen M. Murphy
Sara Nadim
Hon. Maureen Price-Boreland
Linda Randell
Hon. Angela Robinson
Dan Schwartz
Carolyn Signorelli
Hon. Nada Sizemore (Ret.)
Jack G. Steigelfest
Hon. James Tancredi
Hon. Cecil J. Thomas
Hon. Erika Tindill
Dave Vatti
Gayle Wintjen

About the Essay Contest

Now in its 23rd year, the Essay Contest was started by the Foundation’s James W. Cooper Fellows in 2000.  The purpose of the essay contest is to get young people in Connecticut thinking about and exploring legal issues relevant to them.

In 2011, the Essay Contest was named after Quintin Johnstone, who was a professor at Yale Law School before his death in 2014.  Johnstone served as past president of the Connecticut Bar Foundation, participated in a variety of Fellows projects for many years, and was a longtime member of the Fellows Education and Program Committee, which helps to organize Fellows projects like the annual Essay Contest.

The 2022-2023 contest generated over 100 entries from across Connecticut.  The Foundation thanks the student essayists, and the schools and teachers who supported them, for their participation.

We also wish to thank the Connecticut Supreme Court for their continued support of the Essay Contest, and for welcoming us back to the court on June 6, 2023, for our awards ceremony.

Finally, we want to thank the over 140 attorneys and judges from across the state who reviewed and scored the essays this year. Justices, judges, and attorneys who participated in the final round of judging for the 2022-2023 contest were: Justice Richard Palmer, Judge Alexandra DiPentima, Judge Ingrid Moll, Judge Maureen Dennis, and Attorney Robert Harris.

Click here to view a complete list of the 2022-2023 Essay Contest Judges.

2022-2023 Essay Contest Committee

Justine C. Rakich-Kelly, Chair
Hon. Claudia Baio 
Jeff Blumenthal 
Sheila Charmoy 
David R. Chipman 
Matthew Cholewa 
Ann-Marie DeGraffenreidt 
Susan Freedman 
Gary Giaimo 
Emily Gianquinto 
Gary R. Gold 
Hon. Ernest Green, Jr. 
Gail Hardy 
Rob Harris 
Hon. Maureen Keegan 
Tamara Kagan Levine 
Bill Logue 
Ernest Mattei 
Yamuna Menon 
Colleen M. Murphy 
Sara Nadim 
Dean Eboni Nelson 
Hon. Cesar Noble 
Hon. Maureen Price-Boreland 
Linda Randell 
Hon. Angela Robinson (Ret.) 
Dan Schwartz 
Carolyn Signorelli 
Jack G. Steigelfest 
Hon. James Tancredi 
Hon. Erika Tindill 
Hon. Dave Vatti 
Gayle Wintjen 

About the Essay Contest

Now in its 22nd year, the Essay Contest was started by the Foundation’s James W. Cooper Fellows in 2000. The purpose of the essay contest is to get young people in Connecticut thinking about and exploring legal issues relevant to them.

In 2011, the Essay Contest was named after Quintin Johnstone, who was a professor at Yale Law School before his death in 2014. Johnstone served as past president of the Connecticut Bar Foundation, participated in a variety of Fellows projects for many years, and was a longtime member of the Fellows Education and Program Committee, which helps to organize Fellows projects like the annual Essay Contest.

This year’s contest generated 145 entries from 46 schools across Connecticut. The Foundation thanks the student essayists, and the schools and teachers who supported them, for their participation.

We also wish to thank the Connecticut Supreme Court for their continued support of the Essay Contest, and for welcoming us back to the court for our first in-person awards ceremony since 2019. The Foundation is so grateful that we were able to honor our winners at a special ceremony on June 8, 2022.

Finally, we want to thank the over 140 attorneys and judges from across the state who reviewed and scored the essays this year. Justices and judges who participated in the final round of judging for the 2021-2022 contest were: Justice Raheem Mullins, Justice Maria Araujo Kahn, Justice Richard Palmer, Judge Alexandra DiPentima, and Judge Ingrid Moll.

Click here to view a complete list of the 2021-2022 Essay Contest Judges

2021-2022 Essay Contest Committee

Robert A. Harris & Justine C. Rakich-Kelly, Co-Chairs
Sheila Charmoy
Matthew Cholewa
Hon. Maureen Keegan
William Logue
Ann-Marie DeGraffenreidt
Dean Eboni S. Nelson
Susan Freedman
Hon. Maureen Price-Boreland
Gerald Giaimo
Hon. Angela C. Robinson
Gary R. Gold
Dan Schwartz
Hon. Ernest Green, Jr.
Carolyn Signorelli
Gail Hardy
Jack G. Steigelfest
Tamara Kagan Levine
Hon. S. Dave Vatti
Gayle Wintjen

Award Ceremony

The Essay Contest Award Ceremony is usually held at the Connecticut Supreme Court in early June. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in place of the award ceremony special tributes to the winners were recorded:

• Justice Maria Araujo Kahn, Associate Justice, Connecticut Supreme Court
• Hon. Juliett Crawford, Chair, James W. Cooper Fellows
• Natalie Wagner, Executive Director, Connecticut Bar Foundation

Now it its 21st year, the Essay Contest was started by the Foundation’s James W. Cooper Fellows in 2000. The purpose of the essay contest is to get young people in Connecticut thinking about and exploring legal issues relevant to them.

In 2011, the Essay Contest was named after Quintin Johnstone, who was a professor at Yale Law School before his death in 2014. Johnstone served as past president of the Connecticut Bar Foundation, participated in a variety of Fellows projects for many years, and was a longtime member of the Fellows Education and Program Committee, which helps to organize Fellows projects like the annual Essay Contest.

This year’s contest generated 139 entries from 53 schools across Connecticut. The Foundation thanks the student participants, and the schools and teachers who supported them, for participating in this year’s contest.

We also wish to thank the Connecticut Supreme Court for their support of the Essay Contest each year and the over 140 attorneys and judges from across Connecticut participated in reviewing and scoring the essays this year. Justices and judges who participated in the final round of judging this year were: Justice Raheem Mullins, Judge Richard Palmer, Judge Alexandra DiPentima, Judge Maureen Dennis, and Attorney Molly LeVan.

2020-2021 Essay Contest Committee

Robert A. Harris, Chair
Hon. Barry F. Armata
Hon. Juliett L. Crawford
Gary R. Gold
Tamara Kagan Levine
William Logue
Justine C. Rakich-Kelly
Hon. Angela C. Robinson
Daniel A. Schwartz
Jack G. Steigelfest
Allan B. Taylor
S. Dave Vatti