Morrow Essay Contest

2025 Morrow Essay Contest — Deadline: January 20, 2025

 

2024 Morrow Essay Contest Winners: 

1st Place General Category:

Brigitte Stewart

2nd Place General Category:

Chiara Concini

Case Comment:

Talia Wilson

Administration of Justice in the North:

Chloe Lynds

 

2023 Morrow Essay Contest Winners: 

1st Place General Category:

Chris Klok

2nd Place General Category:

Avinash Kowshik

Case Comment:

Not awarded

Administration of Justice in the North:

Casey Caines

 

The Honourable Justice William Morrow was born in Edmonton in 1917 and enrolled in law at the University of Alberta in 1934. He graduated with distinction and was called to the bar in 1940. His legal career was put on hold while he served in the navy during the Second World War. Justice Morrow served with distinction and was recognized by King George V, alongside a number of Albertans, for showing extraordinary resource, leadership, and devotion to duty. 

Following the war, Justice Morrow’s courage and passion for service translated well into his legal practice. He was well-known for taking difficult and unpopular cases for little or no monetary reward. He viewed law as a profession that extended beyond mere business, and believed judges and lawyers had a duty to ensure that every individual had an opportunity to be heard. 

Over time, Justice Morrow developed a reputation for his ability to handle important litigation matters, and in particular, for his appellate skill. He appeared before every court in Alberta, British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories. He also appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada on ten leave applications and on 21 appeals and had the distinction of arguing the very last Canadian case to go before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Ponoka-Calmar Oils Ltd. et al. v. Earl F. Wakefield Co. et al.

 

Justice Morrow left a lasting mark on the law of Alberta through his litigation practice. He was a pioneer of oil and gas law in the province. He was counsel in many important cases regarding real property rights in Alberta, cases which were fundamental to the developing law of the young province. 

 

Throughout his practice, Justice Morrow was, above all, a fierce and fearless advocate of the rights of his clients. His tireless work to see that those rights were upheld, exemplified the idea of legal advocacy as an instrument of justice.

 

Justice Morrow also developed a special relationship with the northern peoples and lands of Canada. Access to justice in the North was a key goal for Justice Morrow, who in 1960 volunteered to go on circuit in the Northwest Territories as defence counsel. This was an arduous and unpaid task, which he nevertheless took up with his usual passion. 

 

Justice Morrow’s contributions to justice in the North were marked by his insistence that the law must take into account the local conditions, beliefs, and customs of aboriginal people living in the North, both in civil and criminal contexts. His dedication to northern issues led to his appointment as the second justice of the Territorial Court of the Northwest Territories in 1966. As a judge in the North, Justice Morrow worked to ensure that his court was accessible to the local community, holding court in living rooms, dance halls, schoolhouses, and even on a float plane on the open water. This wasn’t the only time he operated out of a plane – on another occasion, he heard submissions on a custom adoption while airborne, making him one of the very few people ever to sit as a judge on land, air, and sea.

 

 

The William Morrow Essay Contest is endowed by the Honourable Mr. Justice William Stevenson in memory of the late Mr. Justice Morrow. Justice Stevenson graduated from the University of Alberta Faculty of Law in 1957. He was a founding editor of the Alberta Law Review and a recipient of the Horace Harvey Gold Medal in Law. After graduation, he articled, and then practiced, with Justice Morrow. The two men worked together on many cases, including the last Canadian case to go before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council: Ponoka-Calmar Oils Ltd. et al. v. Earl F. Wakefield Co. et al. Justice Morrow invited Justice Stevenson to become a partner at Morrow Morrow Reynolds and Stevenson (now Reynolds Mirth Farmer & Richards). Justice Stevenson later became a lecturer at the University of Alberta in 1963 and served as a full faculty member for several years before returning to private practice in 1970. He was appointed to the District Court of Alberta in 1975 and the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta in 1979. A year later, he was appointed to the Alberta Court of Appeal where he and Justice Morrow were again colleagues for a time. On 17 September 1990, Justice Stevenson was elevated to the Supreme Court of Canada, where he served until he retired on 5 June 1992.

 

Justice Stevenson made an invaluable contribution to the law in Alberta and Canada. He had extraordinary ability, dedication, and personal and professional ethics, and loved working with younger lawyers and inspiring and instructing them.

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RULES 

1. The essays should be on a topic of current legal interest. For purposes of the category of Law or Administration of Justice in the North, the North includes the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the Yukon Territory.

2. The criteria used in judging will be (1) Originality, (2) Accuracy, and (3) Writing Style.

3. Papers must be typed double-spaced and should comply with the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, 9th ed (McGill Guide). Maximum length of essays is 50 pages.

4. The competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the faculties of law at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary, excluding members of the Editorial Board of the Alberta Law Review who are responsible for judging the submissions. Articling students in Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Yukon Territory are also eligible to submit papers.

5. Papers submitted for courses in Law School are eligible.

6. The Editorial Board reserves the right to award an honourable mention to deserving entries.

7. The Editorial Board reserves the right to award or not to award the prizes at their discretion.

8. The Alberta Law Review reserves the right to first publication of the papers submitted. Previously published papers and papers concurrently submitted to other publications are not eligible for the contest. Only one paper per category may be submitted. 

9. The author’s name should not appear on the paper. The author’s name, home address, and university or firm should be included in the email to which the contest submission is attached.

10. Papers commissioned by another organization must be accompanied by written permission from that organization.

11. Entries must be submitted as a Word document to:

William Morrow Essay Contest
Alberta Law Review
Email: info@albertalawreview.com

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PRIZES

There are three categories in the contest:

General Essays

First Prize: $1,000.00
Second Prize: $500.00

Notes & Case Comments

First Prize: $500.00

Law or Administration of Justice in the North

First Prize: $500.00

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PAST WINNERS

 

Year	1st Place General Category	2nd Place General Category	Case Comment	Administration of Justice in the North
2022	Victoria Chiu	Shelby Johnson	Lee Klippenstein	N/A
2021	Amy Durand	Allison Jandura	Darren Wagner	Alexander Kinrade
2020	Alissa Ricioppo	Moira Lavoie	Nate Gartke	Bradley Mills
2019	Ben Thronson	Joanne Cave	Brianna Walsh	N/A
2018	Kathleen Renaud	Moira Lavoie	Peter Cotton-O’Brien	N/A
2017	Tory Hibbitt	Matthew Schneider	Michael Barrett	N/A
2016	Andrew Caniff	Jacob Marchel	N/A	Jessi Casebeer
2015	Samantha Barker	Adrienne Funk	Michael Low	N/A
2014	Darren Schmidt	Greg Weber	N/A	Simon Elzen- Hoskyn
2013	Keith Guinn	Andrew Phypers	N/A	Alison Wegner
2012	Ciara J. Toole	Melissa Jakobfi	N/A	Daryk Gorrie
2011	Joshua Fraese	Scott Nicol	N/A	N/A
2010	Paul Chiswell	Taylor Decarie	Deborah Book	N/A
2009	Rosalind Greenwood	Ryan Krushelnitsky	Kyla Conner	Katherine Jamieson
2008	Sandra Malcolm	Megan Rosborough	Monic Willner	N/A
2007	Karen Rana	Derek Lai	N/A	N/A
2006	Kyle Kashuba	Claire Bond	N/A	N/A
2005	Michael Solowan	Melodie Hope	Joshua Jantzi	N/A
2004	Fiona Moore	Charmane Sing	Alyn James Johnson	Lisa Statt
2003	Laura Estep	Andrew Wallace	Lesley Akst	Moira R. Vane
2002	Sonya Morgan	Mark Sawyer	N/A	N/A
2001	Susan Turner	N/A	N/A	Tamara Friesen
2000	Ayla Akgungor	Leah Teasdale	Ron Goltz	N/A
1999	Naomi Nind	Gordon Van Vliet	Ken Ihas	Kelly Gallagher- MacKay
1998	Colin Feasby	Jay Haugen	Ryan Smith	N/A
1997	Anthony Cioni	Cassandra Haraba	Heather Steinke	Took Whiteley
1996	Elizabeth Halka	Elizabeth Seale	Robert A. Fata	Sharon Venne
1995	Colleen Cebuliak	M. Rachel Colabella	Rob Warren	Jenny Scott
1994	Steven Penney	Janice Wright	Ian Dundas	Kathleen Kendrick
1993	Scott Moore	Peter Barber	Craig Bell	N/A
1992	Sandra Petersson	Bryce Tingle	N/A	Clay McLeod
1991	Mark L. Rudoff	Judith Holmes	N/A	N/A
1990	Timothy Faries	Michael Tilleard	Joan Bilsland	Robert Roth
1989	Tom Achtymichuk	N/A	N/A	Award not yet created
1988	Eeva Komulainen	Helen Ward	Dino Bottos
1987	Peter Michalyshyn	David Venour	Marilyn Herrmann
1986	Allan Donovan	Joan Hampl	N/A
1985	Linda Long	Peter Wong	Kate Welsh
1984	Joyce Schlosser	Ron Sawchuk	Michael Bailey
1983	Bernard Funston	Mavis Berquist	N/A