The annual Robert Ballow Excellence in Writing Awards were presented to Nashville School of Law students on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. 

A total of eight students were recognized for their performance in the Rigorous Writing Exercise program. 

The students and their writing mentors who received top honors are:

• 1st – Allison Wilson – Felony Voter Disenfranchisement: Putting an End to Second-Class Citizenship in Tennessee with the Implementation of Automatic Voter Restoration  (Ms. Krisann Hodges, mentor)
• 2nd (Tie) – Daimon Duggar – Fiat Justia: The Development and Challenges of Prosecutorial Discretion in Tennessee (Mr. Eddie Herbert, mentor)
• 2nd (Tie) – Amber Schlatter – National Consensus and Proportionality: A cure for the Unconstitutional Relationship Between Severe Mental Illness and the Death Penalty (Ms. Candi Henry, mentor)

Finalists include:

• Mitzi Dorris – High Conflict Ben Divorcing Parents: Enforcement of Tennessee Legislation to Protect the Children (Hon. Matt Sweeney, mentor)
• Jenna Huff – Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act: Protecting Platforms Instead of Protecting Children (Mr. James Strong, mentor)
• Shakira King – Abuse of the 13th: A History of Slavery and the Fight to End It. (Ms. Amanda Gentry, mentor)
• Joseph Swafford – Tort Reform and Tennessee (Mr. Christ Fowler, mentor)
• Lily Ying – Defending the Kennedian Sovereign Doctrine of Specific Personal Jurisdiction: A Critique of the Substantive Due Process Based Consequentialist Criticism Couched in Originalism (Hon. Sharon Guffee, mentor)

*Click on the name of each paper to read the award-winning work.

The Rigorous Writing Exercise is a project all Nashville School of Law students embark on as a requirement of graduation. Working with a volunteer mentor from the legal community, students research and write a 15-20 page paper on the topic of their choice.

Each year, the students’ submissions are evaluated by a panel of legal writing experts, who determine finalists and award winners.

Our 2021-2022  Mentor of the Year award has been presented to Ms. Tamika Parker ’15. 

The honor is conferred in recognition of a mentor’s exceptional service to the Rigorous Writing Exercise Program.

Parker obtained her undergraduate degree in engineering from Drexel University and her master’s degree in organizational dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania.  She has also undertaken a series of studies on the intersection of neuroscience and theology, and she applies all her knowledge and skills to help her clients. Ms. Parker has a private law practice here in the Nashville area.