The lawyers and judges of the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, and the Jacksonville Federal Court Bar Association sponsor a high school essay contest every year.
The association is seeking volunteers to score the essays submitted by students in the High School Essay Contest to help narrow the submissions to the 10 best.
Attorney-graders typically are asked to review between 10 and 12 essays and only a numerical score is required (no comments). A scoring rubric will be provided.
Essay submissions are due by Sept. 23, 2026. Essays and scoring materials will be distributed to volunteer attorney-graders by Oct. 5, 2026. Graders will have until Oct. 20, 2026, to return their scoresheets.
Then, the judges in the Jacksonville Division will review the top 10 essays to identify the top three, who will be announced in November.
An awards and recognition ceremony will be scheduled in December.
Those interested may visit https://tinyurl.com/4wc7r4vk to participate.
Alternatively, those interested may contact Kirsten Clement: [[email protected]](/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5b103229282f3e350418373e363e352f1b3d37363f752e2838342e292f28753c342d) or 904-301-6820.