Each year, our organization presents AALA Scholarship Awards, which are intended to recognize and encourage scholarly work in the agricultural, food, and natural resource law community.

Three categories of the Professional Scholarship Awards may be presented:

1. Academic Works: published journals, articles, etc.
2. Court and Amicus Briefs: covering a specific agricultural topic or legal analysis
3. Digital Formats: reaches audiences beyond traditional academic and legal publications

An individual does not have to be an AALA member and may receive this award more than once, but a waiting period of five years is required for each category.

Criteria

In selecting professional winners, the AALA Awards Committee considers criteria including the excellence in quality of writing, the relevance to important legal issues in agriculture, the clarity of analysis, and the potential effects on agricultural law.

Academic works on an agricultural topic:

• Journals
• Articles
• Other published materials

Court briefs and amicus briefs:

• Thorough analysis or discussion on an agricultural topic and/or notable result

Digital agricultural media:

• Blogs and legal commentary
• Social media campaigns with substantive legal content
• Interactive digital resources
• Infographics and visual legal explanations
• Vlogs, webinars, explainer videos, podcasts, and audio series

Nominations

Nominations open August 1. Forms and submission instructions will be posted here at that time. For reference, the 2025 nomination form is available here. Nomination Form

Award winners will be announced and presented a plaque on November 7th at the 2026 Annual Educational Symposium in Dallas, TX and subsequently announced via an AALA publication and press release.

Required Submission Information:

• For academic works:
  • Published or posted between November 1, 2025 to October 1, 2026
  • Complete citation information
  • Copy of or link to the nominated work
• For court/amicus briefs:
  • Case information and context
  • Brief submission date
  • Explanation of the agricultural legal issue addressed
• Digital media
  • Title/name of the digital content
  • Published or posted between November 1, 2025 to October 1, 2026
  • Format type
  • Direct links to the content or attachment of content
  • Brief description of the content focus or potential impact on the agricultural community if not self-evident

Selection Process:

• The submissions will be considered by the Awards Committee, a committee comprised of volunteer AALA members.
• Up to one winner per category is selected annually
• The Awards Committee considers the quality and impact of the contributions of the nominated individual.

Past Recipients