MSU Law Grad Wins National Law Review Student Writing Competition

MSU Law graduate Dahlia May Seligman, ’16, won the National Law Review (NLR) Law Student Writing Competition this April. The online journal selects the articles of 2-4 students per competition cycle to publish on their website for a two year period. Seligman’s article is titled, “Changing Closets: Transgendered Youths' Right to Dress in Public Schools and the First Amendment.”

“I believe in equality for all persons,” Seligman said. “I was passionate about the topic and the more I researched, the more I discovered how important it was – and that no one was talking about this.” She wrote her paper before the topic of transgendered bathrooms became headline news. 

“Receiving this award means, once again, I set a goal and accomplished it,” she said. “Throughout law school, I knew I was better at advocacy than writing, but I made a submission. I didn’t expect to win, so when I found out, it was extremely gratifying. It proved I could write if I want to write.”

When she was a young girl, Seligman knew she wanted to attend law school because she recognized law is a powerful tool, and she saw the courtroom as a place where she could successfully fight for human rights.

Seligman graduated from MSU Law in May with a variety of distinctions already under her belt. Throughout her time at MSU, she competed in trial advocacy and arbitration competitions and completed externships with the courts and in areas of public policy. During her last year at the law college, she successfully tried a criminal bench trial in district court as part of her externship with the Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office.

Seligman is currently studying for the Michigan bar and looks forward to pursuing a career in litigation at Hewson  & Van Hellemont PC in Oak Park, Michigan.