Mike Lewis Prize for National Security Law Scholarship

Seeking excellence in national security law scholarship

About the Prize

The Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas at Austin and Ohio Northern University’s Pettit College of Law (ONU), in consultation with the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) Section on National Security Law, have established the Mike Lewis Prize for National Security Law Scholarship. The prize honors Professor Mike Lewis of ONU, a much-loved colleague and prolific scholar who passed away in 2015.

Each year, the Mike Lewis Prize—in the amount of $1,000—will be awarded to the author of an outstanding national security law article.

Previous Winners

2023 Mike Lewis Prize Winner:

Saikrishna Prakash, University of Virginia School of Law - Deciphering the Commander-in-Chief Clause, Yale Law Journal, Vol. 133, No. 1, 2023.

2022 Mike Lewis Prize Winner:

Professor Jean Galbraith, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School - The Runaway Presidential Power over Diplomacy, 108 Virginia Law Review 81 (2022).

2021 Mike Lewis Prize Winner:

Professor Laura Dickinson, George Washington University Law School - National Security Policymaking in the Shadow of International Law, GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 2021-24 (2021).

2020 Mike Lewis Prize Winner:

Professor Elena Chachko, Harvard Law School - Administrative National Security, Georgetown Law Journal 108:1063 (2020).

2019 Mike Lewis Prize Winner:

Professor Jennifer C. Daskal, American University Washington College of Law - Speech Across Borders, Virginia Law Review Vol. 105:1605 (2019).

2018 Mike Lewis Prize Winner:

Professor Kristen Eichensehr, UCLA School of Law - Courts, Congress, and the Conduct of Foreign Relations, Univ. of Chicago Law Review Vol. 85:609 (2018).

2017 Mike Lewis Prize Winners:

Professor Rebecca Ingber, Boston University - Co-Belligerency, Yale Journal of International Law Vol. 42:67 (2017).
Professor Shirin Sinnar, Stanford University - The Lost Story of Iqbal, Georgetown Law Journal Vol. 105:379 (2017).

Lewis_11

About Mike

Mike Lewis was a unique and cherished contributor to the national security law field. He was a former naval aviator who trained in the elite “Top Gun” program and served in the first Gulf War. As a law professor, he brought his experience with armed conflict to bear on his scholarship and teaching.

Mike never lost sight of the polestars of international and constitutional law, even as he acknowledged the challenges of today’s armed conflicts with non-state actors such as ISIS and Al Qaeda. He was widely known and appreciated in our community, and is missed by all.

About the Nomination and Selection Processes

Only articles or book chapters written by full-time faculty members of AALS-member schools are eligible for nomination. Anyone may nominate an article/chapter, with the exception that self-nominations are not permitted.

Nominated articles/chapters must be expected to be accepted for publication, (whether in print or online) or already published, by December 31, 2023. No articles/chapters published before 2023 will be permitted (it may already be published in 2023, however). Nominated articles/chapters will be judged based on the quality of the research involved, the quality of the writing, the originality of the work, and the significance of its contribution to the field. Diversity in nominees and perspectives is strongly encouraged, and we especially hope to see nominations of the work of new and emerging scholars.

The selection will be made by a committee comprised of delegates from the Strauss Center at UT Austin, ONU, and the AALS National Security Law section. 2023's delegates are Rachel E. Van Landingham, Dakota S. Rudesill (Ohio State), Lt Col (ret.) (Southwestern), Bobby Chesney and Adam Klein (UT Austin), Bill Banks (Syracuse), Chris Jenks (SMU), Sudha Setty (CUNY), Peter Margulies (Roger Williams), and Liam O’Melinn (ONU).

How to Make a Nomination

Nominations must be submitted to Ali Prince of the Strauss Center ([email protected]) by October 31, 2023.

A nomination should include the following:

• Full citation to the nominated article/chapter
• PDF copy of the nominated article/chapter
• Information about the nominated author’s full-time faculty status
• The nominator’s concise case (100-300 words) in favor of awarding the prize to that article/chapter

How to Support the Mike Lewis Prize

The founders of the Mike Lewis Prize established an initial $10,000 fund in order to support ten years’ worth of annual awards at the $1,000 level. Half of this money was donated by ONU’s Pettit College of Law, and half by the Strauss Center at UT Austin (the Strauss Center is also providing staff support for administration of the Prize process and the associated funds). The sponsors hope the fund will grow through further donations so that the prize may continue to be awarded beyond the first ten years.

If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution towards that purpose, please follow these instructions:

1. The check should be made out to “The Robert Strauss Center, at The University of Texas at Austin,” with the words “Michael Lewis Fund” clearly stated in the memo.

2. Mail the check to:
The Robert Strauss Center
The University of Texas at Austin
P.O. Box Y
Austin, Texas 78712

Our Contributors

Unless the donation includes instructions to the contrary, all contributors will be named on this page.
We are extremely grateful to the following:

Ohio Northern University
Robert Strauss Center
William C. Banks
Dru Anne Brenner-Beck

Robert Chesney
Geoffrey Corn
Rich DiMeglio

Charles Dunlap Jr.
Eric and Francine Jensen
Liam O’Melinn

strausscenter_black