Campbell Law’s LeAnn Cain ‘26 earns honorable mention in national writing competition

RALEIGH - Campbell Law School's LeAnn Cain '26 has earned an honorable mention for her submission to the 2025 Marshall M. Schulman Annual Competition for Student Papers in Criminal Law and/or Criminal Procedure.

Her article "The Forgotten Women on California's Death Row: Deadly Stereotypes and Due Process Violations" will be published in the Criminal Law Journal, the official quarterly publication of the Criminal Law Section of the California Lawyers Association.

As a competition winner, Cain will be awarded a $1,000 cash prize and a one-year student membership to California's Criminal Law Section.

Cain secured a top spot in the competition, where students are judged on the originality and informational value of their research. Competitors are expected to demonstrate unique perspectives through writing, research and analysis. This honorable mention highlights Cain's dedication to clarity and thorough research regarding law and women's justice, the judges said.

"Professor Chris Cox sent out the opportunity to participate in this writing competition and after I expressed interest, he sent me a Supreme Court decision about a woman who got her death sentence overturned, which was the 'spark' that started this topic," Cain explained.

The Marshall M. Schulman Writing Competition focuses on contemporary issues in the State of California and is open to submissions from law students nationwide. Schulman was a highly respected criminal law prosecutor and advisor of the Executive Committee of the Criminal Law Section. Schulman started his law career in 1953 and served as a criminal law prosecutor, starting his own criminal defense practice after a decade. He was a key player in developing the State Bar Criminal Law Specialization program, according to the CLA website. Schulman led a decades-long law career until his death in 2022.

This is not the first national writing award Cain has received. In 2024, she won third place in the Dr. Emanuel Stein and Kenneth D. Stein Memorial National Legal Writing Competition for her article "Reality TV Participants are Employees: A Proposed Solution to Legal Claims Against Production Companies," for her research on labor laws of reality show participants.

Cain also received a high merit award at Campbell University's 16th annual Wiggins Memorial Library Academic Symposium for her presentation, "When Women Bear the Ultimate Responsibility: Gendered Blame in Criminal Prosecutions," which explored gender bias, gender-based stereotypes and dehumanization during prosecutions of women on death row. Cox supported her exploration of the intersection between gender, criminal procedure and systemic inequities. Her full symposium submission is available at thislink through the Wiggins Memorial Library's digital archive.

"Professor Cox reviewed my drafts for the Marshall M. Schulman Competition paper then asked me to continue my research on women on death row, which is how I was able to present at Campbell's Academic Symposium," Cain added.

Cain, who graduated on May 8, served most recently as the editor in chief of the Campbell Law Observer, Student Bar Association (SBA) treasurer, vice president of the Health Law Association and Admissions Office Coordinator.

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Since its founding in 1976, Campbell Law has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion, and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others. Among its accolades, the school has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation's top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation's best Trial Advocacy Program. Campbell Law boasts nearly 5,000 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2026, Campbell Law is celebrating 50 years of graduating legal leaders and 17 years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina's Capital City.

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