Peter Cane Legal Reasoning Prize

The Peter Cane Legal Reasoning Prize is an annual essay competition run by Corpus Christi College, Oxford, inviting aspiring lawyers to analyse a legal text and communicate their reasoning. The Prize encourages engagement with legal ideas and reasoning and is aimed at school students considering the academic study of law.

Shortlisted candidates are invited to an afternoon event at the College featuring legal workshops and an award ceremony.

Submissions for the 2026 Prize will open in December 2025 when the year's problem will be published. Entries must respond to that problem and be no more than 2,000 words inclusive of titles, subtitles, references and footnotes; size 12 font and 1.

5 line spacing are recommended. The deadline for submissions is stated as in the first week of February 2026, with the Prize Giving Day taking place in early-mid March 2026. Sample questions and past winning answers are provided on the College website, and a short guidance video is available.

For queries, contact the Outreach Team at admissions.office@ccc.ox.ac.uk. Candidates may discuss material with teachers and peers, but all submitted work must be the candidate's own.