The Gide and Gray’s Inn French-English Law Essay Prize 2025 has launched

The Gide and Gray’s Inn French-English Law Essay Prize is back for 2025!

The topic for the prize focuses on a comparison of law relevant to commercial transactions in the French and English legal systems. This year it is:

“If you were advising an entrepreneur starting up a company that develops and sells AI products would you encourage them to do so under the French or English legal system?”

You may wish to consider: Would your advice assume the products were sold and used globally and would it matter whether they were goods or services or a mixture of both?”

The Panel of Judges includes notable experts in the fields of French-English law and/or Franco-British relations. For the 2025 prize, we are grateful to have:

• Sir Andrew McFarlane (Vice Treasurer of Gray’s Inn and President of the Judging Panel)

• Saadia Bhatty (partner, Gide London)
• Michael Butcher (President of the Franco-British Data Society, bencher of Gray’s Inn and organiser of the prize from the Gray’s Inn side)
• Michael Collett, KC (barrister at 20 Essex Street)
• Dr. Catherine Pedamon (senior lecturer, Westminster Law School)

The judging process will begin after the deadline for essay submissions, which is 14 September 2025, and the prize will be awarded at a reception in London in November 2025. The winner of the competition will receive a prize of £1,500 plus a two-week paid internship with Gide’s London office; the runner-up will receive a prize of £1,000.

The prize is open to individuals who have been in full time legal education for less than six years at the time of submission of the essay.

To register to participate in the prize and to receive a copy of the rules, please email EssayPrize@gide.com.

We look forward to receiving your entries!