Stephanie Celada, a rising 3L at Belmont University College of Law, is the winner of the school’s second annual Legal Fiction Workshop for her story, “Diminished Capacity.” The piece tells the story of a young attorney struggling with the fallout of a complicated ethical decision.
Celada’s story was chosen by an outside reader panel, through an anonymized review process. In announcing their decision, the panelists released the following statement:
The judges of the Belmont Legal Fiction Workshop selected “Diminished Capacity” as this year’s winner. The judges felt that this story displayed a high level of creativity; polished writing craft, with excellent and organic dialogue; a compelling structure and narrative; emotionally resonant stakes; realistic character development; and a satisfying surprise ending. Also, the judges found that this story admirably illuminated the role of the law and lawyers in modern society. They extend their warmest congratulations to the story’s author.
Belmont’s Legal Fiction Workshop is conducted over the Spring semester as an extracurricular activity for a limited number of 2Ls and 3Ls, and is taught by Professor Kristi Arth, who designed the workshop as an incubator and space for students to produce creative work capable of publication.
Download a copy of the winning entry.
