Liberty Law student ties for first place in Virginia State Bar writing competition

Liberty University School of Law 3L Ava Perez Erickson is the first Liberty Law student to win the annual Intellectual Property Section of the Virginia State Bar Law Student Writing Competition. Submissions were held last summer, and winners were announced in January. Perez Erickson shared first place with a student from the University of Richmond School of Law.

Perez Erickson, president of the law school’s Intellectual Property Clinic, wrote on the attempted filings of patents generated by artificial intelligence and the concept of personhood from a distinctly Christian perspective.

The competition is sponsored by the Intellectual Property Section of the Virginia State Bar and seeks to promote academic debate and the dissemination of ideas and scholarly writing in the field of intellectual property. It is open to residents of Virginia and any student enrolled in a Virginia law school. Entries are judged by members of the Section according to subject matter originality and analysis, relevance to IP practice, quality of topic development, and writing criteria. Winners receive $5,000 and publication on the Section’s website.

Perez Erickson submitted a paper she wrote in her Bioethics and the Law class from her 2L year. The paper discussed two federal cases, Thaler v. Vidal and Thaler v. Hirshfeld, which involve scientist Dr. Stephen Thaler and his creation of an AI machine, nicknamed DABUS, that generated patentable objects. When he tried to file with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Thaler listed DABUS as the inventor. The USPTO denied his applications on the basis that the machine did not qualify as an inventor because inventors must be “natural persons.” After subsequent appeals, the courts affirmed USPTO’s decision. Thaler’s attempt to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied.

“The whole goal of the (paper) was that we have these cases now, and the court said, ‘No, you can’t be a machine and do this,’” Perez Erickson said. “But this brings up other questions: What does it really mean to be a person? How does that change? How does God define it for us, and how does man define it? What are the problems with man defining personhood, and God defining personhood, and where do we stand?”

Perez Erickson’s paper, which will be published by the VSB Intellectual Property Section later this year, supports the biblical truth that man is made in the image of God and that no other creature or object is, or can be, made in His image.

“The article represents some of the best writing on the subject of artificial intelligence and the Christian worldview that I have seen anywhere, including from tenured law professors and longtime practicing lawyers,” said adjunct faculty member and Director of IP Clinic Andrew Connors, who encouraged her to submit the paper. “I am impressed that her thoughtful writing, expressing Christian views, was so good that a section of the Virginia State Bar could not deny it.”

Perez Erickson said she received a high grade on the paper, so she was confident in her submission, though she did not expect to win.

Because her paper was heavily influenced by a biblical worldview, Perez Erickson said the accomplishment is a win for Christians practicing law.

“In my head, I said there’s absolutely no way I’m winning this, even if it’s a good paper,” Perez Erickson said, assuming the religious aspects of her paper might exclude it from consideration.

Perez Erickson earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences from Liberty in 2021, but God redirected her path toward law. She said it was the best decision she made.

“I love law school, and this is definitely where the Lord wants me.”

She said her education at Liberty Law has helped her to prioritize a balance of logic and communicating efficiently while still being able to be creative.

“When your worldview changes based on law and how Liberty Law really shapes you, you write differently,” she said. “So now I write in a way that’s still very creative but logical in the way that the law flows.”

“Now everything I see, I see in that ‘lawyer way.’ My entire worldview on everything has changed, and that is something big that Liberty has done. Everything I tackle, including papers, is with that new set of lawyer eyes.”

Perez Erickson is in her second year as a member of the Liberty University Law Review, currently serving as Notes and Comments editor. She said a strong understanding of “The Bluebook” and Law Review style helped her write the winning paper with precision.

“Law Review is so important in that it totally equipped me for how I write now. You have to be a good writer to begin with, but Law Review has augmented it tenfold and taught me how to write a law review comment (a type of written legal scholarship), which is what I wrote for the paper.”

“I’m a naturally creative writer, but now I’ve been formed and forged into this legal writer through law school,” Perez Erickson added. “I love making what could otherwise be considered dry topics interesting.”

Connors said Perez Erickson’s success exemplifies the quality of Christian legal professionals being trained at Liberty Law.

“Quite honestly, when I was a student writing for these competitions, I would have been afraid to write an expressly Christian piece for a competition sponsored by a secular institution,” he said. “Ms. Perez Erickson’s courage in doing so reflects so well on Liberty Law and is real evidence that we Train Champions for Christ in a very real, world-changing way.”