"The exposure that it has given me to recognised scholars is definitely invaluable."

Deakin Law School PhD candidate, Stephen Alevras recently took out the 2015 Corporate Law Teachers Association Conference Prize for Best Conference Paper.

A highly-coveted accolade, his supervisor, Chair in Law Professor Jean Du Plessis, explains that Stephen's paper was one of 10 submissions in what turned out to be a very fierce competition.

'It is quite remarkable that for this particular prize he was in competition with academics ranging from Senior Lecturer to other PhD candidates.

'Stephen's depth of research is absolutely outstanding and a testament to the high-quality PhD candidates we attract at Deakin University,' Professor Du Plessis says. 

The paper draws on research Stephen conducted for his PhD thesis 'The early history of the law of dividends in Australia and the United Kingdom'.

Talking about his achievement, Stephen expresses his gratitude towards the Deakin School of Law staff, who he describes as very supportive and professional, and particularly his supervisor.

'The faculty staff are intelligent and highly-qualified and I also think they encourage graduates like myself to participate in these other opportunities that help develop one's skills as an academic.

'I think it is fantastic to have been recognised at such an early stage in my career regarding my academic output, and the exposure that it has given me to quite eminently recognised scholars is definitely invaluable and will be critical to my early career after I graduate my PhD and in the years to come after that,' he says. 

In addition to receiving this highly coveted accolade, Stephen also won $A500 in prize money. A shorter version of his paper will be published in the Australian Governance Institute Journal soon.