The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University has announced the recipients of the 2025 Goettel Prize for Faculty Scholarship. This year, the award was given to two faculty members: University Distinguished Professor of Law Bridget J. Crawford and Associate Professor of Law Josh Galperin.
Professor Crawford was recognized for her article “Taxing Sugar Babies,” published in the Minnesota Law Review. The article examines online discussions among sugar daddies/mamas and sugar babies to analyze how tax law intersects with the stigmatization of sex work. According to Crawford, payments made to sugar babies are often described as “gifts,” but tax professionals view them as taxable income. She argues that while taxing these payments is legally correct, enforcement is unlikely, which keeps sugaring in a gray area between intimacy and sex work. The article suggests that calling these payments “gifts” maintains stigma and denies sugar babies labor protections and recognition for their work.
“Professor Bridget Crawford has delivered a fascinating article in Taxing Sugar Babies,” said 2025 Goettel Award selection committee member Professor Chrisopher Hampson. “Her analysis is relevant for anyone who ponders the nature of work, value, contracts, morality, sex, stigma, and more. Crawford builds her conclusions upon the results of a meticulous, IRB-approved study of Reddit subpages. Besides being an adept way of studying sugaring, Crawford’s method will prove generative for legal scholars in other areas.”
“I’m honored to receive this recognition,” said Professor Crawford. “Through my article, I hope to draw attention to the complex realities of sugaring, the tax implications that are often overlooked, and the broader conversations about stigma, fairness, and recognition in sex work.”
Associate Professor Josh Galperin received the prize for his article “Interpreting Congress,” published in the Wisconsin Law Review. His research introduces congressional interpretation as a judicial strategy where courts infer legislative intent from assumptions about congressional behavior rather than from statutes or legislative history. Galperin argues that this practice affects separation-of-powers principles by blending textualism with assumptions about Congress’s actions.
Of Professor Galperin’s article, 2025 Goettel Award selection committee member Professor Sharona Hoffman noted that, “Interpreting Congress is an ambitious, illuminating, and thought-provoking paper. It makes a very valuable contribution to the statutory interpretation literature.”
Galperin uses noise law as a case study in his paper and calls for greater transparency in how courts use congressional interpretation strategies. He states that ignoring this interpretive method can undermine judicial legitimacy and lead to policy-driven outcomes.
“I am flattered the readers thought this was a valuable article,” remarked Professor Galperin. “Congressional interpretation is becoming a very common practice, but one that is getting little attention even though it profoundly affects separation of powers, agency authority, and the legitimacy of courts. I hope my article will spur more discussion.”
The Goettel Prize was established in 2004 to recognize outstanding scholarship by Pace Law faculty members each year through an anonymous review process conducted by outside reviewers.
Associate Dean for Faculty Development Emily Gold Waldman commented on this year’s awards: “I’m so pleased that we had the opportunity to recognize both of these articles this year. They highlight the depth and breadth of our faculty’s scholarly impact. Professor Crawford sheds light on how narratives around taxation both reflect and reinforce social stigmas, while Professor Galperin illuminates how the Supreme Court’s interpretive practices have the potential to reshape fundamental separation-of-powers principles. Together, their work demonstrates how legal scholarship can uncover hidden dynamics in law and spark important conversations about legitimacy and the role of law in society.”
Professor Bridget J. Crawford joined Pace Law School’s faculty in 2003 after practicing at Milbank LLP (formerly Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy LLP). She teaches courses on federal income taxation; estate and gift taxation; wills; trusts; estates; property law; feminist legal theory; gender; tax policy; wealth transfer taxation; serves as President of American Tax Policy Institute; is a Fellow at ACTEC (American College of Trust & Estate Counsel) as well as ACTC (American College Tax Counsel); holds membership with American Law Institute.
Professor Joshua Galperin directs Pace’s Sustainable Business Law Hub since joining its faculty July 2021 following appointments at University Pittsburgh School Law & Yale Law School where he served Director Environmental Protection Clinic/Lecturer/Research Scholar—he remains Visiting Professor there too—with research/teaching interests spanning environmental law/administrative law/food-agriculture-policy/property/tort/constitutional issues & extensive publication record.
