Finest Law Firm Writers Selected By The Burton Awards Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 30, 2020
New York, New York: The finest law firm writers of 2020 have been announced by the Burton Awards, a national 501(c)(3) non-profit program, which is run in association with the Library of Congress, presented by lead sponsor Law360, and co-sponsored by the American Bar Association. The winners, who will be presented the “Law360 Distinguished Legal Writing Awards” on June 14, 2021, were chosen from the nominations submitted by the nation’s top 1,000 largest law firms. William Burton, Founder and Chair of the awards program, said “The winners are outstanding, highly skilled, and effective writers. The Law360 Writing Awards winners have now taught a new and even higher standard of excellence.”
The Academic Board, which reviewed articles published within the past year, was led by Virginia Wise, Chair, formerly of Harvard Law School; Jeanne Merino, Stanford Law School; Lindsay Saffouri, UC Berkeley School of Law, William C. Burton, Author and Founder of the event; Judge Edward Forstenzer, Superior Court of California (retired); and William Ryan, former member of the Department of Homeland Security and Chair of the White House Plain Language Committee.
The awards program will be celebrating its Twenty-first Anniversary at the Library of Congress. The awards ceremony will be followed by a gala reception, dinner, and performance by singer, songwriter, actor and author, Sara Bareilles, and world-class entertainer and mentalist, Oz Pearlman.
The honorary and distinguished Board of Directors of the Burton Awards program includes: William C. Burton, Partner, SagatBurton LLP; Les Parrette, Deputy Chairman, The Burton Awards; Chief Judge Richard Posner, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (retired); U.S. Senator John Cornyn; U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr.; U.S. Senator Mike Crapo; U.S. Senator Michael F. Bennet; U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen; U.S. Senator Cory Gardner; U.S. Senator James E. Risch; U.S. Senator Tim Kaine; Justice Carol Corrigan, California Court of Appeals; Yabo Lin, Partner, Sidley Austin LLP; Jane Sullivan Roberts, Partner, McLegal Group; Rodgin Cohen, Senior Chairman, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP; Lisa Rickard, Former President, U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform; Thomas L. Sager, Partner, Ballard Spahr LLP; James M. Rishwain, Jr., Chairman Emeritus, Pillsbury Winthrop LLP; Betty Whelchel, Former Head of Public Policy & Regulatory Affairs, BNP Paribas SA; Linda A. Klein, Senior Managing Shareholder at Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz and Past President, American Bar Association; and Stephen R. Mysliwiec, Partner, DLA Piper LLP (US).
Rachel Travers, General Manager of Law360 said, “Clear, compelling writing is essential for all lawyers. Law360 is proud to be associated with these awards, where the best of the best writers in the legal profession are recognized. Hats off to the nominees and award winners for demonstrating their writing talents and maintaining the highest standards of excellence.”
The 2020 Law Firm winners are:
| Law Firm | Author(s) | Article Title |
| Armstrong Teasdale | Douglas Marsh Charles (Chuck) Steese, | Home Is Where You’re Incorporated: The Supreme Court Limits Forum Shopping |
| Best Best & Krieger LLP | Gene Tanaka | The New Federalism: Blue States v. United States |
| Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC | Louis P. DiLorenzo, John Gaal | Horse-Shedding the Witness: When Does Witness Preparation Cross the Line? |
| Butler Snow LLP | Erin P. Lane, Luther T. Munford | No Way Around It: The Need for Federal “Permission and Assistance” Can Preempt a State Tort Duty |
| Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP | Dr. Dorothy Auth, Michael J. Sebba Danielle Vincenti Tully | How Fed. Circ. May Defer To PTAB In Facebook Case |
| Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP | Katherine B. Forrest | The Holographic Judge |
| Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP | Margaret Tahyar | Legal Interpretation Is Not Like Reading Poetry: How to Let Go of Ordinary Reading and Interpret the Legal Framework of the Regulatory State |
| DLA Piper | Eric Christofferson, John M Hillebrecht, Lisa Tenorio-Kutzkey | Representing Individuals in Interviews: The US Perspective |
| Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP | Ted Friedman, Timothy Gustafson, Alexandra “Lexi” Louderback, Chelsea Marmor | States Find Footing With Marketplace Legislation After Wayfair |
| Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP | Libby Baney, Niamh M. Lewis | Internet Pharmacies: Trends, Opportunities, and Risks |
| Foley & Lardner LLP | Donald H. Romano | Unlawful, Unfair and Unwise: Constitutional and Rulemaking Infirmities in CMS’s Enrollment Revocations and How to Challenge Them |
| Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP | Laura Collins, Martin Dickson, Alex Potter | Navigating European Enforcement Priorities in Online Distribution |
| Jenner & Block | Camila Connolly, David R. Singer | HOW HOLLYWOOD CAN (AND CAN’T) FIGHT BACK AGAINST DEEPFAKE VIDEOS |
| King & Spalding LLP | Mark Davies, Sawyer Duncan | Considerations in Cross-Border Carve-Out Deals |
| Lightfoot, Franklin & White LLC | Amber N. Hall, Bridget E. Harris, M. Christian King | Diversity’s Next Step: Developing Minority Partners |
| McGuireWoods LLP | Andrew McBride | If High Court Hears Gun Case, It Could Gut Agency Deference |
| Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP | Lewis M. Csedrik, Levi McAllister, Arjun Prasad Ramadevanahalli | Coming Soon: More Federal Action On Pipeline Cybersecurity |
| Morrison Cohen LLP | David B. Saxe | Adding a Right of Appeal in Arbitration |
| Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP | H. Christopher Boehning, Daniel J. Toal | Court Infers Intentional, Bad Faith Spoliation From Use of Ephemeral Messaging |
| Perkins Coie, LLP | Chris Garrett, Ken Houser, Robert Maynard, Chris Thomas | NEPA Streamlining Yet Again: Will the Diet Work This Time? |
| Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman | Ashleigh Acevedo, Kevin Ashe (of Holland & Knight) Norman F. Carlin, Eric Moorman | States Shift From Seawalls to Living Shorelines |
| Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP | Richard M. Mescher | Kawhi Leonard v. Nike Inc.: How copyrights can trump trademarks? |
| Reed Smith and Greenspoon Marder | Kim Gold, Marla Neufeld | The A, B, Cs (along with CDCs and FDAs) of Regulatory Implications over Assisted Reproductive Technology |
| Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP | Karen Hoffman Lent, Kenneth B. Schwartz | When Antitrust Meets Human Resources |
| Squire Patton Boggs | Daniel G. Berick, Leah Brownlee, Tamara Fraizer | The Top 10 Legal Mistakes Made By Early-Stage Companies – A “Field Guide” For Family Offices |
| Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP | Dina Kolker | For Public Employees, Speech Is Free, But Is Anyone Listening? |
| Sullivan & Cromwell LLP | Tom Baxter | The Rise of Risk Management in Financial Institutions and a Potential Unintended Consequence – The Diminution of the Legal Function |
| Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP | Jeremy P. Auster, Jeremy C. Cain, Todd Larson | Music Licensing Overhaul Signed Into Law |
| White & Case LLP | Bijal Vakil | Congress Attempts to Remove Ambiguity in Favor of Patent Holders |
| WilmerHale | David Gringer, Bonnie Heiple, Brian K. Mahanna, Heidi Ruckriegle | 4 Ways State AGs Are Targeting Energy Sector |
THE BURTON AWARDS
The Burton Awards, established in 1999, is funded by the Burton Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, academic effort devoted to recognizing and rewarding excellence in the legal profession. The Burton Awards were established to honor the finest accomplishments in law, including writing, reform, public service and interest, regulatory innovation, and lifetime achievements in the profession.
LAW360, LEAD SPONSOR
Law360, a LexisNexis company, is a trusted provider of breaking legal news and in-depth analysis, with up-to-the-minute, comprehensive coverage of litigation, regulation and enforcement, legislation, administrative proceedings, executive actions, corporate deals, legal industry trends, and more. With a unique blend of cutting-edge technology and journalistic expertise, Law360 delivers the intelligence legal and business professionals at top law firms, Fortune 1000 companies, key government agencies, and many other organizations need to remain experts, mitigate risk, and beat the competition.
THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, CO-SPONSOR
With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is one of the largest voluntary professional membership organizations in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
This prominent institution is one of the most celebrated and distinguished libraries in the world. It was established on April 24, 1800, and since that time has grown to become one of the largest repositories in history. The Library of Congress functions as both a national library and as the research arm of the U.S. Congress. It contains more than 32 million catalogued books and more than 62 million manuscripts.
U.S. CHAMBER INSTITUTE FOR LEGAL REFORM, LEGEND IN LAW SPONSOR
The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform’s mission is to champion a fair legal system that promotes economic growth and opportunity.
WILLIAM C. BURTON, ESQ., CHAIRMAN
The Founder and Chair of The Burton Awards for Legal Achievement is William C. Burton, Esq., a partner at the law firm of Sagat|Burton LLP. He is a former New York State Assistant Attorney General, a former New York State Assistant Special Prosecutor, and is the author of the first legal thesaurus ever written for the legal profession, entitled Burton’s Legal Thesaurus. The book is now in its 5th edition and quickly approaching its 35th anniversary. When the book was released, the Association of American Publishers recognized it as “one of the Most innovative and creative projects of the year.” In 2011, Mr. Burton was presented the highest honor given by the second largest association of law professors in America, The Legal Writing Institute, for “significantly advancing the cause of legal writing in the profession of law.” More recently, he was awarded the “Blackstone Award” by the Friends of the Law Library of Congress, for “embodying and promoting the best ideals of the institution.” In 2017, The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform Individual Achievement Award was presented to Mr. Burton for making the U.S. Justice System “fairer for all.”