Finest General Counsel Selected by the Burton Awards Program

New York, New York: The Burton Awards Program, a national 501(c)(3) non-profit effort, which is run in association with the Library of Congress, presented by lead sponsor Law360, and cosponsored by the American Bar Association, released its list of outstanding general counsel who will be named as “Legends in Law.” The Legends in Law Awards are sponsored by the U.S Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the program which will be held on Monday, May 20, 2024, at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

The “Legends in Law Select Committee” is comprised of Les Parrette, President of One Page Thinking, LLC and former Chief Legal Officer of Novelis; Tye G. Darland, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Georgia- Pacific LLC; Jean Lee, President and CEO of Minority Corporate Counsel Association; R. Hewitt Pate, Vice President and General Counsel of Chevron Corporation, Harold Kim, Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and President, U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR); and William Burton, Founder and Chair, of The Burton Awards.

The general counsel were judged on the following standards: “being highly respected by the bench and bar for integrity and professionalism; having a demonstrated track record of addressing complex matters of national or global significance in a specialized area; and being acknowledged as having a proven record of creativity and uniqueness in resolving challenges.”

During the awards ceremony, CNN news anchor, Chris Wallace will be the Master of Ceremonies. After dinner, Tony Award-winning artist Idina Menzel will perform.

Mr. Burton, Founder and Chair of the national awards program said “the 2024 Legends in Law are luminaries who have truly distinguished themselves in the profession of law. They have all earned the honor by being both outstanding and exemplary.”

The following General Counsel will be honored as 2024 Legends in Law:

AbbVie
Perry Siatis
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

Carrier
Kevin O’Connor
Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer

Cruise LLC
Jeff Bleich
Former Chief Legal Officer

Endeavor and TKO
Seth Krauss
Chief Legal and Administrative Officer of TKO
Chief Administrative Officer & Senior Counsel to the Board of Directors and Senior Management at Endeavor

Intuit
Kerry McLean
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Lincoln Financial
Craig T. Beazer
Executive Vice President and General Counsel

Microsoft
Hossein Nowbar
Chief Legal Officer

Packaging Corporation of America
Kent Pflederer
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

State Farm
Steve McManus
Chief Legal Officer

TPG
Bradford Berenson
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Walmart
Rachel Brand
Executive Vice President of Global Governance, Chief Legal Officer, and Corporate Secretary

 

THE BURTON AWARDS

The Burton Awards, established in 1999, is funded by the Burton Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and academic effort devoted to recognizing and rewarding excellence in the legal profession. The Burton Awards was established to honor the finest accomplishments in law, including writing, reform, public service and interest, regulatory innovation, and lifetime achievements in the profession. The Honorary and Distinguished Board of Directors of The Burton Awards Program includes: William C. Burton, Partner, Sagat | Burton LLP; former Chief Judge Richard A. Posner, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; U.S. Senator John Cornyn; U.S. Senator Roger Wicker; U.S. Senator Mike Crapo; U.S. Senator James E. Risch; U.S. Senator Todd Young; U.S. Senator Joni Ernst; U.S. Senator Mike Rounds; U.S. Senator Tim Kaine; U.S. Senator Christopher Coons; U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr.; U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen Jr.; U.S. Senator Michael F. Bennet; Justice Carol A. Corrigan, California Court of Appeals; Les Parrette, President, One Page Thinking; Jane Sullivan Roberts, Managing Partner, Macrae; H. Rodgin Cohen, Senior Chairman, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP; Lisa A. Rickard, Counselor to the President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (retired); Betty Whelchel, Former Head of Public Policy & Regulatory Affairs, BNP Paribas S.A. (retired); Brad Karp, Chairman, Paul, Weiss Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; Linda A. Klein, Senior Managing Shareholder, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC, and former President, American Bar Association; Stephen R. Mysliwiec, Partner, Miller Friel, PLLC; Bernard Nash, State Attorneys General Practice Co-Chair, Cozen O’Connor; Hubert L. Allen, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Abbott; Bruce Byrd, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Palo Alto Networks; Lynn Charytan, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Comcast Cable; Lucy Fato, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Global Head of Communications and Government Affairs, AIG; Duane Holloway, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, U. S. Steel Corporation; Mark Kesselman, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Purdue Pharma; Jennifer Newstead, Chief Legal Officer, Meta; Anne Robinson, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Vanguard; and Maryanne R. Lavan, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Lockheed Martin Corporation.

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

William C. Burton is a partner at Sagat|Burton LLP, New York. He is the Founder and Chairman of the Burton Awards Program. He is also the Founder and Chair of the Burton Foundation for Legal Achievement, which funds the program. He has served as a New York State Assistant Attorney General and an Assistant New York State Special Prosecutor. For fifteen years, he was the Director of Government Affairs for Continental Insurance, then one of the largest international insurance companies. He is the author of “Burton’s Legal Thesaurus,” the first and only reference book of its kind written for the legal profession. The book is now in its sixth edition. When it was published forty-one years ago, Mr. Burton was given a prestigious award by the Association of American Publishers which declared the book “One of the most Creative and Innovate Projects of the Year.” In 1999, Mr. Burton created the Burton Foundation and established the non- profit Burton Awards Program with the initial goal of encouraging clear and comprehensive legal writing and rewarding other monumental achievements in law. In 2010, Mr. Burton was awarded the prestigious Golden Pen Award by the Legal Writing Institute, the second largest organization of law professors in the United States with 3,000 members. The honor was given for his advocacy and impact on legal writing. Later in 2011, he was presented the “Blackstone Award” by the Friends of the Law Library of Congress for embodying and promoting the best ideals of the venerable institution. He was a Legal Reform Award recipient from the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform in the fall of 2017. In 2022, he was named to the Hofstra Law School Hall of Fame and in 2024 he was awarded the ABA Presidential Citation.