The Burton Awards, hosted at the esteemed Library of Congress, continue their legacy as the most prestigious law awards, recognizing extraordinary achievements in the legal field.
Know the prominent individuals forming our Distinguished Board and Committees.
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Explore the breadth of Awards Categories, showcasing various legal accomplishments highlighted in our event.
Event Overview
The 2025 Burton Awards
Celebrating Our 26th Year
Event: Monday, May 19, 2025
Held in association with the Library of Congress, presented by lead sponsor Law360 and co-sponsored by the American Bar Association and Sullivan & Cromwell.
Nature of Burton Awards: The awards program is designed to reward major achievements in the law, ranging from literary awards to the greatest reform in law. Past selection panels have included judges from Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, UC Berkeley School of Law, Stanford Law School and Columbia Law School, among others. The current judges of the awards include leading law school professors, members of law firms, and outstanding leaders in law who all contribute their time and talents to support the legal 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; Brian D. Burton, Senior Attorney, Alston & Bird; 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, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Seaport Entertainment Group; Duane Holloway, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, U. S. Steel Corporation; Marc 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; Maryanne R. Lavan, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Lockheed Martin Corporation; Steve McManus, Chief Legal Officer, State Farm and Kevin O’Connor, Senior Vice President & Chief Legal Officer, Carrier.
Event Specifics
Burton Awards Event Begins: Library of Congress, Coolidge Auditorium, 3:00p.m. promptly
Cocktail Reception: Great Hall, Library of Congress, 6:00p.m.
Gala/Dinner: Great Hall, Library of Congress, 6:45p.m. to 8:15p.m.
Performance: Coolidge Auditorium, 8:30pm to 9:15pm,
Event Venue: Great Hall, Library of Congress
Address: 101 Independence Ave SE, Washington DC 20540
Valet Service provided
Approximate size/description of the audience: 300 guests
List of invited government officials, dignitaries, and VIPS: The list includes many of the most venerated managing partners and partners of the largest law firms in America, law school deans and professors from across the nation.
Is the event open to the press? Yes, but the press is not invited through any general outreach efforts. Therefore, members of the press have rarely been present.
What is the proper attire? Black tie.
Is this a fundraising event? No, fundraising events in the Jefferson Building are not permitted.
Who are the hosts and sponsors? The Burton Awards is held in association with the Library of Congress, presented by lead sponsor, Law360, and co-sponsored by the American Bar Association.
The Venue: Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library’s mission is to make its resources available and useful to the Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations.
Law360, Lead Sponsor
Law360, a LexisNexis company, is a one-stop source for legal news and analysis, covering litigation, policy developments, corporate deals, and legal industry trends. Law360 covers 50+ practice area, industry, and state sections, and our daily newsletters reach over 700,000 professionals at top law firms, Fortune 500 companies, and key government agencies every business day.
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.
The Burton Foundation, Co-Host
The Burton Foundation is a non-profit, cultural and academic organization devoted to further promoting the performance and stature of the legal profession.
William C. Burton, Founder and Chair
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, Mr. Burton was selected as a member of the Hofstra Law School Hall of Fame. The Law School selected its top 50 graduates on celebrating its 50th Anniversary. He is also the recipient of the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Legal Writers comprised of more than 2,700 jurists, professors and practitioners. The award was previously presented to U.S. Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Paul Stevens, and Stephen Breyer, and other prominent award winners. In 2024, he received the ABA Presidential Citation for his visionary leadership and contributions to the legal profession and society at large.
Contact and Further Information
Address of Burton Awards:
100 Park Avenue, 16th Floor
New York, New York 10017
Contact Person: Jaclyn Hashim
Title: Executive Director
Telephone: (212) 672-1862
E-mail address:
jhashim@burtonawards.com