Country United States | First awarded 1999-present | |
Awarded for Outstanding accomplishments in law Presented by Burton Foundation, In association with the Library of Congress and Co-sponsored by the American Bar Association Official website | ||
The Burton Awards program is run in association with the Library of Congress and co-sponsored by the American Bar Association. The awards are generally selected by professors from Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Stanford Law School, and Columbia Law School, among others. Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and Judge Carol Corrigan of the Supreme Court of California are honorary members on the board of directors. In addition, U.S. Senators Cornyn, Bennett, Crapo, and Casey are also honorary members.
Contents
Each year, thirty Legal Writing Award winners are chosen from partners at the largest law firms in the nation. Fifteen Law School Awards are also given out. Five other Burton Awards are presented annually which include the "Book of the Year Award," and "Outstanding Contributions to Legal Writing Education Award. Even awards to lawyers in the military are given to winners at the event.
The award ceremonies are annually held at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. Prominent officials who have been guest speakers at the event have included Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice John Paul Stevens (retired). In the past, other well-known dignitaries have participated in the program including Tom Brokaw, Bob Schieffer, Tim Russert, Chris Matthews, George Will and master of ceremonies, Bill Press. The entertainers have included Jay Leno, Kristen Chenoweth, Bernadette Peters, and Venessa Williams.
Creator
The creator of the Burton Awards is William C. Burton, a partner in the law firm of Sagat/Burton LLP in New York City. He is a former New York State Assistant Attorney General, former New York State Assistant Special Prosecutor, and has written the reference book Burton's Legal Thesaurus, published by McGraw-Hill.
Awards
Selection Process
The quality and number of submissions by law firms and law schools is extremely competitive. Award recipients are selected from nominations by deans of all of the law schools in America, as well as from nominations by managing partners of the 1000 largest U.S. law firms.[9]
2012 awards
The 2012 awards were held at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. on June 11, 2012. James M. Rishwain, Jr., Firm Chair and CEO of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, was Dinner Chair. Bill Press was the Master of Ceremonies.