Arnold & Porter LLP Garners Two Burton Awards for Legal Achievement
Washington, D.C., June 13, 2006 - Arnold & Porter LLP and one of its partners, Ronald Lee, received honors last night at the Seventh Annual Burton Awards, which were held in the Coolidge Auditorium and followed by dinner in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress. The Burton Awards recognize excellence in contemporary legal writing. Syndicated columnist and ABC political correspondent George Will was the guest speaker at the event, which was attended by over 400 people.
Arnold & Porter was one of only a handful of law firms to receive the Record of Distinction Award, which is presented to firms that are "three-time winners." According to the Burton Foundation, this achievement is a direct reflection on the quality of writing by the partners at the law firm.
Mr. Lee won the 2006 Burton Award for his article, "The Dog Doesn't Bark: CFIUS, the National Security Guard Dog With Teeth." Partners William Vodra and Arthur Levine won in 2005 for co-authoring the article, "Anchors Away: The Food and Drug Administration's Use of Disgorgement Abandons Legal Moorings." Michael Gerrard, a partner in Arnold & Porter's New York office, was the first firm recipient in 2001 for his article, "Consultants' and Lawyers' Duties to Report Contamination."
"I am very honored that my article was selected for this award in legal writing," said Mr. Lee, who is a former General Counsel of the National Security Agency and Associate Deputy Attorney General and Director of the Executive Office of National Security in the Department of Justice.
"Arnold & Porter is grateful to the Burton Foundation for recognizing our firm and the importance of Ron's work," said managing partner Richard Alexander. "Ron's article presents a concise overview of the composition and legal mandate of CFIUS, an interagency committee that reviews national security implications when foreign companies seek to acquire U.S. companies -- one of the most significant law, business, and policy issues in national security, international trade and investment, and capital markets in the past year."
This national awards program, which was founded by William C. Burton in 1999, is dedicated to honoring partners in law firms and law school students for demonstrating a clear, concise, and comprehensive style of legal writing. Mr. Burton, a partner at D'Amato & Lynch in New York, is a former New York State Assistant Attorney General. He is the author of the Burton's Legal Thesaurus and is a leading advocate of plain language and modernized legal writing. The Burton Awards accepts nominations from the nation's 750 largest law firms.
