Legends in the Law

Legends in the Law

The Burton Awards is proud to announce its newest addition to its family of awards, "The Legends in the Law Award." This award goes to an outstanding corporate general counsel whose corporation or business had gross revenues which exceeded $1 Billion in 2008

To complete an application, please fill out the online form located below. Instructions and details can be found at that page.

• Legends in the Law Nomination Form

In 2007, The Burton Awards named five "Legends in Law" in the category of General Counsel. The awards were presented at the Library of Congress, in Washington, D.C., on June 4. Nominations were received from Managing Partners in the top 1,000 law firms. The winners, who were all from corporations with revenues in excess of $1 Billion dollars or more, are:

James. T. Hale, General Counsel, Target Corporation
Nominated by Faegre & Benson LLP

Michele Coleman Mayes, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Pitney Bowes, Inc.
Nominated by Proskauer Rose LLP

Timothy Mayopoulos, EVP and General Counsel, Bank of America Corporation
Nominated by Morrison & Foerster LLP

Geralyn M. Presti, SVP, General Counsel & Assistant Secretary, Forest City Enterprises, Inc.
Nominated by Thompson Hine LLP

Richard H. Walker, General Counsel, Deutsche Bank AG.
Nominated by White & Case LLP

The selection was made on the following criteria: reputation in both the legal profession and as a proven authority in a specialized area of law; background and experience; complexity and scope of matters handled; global or national importance of issues confronted; and proven and exemplary leadership.

The 2007 "Legends in Law" awards were judged by William C. Burton, founder and chairman of the program. Mr. Burton was a former Vice President of Continental Insurance and in this position had over 15 years of experience in a General Counsel's Office dealing with corporate affairs. In commenting on the award winners, Mr. Burton said: "Each of the leaders selected are preeminent in their specialized fields of law. We applaud their careers and their accomplishments. They deserve the accolades and the attention that will be paid to them, and the special designation that will be conferred."

This year, the organization celebrates its ninth year. The Burton Awards Honorary Board of Directors includes federal appellate judges, state court judges, professors of law from the finest law schools in America and leading partners in the largest law firms. Judge Richard A. Posner of the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Alex Kozinski of the 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals serves on the board as well as Carol Corrigan, who sits on the Supreme Court of California.

The National Contributor of the awards program is LexisNexis. <