Press Releases

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison's Richard Rosen Receives Burton Award for Legal Achievement

NEW YORK - July 20, 2000 - Richard A. Rosen, partner in the litigation department at the international law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, was honored with the Burton Award for Legal Achievement on July 12 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The Burton Award for Legal Achievement is the legal profession’s first national award to honor both lawyers and law school students for their outstanding writing achievements. Writing samples being honored are based on the use of plain, clear, cogent and effective language. William C. Burton, partner of New York-based law firm D’Amato & Lynch and founder of the awards program said, "We believe formal legalese no longer serves any legitimate purpose in legal writing and that plain language mandates should be championed."

Richard Rosen was honored with the Burton Award for his article titled, "The Changing Responsibilities of Corporate Officers and Directors in the United Sates." He has been a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison since 1986. Mr. Rosen has broad-based civil litigation experience, with particular emphasis in the fields of securities, derivatives, commodity futures, banking and other complex business disputes. Richard Rosen graduated from Brown University, magna cum laude, in 1975, and Harvard Law School, magna cum laude, in 1978, where he was a Note Editor of the Harvard Law Review. He is a faculty member of the American Law Institute/American Bar Association continuing legal education course on civil practice and litigation in federal and state courts.

"We are delighted that the Burton Award Academic Committee has recognized Richard’s accomplishments regarding his superb writing style," said Alfred D. Youngwood, Chair of Paul Weiss. "His devotion to delivering effective, yet professional messages to the legal community is clearly displayed not only in this piece, but in the numerous articles on corporate and securities law issues which he has published in a variety of influential law and business journals."

Recipients of the Burton Award are comprised of 12 partners and counsel from the nation’s top 100 law firms and ten law school students from A.B.A. accredited law schools, and were selected by an Academic Committee based on their exemplary writing style. The Committee is headed by Virginia Wise, Lecturer on Law at Harvard University, and also includes Honorable Edward Forstenzer of the Superior Court of California.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison is a 400-lawyer international firm based in New York with offices in Washington, D.C., Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Beijing. The firm provides legal counsel to clients worldwide in the areas of international taxation, mergers and acquisitions, project finance, securities and financings, reorganizations and restructurings, private and public equity funds, Washington regulatory matters, and litigation and dispute resolution in all industries, including power, telecommunications, media, insurance and technology.