Legal Research and Writing is a nationally ranked program in the University of Oregon School of Law. But in 1978, it was little more than an idea on the mind of professor Mary Lawrence.
Lawrence played a vital role in the inception of a legal research/writing program at the law school, creating one with a major focus on legal analysis and emphasis on statutes and agency regulations.
It’s one of the reasons that Lawrence, professor emerita, is the 2013 recipient of the Burton Award for Outstanding Contributions to Legal Writing Education.
The award honors outstanding contributions in the area of legal writing, and in particular to the education of new lawyers in the area of legal analysis and research and writing. The award will be presented to Lawrence at the 14th Annual Burton Awards Program and Gala at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., on June 3.
Hosted by the Library of Congress and the Burton Foundation, the black-tie event, which began in 2000, recognizes effective legal writing. About 500 people are expected to attend the 2013 event, including government officials and law school and law firm dignitaries.
In 1978, Lawrence created one of the first programs in the nation that employed full-time instructors who were law graduates – now the model nationwide. She led the law school’s Legal Research and Writing program until 2000 when she retired.
Lawrence has dedicated her career to the scholarship and teaching of legal research and writing. She won a Lifetime Achievement Award this year from the Association of Legal Writing Directors and the Legal Writing Institute, and a Meritorious Service Award in 2010 from the law school.
- from the UO School of Law