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Crawford Recognized for Excellence in Legal Writing

2003 grad is one of 10 law students nationwide to receive the 2003 Burton Award

June 3, 2003

 

Franklin Eugene Crawford, a 2003 graduate of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, is one of 10 law students nationwide to receive the 2003 Burton Award. The award honors legal professionals and law students for excellence in legal writing. Winners are chosen based on their use of clear language and avoidance of unnecessarily complicated legal terminology.

Crawford will be honored on June 17 in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The ceremony will feature an address by NBC News Washington Bureau Chief and “Meet the Press” moderator Tim Russert.

Crawford, of Dayton, was recognized for his student note in the Ohio State Law Journal in 2002. “Fit For Its Ordinary Purpose? Tobacco, Fast Food and the Implied Warranty of Merchantability,” was published in Volume 63, Number 4 of the Ohio State Law Journal. The article describes how tobacco litigation has changed implied warranty law, and how those changes may affect future litigation against fast food companies.

William C. Burton, founder of the awards, said they are designed to recognize talented legal writers, and to emphasize “the importance of legal writing in the profession of law.”

Thomson West, Shook, Hardy and Bacon LLP and American Lawyer Media also co-sponsor the awards.

Crawford is a 1995 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, and a 1991 graduate of Walter E. Stebbins High School in Riverside, Ohio. He will take the Ohio bar exam in July and then join the law firm of Jones Day in Columbus, Ohio.

Since 1891, the Moritz College of Law has played a leading role in the legal profession through countless contributions made by alumni and faculty. Graduates of the school reside in all 50 states and 20 other countries and include justices of the Ohio Supreme Court, current and former U.S. Senators and Representatives, managing partners in law firms of all sizes, chief executive officers of Fortune 500 corporations, and attorneys with non-profit organizations and public interest law firms.

The Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University is Ohio’s flagship law school. Approximately 650 students attend classes at the school’s John Deaver Drinko Hall, located at 55 West 12th Avenue, Columbus.

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