Emory Law School Grad Wins Award for Legal Writing

An Law School graduate was one of 15 law school students nationwide to receive the prestigious Burton Award for Legal Achievement in 2011, which recognizes exceptional legal writing.

Adam McDonell Moline, who graduated in the class of 2011, was recognized for his article, “Nineteenth Century Principles for Twenty-First Century Pleading.”

"Moline’s article defends two recent, controversial Supreme Court decisions—Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbal—citing an essay by 19th-century legal reformer David Dudley Field, which served as the prototype for the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure," according to a posting on the Emory Law school website.

Moline is the sixth Emory Law student to win this award.

“There is essentially no one in the academe who is willing to defend both of these decisions on their merits, and I think my paper is unique in doing that,” Moline said.

The Burton Award "recognizes lawyers and law students who 'use plain, clear and concise language and avoid archaic, stilted legalese.'" Law school deans nominate students for the award, which was established in 1999 by the Burton Foundation.

Moline will be honored at an awards ceremony at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. on June 13 where Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer have been invited to speak.