Charron Wins Prestigious Burton Award
Pryor Cashman Litigation Partner William L. Charron received a 2010 Burton Award for Legal Achievement at the Library of Congress on June 14, 2010. The Burton Award is one of the highest literary honors in law, with just 30 authors chosen each year out of entries submitted from the nation’s 1,000 largest law firms.
Charron was selected as a recipient of the prestigious national award for his article, “States Turn a Deaf Ear to the Constitution in an Effort to Promote ‘Truth in Music.’” The article, published in the August 28, 2009 edition of the BNA Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal and the fall edition of the University of Virginia Sports & Entertainment Law Journal, examines how “Truth in Music” statutes may be read to discriminate between registered and unregistered trademarks in the field of music performance, in conflict with Section 43(a) of the federal Lanham Act and thus in violation of the Supremacy Clause, the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and the First Amendment.
“The firm is proud of Bill’s article and the recognition that it has earned,” said Pryor Cashman Managing Partner Ronald Shechtman. “The article demonstrates a deep knowledge of both the Constitution and music, as well as the ability to write intelligently and creatively about a complex issue.”
Charron is a general commercial litigator who is also engaged in a wide variety of intellectual property disputes, including representing plaintiffs and defendants in claims of copyright and trademark infringement, false advertising, rights of publicity and privacy, defamation and First Amendment defense, and trade secret litigation. Charron has also represented clients in complex cases involving securities fraud class action defense, antitrust and civil RICO prosecution and defense, and international law-property rights defense, as well as contract, shareholder and LLC membership disputes.
Patterned after the Pulitzers, the Burton Awards are funded by the Burton Foundation, a not-for-profit, academic effort dedicated to rewarding effective legal writing. The program honors recipients who use plain, clear and concise language and avoid archaic, stilted legalese. In 2008, Pryor Cashman Banking Partner Pinchus D. Raice and the late David C. Thomas, of counsel, won the award for their article, “Sinners at the Pearly Gates: A Primer on the Standards of Admission to the Banking Fraternity.”
At the Library of Congress event on June 14, 2010, the prominent guest speakers included Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, author Bryan Garner and Jeffrey Toobin, senior analyst for CNN Worldwide and author of The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court. Bill Press was the Master of Ceremonies. To see a photo of Charron, his wife Deborah and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts at the event, please click here.
To read “States Turn a Deaf Ear to the Constitution in an Effort to Promote ‘Truth in Music’,” please click here. To read the official press release from the Burton Foundation, please click here.
