Yabo Lin of Sidley Austin LLP Selected as Vice Chair of the Burton Awards Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

October 25, 2016                                                                                        

New York, New York: The Burton Awards Chairman, William C. Burton, has named Yabo Lin of Sidley Austin LLP Vice Chair of the program. The Burton Awards is a national non-profit effort that is run in association with the Library of Congress, presented by lead sponsor Law360, and is co-sponsored by the American Bar Association.

The Burton Awards program recognizes great accomplishments in law, including noteworthy writing, teaching, journalism, public service work in government, general counsel efforts and achievements of lawyers in the military. Close to 70 awards are presented annually.

William Burton said, “One of our foremost objectives is to recognize the finest accomplishments in law. To find the best recipients, we need to have the best team of experts and leaders involved in our program. To that extent, Yabo Lin is a true professional who possesses an overabundance of skill and judgment, knowledge and ability. Yabo will be extremely helpful, and an excellent resource. We welcome him and feel fortunate to have him serve in this important position.”

In accepting the position Mr. Lin stated, “It is an honor to accept this position and to serve with my friends and colleagues who I hold in the highest esteem. The cause of recognizing the finest in our profession, and therefore, setting an example for all others to follow, is a noble and valuable effort. Excellence is an objective all professionals should aspire to throughout their careers. I am, therefore, pleased and proud to be a part of this prominent and distinguished program.”

Yabo Lin is a partner at the global law firm of Sidley Austin LLP in Palo Alto, California. He counsels major technology companies and funds in the U.S. and Asia on mergers and acquisitions, investments, and corporate governance. His experience covers a wide range of industries, including the internet, e-commerce, telecom, semiconductor, software and clean energy.

Yabo received a J.D. from Washington University School of Law and a B.A. from Fudan University. He is a Member of the Advisory Committee of the Stanford Program in Law, Science and Technology, as well as a member of the International Advisory Committee of Stanford’s Rock Center for Corporate Governance. Additionally, he serves on the board of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley.

The Burton Awards’ honorary Board of Directors includes: Judge Richard Posner, 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals; Judge Alex Kozinski, 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals; U.S. Senator John Cornyn; U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr.; U.S. Senator Mike Crapo; U.S. Senator Michael F. Bennet; Supreme Court Justice Carol Corrigan of California; Jane Sullivan Roberts, Partner, Major, Lindsey & Africa; Lisa Rickard,  President, U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform; Elissa Lichtenstein, Director, Public Services Division, American Bar Association; Thomas L. Sager, Partner, Ballard Spahr LLP; Les Parrette, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Compliance Officer, Novelis Inc.; and Stephen R. Mysliwiec, Partner, DLA Piper LLP (US).

The Academic Board of the awards program includes Noah Messing of Yale Law School; Virginia Wise of Harvard Law School; Jeanne Merino of Stanford Law School; Lindsay Sturges Saffouri of UC Berkeley School of Law; Judge Ed Forstenzer, former presiding judge, California Superior Court; William Ryan, Advisor, Department of Homeland Security; and Roy Gutterman, Director, Tully Center for Free Speech at Syracuse University.

 

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The Burton Awards program is a 501(c)(3) effort funded by the Burton Foundation which is a not for profit, academic effort. It is devoted to recognizing and rewarding excellence in the legal profession. Since its inception in 1999 a principal focus of the organization has been the refinement and enrichment of legal writing, however, the scope of the program has grown into recognizing all major achievements in law. The founder of the program is William C. Burton, a partner in the law firm Sagat|Burton LLP and both a former New York State Assistant Attorney General, Assistant Special Prosecutor and author of the profession’s first legal thesaurus.