ASU Law student, Isabella Santos named Burton Award winner for legal writing submission

Isabella Santos, a third-year JD student at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, has been named one of 15 recipients of the Law360 Distinguished Legal Writing Award. She will be honored at the Burton Awards on May 19 for her article Bright Young Minds: Envisioning a Child’s Right to Direct Their Education.

"It's a great privilege to contribute to the legal discourse surrounding such a timely issue, especially as public schools and education-related constitutional issues remain a contentious topic in both politics and society," Santos said. "Receiving the Burton Award feels like meaningful recognition of the months of hard work that went into researching, writing, and editing this piece."

The Burton Awards, which recognize excellence in the legal profession, are presented in association with the Library of Congress. The awards are sponsored Law360, with co-sponsors the American Bar Association and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.

“In her work, Bella provides a legal framework to give children a voice in directing their education.,” said Ann Ching, clinical professor of law. “Although her proposed framework is novel, it is solidly grounded in constitutional law and existing jurisprudence. Her topic is timely, given the restrictions being placed on children’s opportunities to learn about race, sex, and gender, among other subjects. The Burton Award honors Bella’s brilliant writing and insightful analysis. ”  

This year marks the eighth time an ASU Law student has won the prestigious award, underscoring the success of the school’s legal method and writing program, which is ranked fifth in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.

“ASU Law’s legal writing program has a rigorous first-year legal writing curriculum and a diverse menu of popular upper-level writing electives, including Writing for Law Clerks and Contract Drafting and Negotiation,” said Tamara Herrera, associate dean of Academic Affairs and Distinguished Endowed Professorship in Legal Method. “The curriculum lays the foundation for student’s future writing success by focusing on transferable skills in predictive and persuasive legal writing. Students apply these skills in their future writing endeavors, whether that be on a law journal or in an externship.”

Read more about our past winners:

• Burton 2023  Noah Goldenberg, Indian Embryos as ‘Indian Children’ [Law Journal]
• Burton 2022  Walter Johnson,  Governance Tools for the Second Quantum Revolution [Jurimetrics]
• Burton 2016  Kathryn Brown, Stranger than Fiction: Modern Designer Drugs and the Federal Controlled Substances Analogue Act [Law Journal]
• Burton 2012  Kaitlyn Redfield-Ortiz, Government by the People for the People? Representative Democracy, Direct Democracy, and the Unfinished Struggle for Gay Civil Rights [Law Journal]
• Burton 2011  Daniel G. Orenstein, Shaken to the Core: Emerging Scientific Opinion and Post-Conviction Relief in Cases of Shaken Baby Syndrome  [Law Journal]
• Burton 2006  J. Scott Dutcher, From the Boardroom to the Cellblock: The Justifications for Harsher Punishment of White-collar and Corporate Crime [Law Journal]
• Burton 2005  Jay Prendergast, Kremen v. Cohen, The “Knotty” Saga of Sex.com [Jurimetrics]

Written by Crystal Jimenez