Alexa Bordner ’18 Honored with Burton Distinguished Legal Writing Award
Alexa Bordner ’18, executive articles editor for the Brooklyn Law Review, was one of 10 law school students nationally to receive the Burton Distinguished Legal Writing Award. She was honored for her note, How New York Drinks: If and How Third-Party Providers Can Integrate with the Three-Tier System, which appeared Volume 83, Issue 1 (2017) of the Brooklyn Law Review.
“It is a tremendous honor to be recognized on a national level,” Bordner said. “I am immensely grateful to the members of the Brooklyn Law Review for their support. I'm also proud to represent Brooklyn Law School as one of the best in the nation.”
Bordner’s article explores the legal issues created by a surge of new companies that facilitate home delivery of alcohol, which makes it increasingly common for consumers to make purchases online. In the case of alcohol sales, however, convenience cannot be the only consideration, she explains. New York and many other states regulate the distribution of alcoholic beverages through a three-tier licensing system of producers, wholesalers, and retailers. Bordner proposes the creation of a minimally burdensome permit for third-party providers as a potential solution that addresses the concerns of all affected parties.
“Alexa’s note exemplifies the very best of the Brooklyn Law Review: clear analysis of a relevant legal problem, culminating in a novel and workable solution,” said Professor Beryl Jones-Woodin, faculty advisor to the publication.
Bordner said her love of legal writing was nurtured by her 1L Legal Writing Professor, Susan Greene. “It would be an understatement to say that the fundamentals Professor Greene taught us played a major part in the overall quality of the piece,” she said. “I'm really appreciative of all of the incredible professors here at the Law School who challenge our thinking daily.”
The Burton Awards were created in 1999 to honor effective legal writing and have expanded to honor other legal achievements, including legal writing, publications, and law reforms. The program honors “partners in law firms and law students who use plain, clear and concise language in their writing, as well as lawyers in the military and the executive branch of government, journalists, and law professors,” according to the Burton Awards site.