Dallas attorney John G. Browning has received a 2014 Burton Award for Distinguished Achievement in Legal Writing, his law firm announced. 
Browning, a partner in Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, received the award for “Keep Your ‘Friends’ Close and Your Enemies Closer: Walking the Ethical Tightrope in the Use of Social Media,” published in the St. Mary’s Journal of Legal Malpractice & Ethics in 2013. The article was one of five law review pieces Browning published last year.
This is the fourth Burton Award for Browning, who is a member of the Texas Bar Journal Board of Editors.
“I’m pleased that the judging panel chose to recognize a cutting-edge topic like the ethical concerns lawyers must be mindful of when using newer technologies like social media,” he said. “And I’m just amazed and humbled at the thought of receiving this wonderful accolade for the fourth time.”
The Burton Awards, often called the “Pulitzer of the legal profession,” were created in 1999 to recognize excellence in legal writing. The award will be presented June 9 during a gala at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Browning is the author of The Lawyer’s Guide to Social Networking and the syndicated newspaper column “Legally Speaking.” In his law practice, he handles commercial litigation, employment, health care, and personal injury defense matters in state and federal courts.