The Don G. McCormick Writing Prize
October 24, 2025
The Don G. McCormick Writing Prize is awarded annually to an Elements of Legal Argumentation (ELA) II student with the brief that best represents and exemplifies excellence in legal writing. Each year, ELA II professors nominate the top brief from their class, and a distinguished member of the legal community selects the winner. The judging criteria include conciseness, clarity, accurate legal citation, style, and ethical advocacy. This year’s recipient is Melissa Anderson, whose brief was reviewed and chosen by The Honorable Michael Bustamante.
The McCormick Writing Prize was created in honor of Don G. McCormick, who practiced law in New Mexico after graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1933 until his death in 1986. McCormick drafted the New Mexico Uniform Jury Instructions (Civil), served on the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association, was elected a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and was a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. From these experiences, McCormick believed that lawyers had a duty to communicate effectively and wanted to recognize the student whose writing best exemplified the characteristics of writing he believed in.
Judge Bustamante shared, “After reviewing the problem and absorbing the applicable statute and applicable case law, I have chosen Melissa Anderson as the winner. The statute and cases are not easy reads. And the record provided in the problem of course provides grist for both sides of the argument. Melissa’s brief best meets the criteria set forth in the McCormick Writing Prize announcement. In addition, the brief’s writing style is direct, active, and uncluttered. I appreciated that the brief advocated strongly without histrionics and without ‘pushing’ the record or the case law beyond what they could reasonably bear. This last observation relates to the prize’s concern for style and ethical representation. Finally, the brief provided the best citations to the factual record.”
