McGuireWoods partner J. Brent Justus and associate George E. Rudebusch have earned the legal industry’s premier writing award for their analysis of a Federal Trade Commission rule that would have barred most noncompete agreements in the United States.
The authors won a Law360 2025 Distinguished Legal Writing Award, presented by the Burton Awards, for their article, “All Dressed Up With Nowhere to Go? The FTC’s Ban on Non-Competes Is Ready, But Legal Challenges Await.” The article was published in the July 2024 edition of CPI Antitrust Chronicle. Only 20 articles from entries submitted by the nation’s 1,000 largest law firms were selected as winners of this year’s Distinguished Legal Writing Awards.
The article explained the scope of the FTC’s April 2024 rule banning noncompete agreements and assessed the legal challenge filed in federal court immediately after the rule was issued. The authors reviewed the statutory, constitutional and procedural challenges to the rule outlined in Ryan, LLC v. FTC, and wrote that it “seems likely that the rule will not go into effect until after litigation fully winds its way through the court, if ever.” A U.S. district court in Texas ultimately held that the noncompete ban was unlawful and set aside the rule.
Justus co-leads McGuireWoods’ antitrust practice group. He represents corporate clients and individuals in global criminal antitrust cartel investigations, defends class actions throughout the United States, and represents and counsels clients on a range of significant M&A matters around the world. Rudebusch is an associate in the antitrust practice group who advises clients in civil litigation, criminal cartel investigations and merger clearances.
The Burton Awards are funded by the Burton Foundation, a nonprofit academic initiative that rewards excellence in the legal profession. The awards program, run in association with the Library of Congress, was established to encourage clear and comprehensive legal writing and to honor monumental achievements in the law.
Winners will be honored at a May 19, 2025, ceremony at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Journalist Ted Koppel will serve as the master of ceremonies. The awards ceremony, now in its 26th year, will be followed by a gala reception and performance by 16-time Grammy Award winner David Foster and Broadway star Katharine McPhee.