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Award to be Presented at the Library of Congress June 1, 2026
PRYOR, Okla., Dec. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Xcaliber International, Ltd., LLC is proud to announce that Eric Estes, General Counsel, has been selected as a 2026 “Legends in Law” honoree by The Burton Awards Program, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization co-sponsored by the American Bar Association.
Eric Estes, General Counsel
Xcaliber International
The Burton Awards 2026 Legends in Law Honoree
The Legends in Law award recognizes the nation’s most distinguished general counsels, celebrating their integrity, professionalism and leadership in addressing complex legal and regulatory challenges. Honorees are chosen based on their impact within their industries and their lifelong continued commitment to excellence in corporate law. Mr. Burton, Founder and Chair of the national awards program said “One of the most difficult roles in law is being a general counsel of a major corporation. It requires ingenuity; it demands a thorough knowledge of multiple aspects of law. The general counsel we honor this year are the finest in our profession and it is, therefore, a pleasure to honor them at our upcoming event.”
Mr. Estes will be honored with other Legends in Law recipients at a black-tie ceremony at the Great Hall & Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. on Monday, June 1, 2026, marking the program’s 27th anniversary. The Master of Ceremonies will be George F. Will, America’s foremost political columnist. The 2025 Tony-award winning superstar, Nicole Scherzinger, will perform.
“Being recognized among the finest general counsel in the country is an extraordinary honor for Eric, and a proud moment for all of his teammates at Xcaliber,” said Derrick Taylor, CEO of Xcaliber International. “Eric’s insight, integrity and steady leadership have helped guide our organization through an increasingly dynamic and ever-changing regulatory landscape. His recognition as a ‘Legend in Law’ underscores not only his exceptional talent, but also his unwavering commitment and determination to ensure that our core values remain at the heart of everything that we do.”
“Eric is one of the most well-known and well-respected experts in tobacco policy and law in the United States,” said Dustin McDaniel former Arkansas Attorney General and current Co-Chair at Cozen O’Connor’s State Attorneys General practice. “As the general counsel for Xcaliber International for the last decade, Eric has overseen exponential growth, while avoiding regulatory hurdles and pitfalls that hinder growth and profitability for other highly regulated companies. Eric manages attorneys and complex issues with grace, and he is very deserving of being named a Legend in the Law,” McDaniel concluded.
Mr. Estes leads all legal, compliance and regulatory affairs for Xcaliber, reinforcing the company’s commitment to transparency, responsibility and lawful business practices in a challenging and ever-evolving marketplace.
“It’s an incredible honor to be recognized alongside such an accomplished group of legal professionals,” said Eric Estes. “I recognize that I have not gotten to this place in my career without the help of others, including colleagues and mentors at both Xcaliber and while at the Office of the Arkansas Attorney General where I last served as a Senior Assistant Attorney General.”
The “Legends in Law Select Committee” is comprised of Les Parrette, President of One Page Thinking, LLC and former Chief Legal Officer of Novelis; Tye G. Darland, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Georgia- Pacific LLC; Jean Lee, President and CEO of Minority Corporate Counsel Association; R. Hewitt Pate, Vice President and General Counsel of Chevron Corporation; and William Burton, Founder and Chair, of the Burton Awards.
XCALIBER INTERNATIONAL
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Pryor, Oklahoma, Xcaliber International, Ltd., LLC is the largest independently owned cigarette and cigar manufacturer in the United States. Xcaliber produces eleven distinct brands of tobacco products at affordable prices, serving wholesalers, retailers and adult consumers nationwide. The company is committed to transparency, compliance and community engagement, all while honoring the hard-working spirit of American manufacturing.
All Xcaliber International brands and trademarks are registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and are the property of Xcaliber International, LTD., LLC.
THE BURTON AWARDS
The Burton Awards, established in 1999, is funded by the Burton Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and academic effort devoted to recognizing and rewarding excellence in the legal profession. The Burton Awards were established to honor the finest accomplishments in law, including writing, reform, public service and interest, regulatory innovation, and lifetime achievements in the profession. The Honorary and Distinguished Board of Directors of The Burton Awards Program includes: William C. Burton, Partner, Sagat | Burton LLP; former Chief Judge Richard A. Posner, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; U.S. Senator Michael F. Bennet; former U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr.; U.S. Senator Christopher Coons; U.S. Senator John Cornyn; U.S. Senator Mike Crapo; U.S. Senator Joni Ernst; U.S. Senator Tim Kaine; U.S. Senator James E. Risch; U.S. Senator Mike Rounds; U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen Jr.; U.S. Senator Roger Wicker; U.S. Senator Todd Young; Justice Carol A. Corrigan, California Court of Appeals; Les Parrette, President, One Page Thinking; Jane Sullivan Roberts, Managing Partner, Macrae; H. Rodgin Cohen, Senior Chairman, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP; Betty Whelchel, Former Head of Public Policy & Regulatory Affairs, BNP Paribas S.A. (retired); Brad Karp, Chairman, Paul, Weiss Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; Linda A. Klein, Senior Managing Shareholder, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC, and former President, American Bar Association; Stephen R. Mysliwiec, Partner, Miller Friel, PLLC; Bernard Nash, State Attorneys General Practice Co-Chair, Cozen O’Connor; Brian D. Burton, Senior Attorney, Alston & Bird; Hubert L. Allen, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Abbott; Craig T. Beazer, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Lincoln Financial; Bradford Berenson, General Counsel, TPG; Bruce Byrd, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Palo Alto Networks; Che Chang, General Counsel, OpenAI; Lynn Charytan, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Comcast Cable; Kimberly Y. Chainey, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, AptarGroup, Inc.; Shawn Fagan, Chief Legal Officer , Blackstone; Lucy Fato, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Seaport Entertainment Group; John Finley, Senior Managing Director and Chief Legal Officer, Blackstone; Brett Gerry, Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President of Global Compliance, The Boeing Company; Ed Goines, Chief Legal Officer, Seattle Seahawks and First & Goal Inc.; Tiffany M. Hall, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Mastercard; Duane Holloway, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, U. S. Steel Corporation; Lisa Iglesias, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Unum Group; Marc Kesselman, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Purdue Pharma; Jennifer Lagunas, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary, TerSera Holdings LLC and TerSera Therapeutics; Maryanne R. Lavan, former Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Lockheed Martin Corporation; Elaine Mandelbaum, General Counsel, Interactive Brokers LLC; J. Kevin McCarthy, General Counsel, BNY; Brent McIntosh, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary, Citi; Steve McManus, Chief Legal Officer, State Farm; Jennifer Newstead, Chief Legal Officer, Meta; Kevin O’Connor, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, Lockheed Martin Corporation; Joe Pierce, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, AMB Sports and Entertainment; Anne E. Robinson, Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, IBM; Robert Rivkin, Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, United Airlines; Adam Umanoff, Executive Vice President, Edison International; and Martha Minow, 300th Anniversary University Professor and former Dean, Harvard Law School.
THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, CO-SPONSOR
With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is one of the largest voluntary professional membership organizations in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.
WILLIAM C. BURTON, ESQ., CHAIRMAN
William C. Burton is a partner at Sagat|Burton LLP, New York. He is the Founder and Chairman of the Burton Awards Program. He is also the Founder and Chair of the Burton Foundation for Legal Achievement, which funds the program. He has served as a New York State Assistant Attorney General and an Assistant New York State Special Prosecutor. For fifteen years, he was the Director of Government Affairs for Continental Insurance, then one of the largest international insurance companies. He is the author of “Burton’s Legal Thesaurus,” the first and only reference book of its kind written for the legal profession. The book is now in its sixth edition. When it was published fortyone years ago, Mr. Burton was given a prestigious award by the Association of American Publishers which declared the book “One of the most Creative and Innovate Projects of the Year.” In 1999, Mr. Burton created the Burton Foundation and established the non-profit Burton Awards Program with the initial goal of encouraging clear and comprehensive legal writing and rewarding other monumental achievements in law. In 2010, Mr. Burton was awarded the prestigious Golden Pen Award by the Legal Writing Institute, the second largest organization of law professors in the United States with 3,000 members. The honor was given for his advocacy and impact on legal writing. Later in 2011, he was presented the “Blackstone Award” by the Friends of the Law Library of Congress for embodying and promoting the best ideals of the venerable institution. He was a Legal Reform Award recipient from the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform in the fall of 2017. In 2022, Mr. Burton was selected as a member of the Hofstra Law School Hall of Fame. The Law School selected its top 50 graduates on celebrating its 50th Anniversary. He is also the recipient of the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Legal Writers comprised of more than 2,700 jurists, professors and practitioners. The award was previously presented to U.S. Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Paul Stevens, and Stephen Breyer, and other prominent award winners. In 2024, he received the ABA Presidential Citation for his visionary leadership and contributions to the legal profession and society at large.
Contact: Kelly Kolbeck, Corporate Communications Manager
Email: [email protected] Phone: (918) 824-0300
Xcaliberinternational.com | LinkedIn: xcaliber international ltd., llc | X: @SM0KElahoma
SOURCE Xcaliber International
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