2008 marks 50 years of Law Day observance

Crista Hogan, executive director of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association, said May 1 was deemed Law Day in 1958 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Hogan noted that several people who were involved with SMBA’s inaugural Law Day activities are still active with the organization.

While local bar associations will sometimes choose their own themes for Law Day, Hogan said the SMBA decided to use the national theme, “The Rule of Law: Foundation for Communities of Opportunity and Equity,” in observation of the day’s golden anniversary.

“Rule of law basically means that there are rules that are applied consistently (and) predictably so that individuals, businesses, et cetera, are willing to invest in the future, because they know what the rules are to succeed in this society,” Hogan said. “It’s easier to understand the theme, I think, if you think of what would happen without rule of law, which would be chaos.”

Local events for Law Day 2008 began with an April 28 rally on the steps of the Greene County Courthouse. The Hon. John Ashcroft, former U.S. Attorney General, was the keynote speaker for the May 1 Law Day Luncheon. Ashcroft, who now is chairman of Washington, D.C.-based The Ashcroft Group LLC, could not be reached for comment.

Following Ashcroft’s speech, the SMBA presented its annual Law Day awards.

Hogan said students at The Summit Preparatory School of Southwest Missouri received awards in the annual poster contest, and students from Greenwood Laboratory School were recognized in an essay contest exploring the Law Day theme.

The 2008 Teen Court Advocate Award went to Vanessa Lea, and law school scholarships were presented to Jeremy Cranford and Sarah Placzek, Hogan said, noting that those awards are designed to get students at all levels involved with Law Day.

Other awards presented following the luncheon were:

• Jim Anderson, president of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, received the 2008 Liberty Bell Award, which recognizes a nonlawyer whose service strengthens the effectiveness of the American system of freedom.

• Jason Umbarger, of Jason Umbarger, Attorney At Law, received the Access to Justice award, which recognizes pro bono service efforts.

• Former Greene County Circuit Court Judge J. Miles Sweeney, who retired in November, received the Judicial Excellence Award, which is given to a judge who has exhibited high standards on the bench for at least five years.

• Attorney Raymond Whiteaker, co-founder of Whiteaker & Wilson PC, received the Distinguished Attorney Award, which is given to an attorney who is in good standing with the SMBA and has exhibited high standards in the practice of law for at least 20 years.

Local Law Day activities also included a Law Day 5K at Phelps Grove Park, which drew roughly 75 participants, Hogan said. The SMBA also helped facilitate a May 6 public discussion by former U.S. Sen. John C. Danforth at Drury University as part of the W. Curtis Strube Ethics in Business and Lyceum Series. Danforth, who retired from the Senate in 1995, is an author, a partner in an international law firm, and a United Nations ambassador, according to a Drury news release.