Law Day festivities put legal profession in positive light

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon will be the guest speaker at the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association's May 1 Law Day luncheon. The luncheon highlights local Law Day events that include the awards luncheon, a 5-kilometer run and a mock trial competition.

This year's Law Day theme is "Independent Courts Protect Our Liberties." The objective of Law Day, according to SMBA literature, "is to celebrate and promote law, liberty and the legal profession."

SMBA, which has 680 members, also celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. While the official centennial celebration will be in October, Executive Director Crista Hogan said, "It's been a theme consistently throughout the year."

With Law Day, Hogan said SMBA's purpose is to "showcase the positive lights of the legal profession such as the dignity, history and positive impact. Lawyers are frequently perceived negatively."

Hogan also said the events are designed to help lawyers develop camaraderie with each other, because the nature of the legal profession is often adversarial. Hogan said about 100 to 200 people attend the luncheon, including lawyers, judges, staff members, community figures and supporters.

"We want to try to get the community involved and this is the best way to do it. That's why we have elementary, middle, high school and college contests," said Brent Green, SMBA Law Day committee chairman and attorney with Evans and Green LLP.

At the Law Day Luncheon, awards will be presented for the elementary school poster contest, middle school essay contest, high school Teen Court/Teen Lawyer Award and SMBA Law School Scholarship for college students.

"Last year we added the Teen Court Award and the essay contest. This year we've added the poster contest. The scholarship we've had for a long time. As each youth award is added, our intention has been to cover how can we reach each level in our educational system? We intend to make these annual awards," Hogan said.

Other annual honors are the Liberty Bell Award, the Pro Bono Publico Award and the Distinguished Attorney Award.

The Liberty Bell Award is given to a promoter of the legal system who is a nonlawyer, Hogan said.

According to SMBA literature, the nominee needs to have done services to "strengthen the effectiveness of the American system of freedom under the law and encourage respect for the American legal system."

The Pro Bono Publico Award is given to a lawyer who has given extraordinary community services to people who can't afford to hire a lawyer, Hogan said.

To be considered for the Distinguished Attorney Award, the attorney needs to be a member in good standing with SMBA and wherever licensed; have practiced law for an exemplary 20 years or more; and be actively involved in service to the legal and nonlegal communities.

"The Distinguished At-torney Award committee (comprises former award) recipients. The scholarship award chairman is actually a former scholarship recipient. I won the essay contest when I was in high school. It's nice to have the recipients involved. The whole point is to market our profession in a positive way," Hogan said.

Funds from the 5-K Run benefit the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Foundation which was organized as a nonprofit association Dec. 28, 2001. According to the foundation's mission statement, the charitable and educational organization works "to protect civil liberties, to enhance public understanding and respect for the rule of law, to provide public service, to provide equal access to the legal system and to support the goals of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association." The scholarship is funded through the foundation.

"Law Day is a special day for everyone because we all have an interest in making sure our courts are independent and an interest in making sure we have a viable legal system. If someone wants to get involved in Law Day events, they should call SMBA because there are plenty of opportunities. Volunteers can help with the run, mock trial or nominate somebody for the Liberty Bell Award," Green said.