LAW DAY WITH THE GBA!

The Glendale Bar Association’s annual Law Day tradition is a meaningful, fun opportunity for lawyers and judges to strengthen our Republic by sharing knowledge, experience and war stories with local high school students. Volunteers engage with students on the ABA’s Law Day theme for the year, discuss a legal topic of their choosing, or moderate student discussion on fact pattern “prompts.”

Law Day is officially recognized on May 1 annually, but the GBA conducts its Law Day program toward the end of May immediately after AP exams in the Glendale Unified School District. The GBA originally ran Law Day only at Glendale High School, but over the years grew its program to include all five GUSD high schools – Anderson W. Clark Magnet High School, Crescenta Valley High School, Allan F. Daily High School, Glendale High School, and Herbert Hoover High School. La Cañada High School occasionally participates.

Interested in volunteering? Email us at info@glendalebar.com (subject: Law Day Volunteer).

Law Day – a Brief History

Law Day was borne out of the work of Oklahoma Bar Association president Hicks Epton. In 1951, Epton launched “Know Your Liberties – Know Your Courts Week” which spread across the nation and earned two Freedom Foundation awards for the OBA. Later, Charles S. Rhyne, 1957–1958 American Bar Association president and legal counsel to President Dwight D. Eisenhower conceived of Law Day. On February 5, 1958, President Eisenhower declared May 1 to be Law Day in the United States, stating, "In a very real sense, the world no longer has a choice between force and law. If civilization is to survive it must choose the rule of law." On April 7, 1961, Law Day was codified by Public Law 87-20. Today, many local bars and legal education associations use Law Day as an education tool, especially for high school students.