Local Law Day Events Celebrate "Separate Branches, Balanced Powers"

MADISON, April 21, 2006 – Local Bar Associations across Wisconsin will host events to celebrate Law Day, May 1. Law Day underscores how law and the legal process have contributed to the freedoms that all Americans share and celebrates the connection between lawyers and their communities. The media is invited to attend.

Some events scheduled include:

Madison Area, Monday, May 1st

• The annual Dane County Bar Association Pro Bono Breakfast will be held at Grace Episcopal Lutheran Church in Madison at 8 a.m. to honor attorneys who have devoted significant time, resources, and energy to providing legal representation to members of their community free of charge.
  
  
• There are several Dane County Courthouse events taking place throughout the day, including a mock trial and other programs for Huegel Elementary School and Toki Middle School students as well as tours of the new courthouse led by area attorneys. Local attorneys will also be staffing a free legal assistance information booth where the public can get basic legal questions answered. The booth will be located in the Dane County Resource Center of the new courthouse.

La Crosse Area, Monday, May 1st

• Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson and Justice Ann Walsh Bradley will tour the City of La Crosse's educational institutions and give a presentation before the local bar members and judges at a noon luncheon in the Wisconsin room of the Radisson Hotel. Presentations will also be made by a member of the Historical Society and a member of the city's Sesquicentennial Committee.

Milwaukee Area, April 28th- May 1st

• The Milwaukee Bar Association will host several Law Day events for the public, including various 30 minute presentations on important areas of the law such as family, criminal, employment and landlord/tenant. Attorneys that practice in these areas will also be available to answer individual questions. These presentations will take place on Saturday, April 29th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Latino Community Center and the Milwaukee Public Market.
  
  
• Law Day will also be celebrated at two area schools, Willow Glen School on Friday, April 28th and MacDowell School on Monday, May 1st, both at 1:00 p.m. The students will participate in an art contest, where the winner will receive a book relating to the legal system for use in their school library. These schools will also participate in a mock trial event along with the State Public Defender's Office.

Statewide, All Year Long

• The State Bar of Wisconsin's Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS) is available from 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. at (800) 362-9082 toll free or (608) 257-4666 in Dane County. Members of the public are encouraged to call and arrange to talk to a lawyer to receive basic legal advice.
  
  
• Law-related information and resources are also available at the State Bar of Wisconsin's public website at www.legalexplorer.com.

For more information about these events please contact Teresa Weidemann-Smith at (800) 444-9404, ext. 6025.

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