Maricopa County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Contact: Jennifer Green, Law Week 2000 Co-Chair Maricopa County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division 1025 S. Gilbert Road Gilbert, AZ 85296 E-mail: jgreen@gilbert.az.us Activity Summary: Law Week 2000 increased community awareness about democracy and diversity through numerous programs and services: Law Fairs; Senior Citizen Fairs; Phone-a-lawyer; Courthouse Experience; Essay, Photo, and Poster Contests for school-age children and teenagers; Gold E. Locks Trial; Law Forum (free CLE for lawyers); and the Law Week Reception. Through these programs, Law Week volunteers worked to educate the community by providing free legal advice, both in-person and over the phone, encouraging students to creatively depict what democracy and diversity mean to them, and organizing a lively debate about diversity with a panel discussion of distinguished professors and practicing attorneys. Activity Narrative: We expanded Law Week this year by increasing publicity substantially; our committee secured donations for ten billboards promoting Law Week throughout Maricopa County. We were also proud to have the participation of the Arizona State Bar, which secured a banner proclaiming Law Day as May 1st over a busy street in downtown Phoenix. In addition, numerous press releases were sent out to local newspapers and television and radio stations, highlighting Law Week activities and encouraging the community to get involved. The Law Week poster, photo, and essay contests were advertised on a local legal website for kids. As indicated below, focusing on publicity led to significant increases in attendance at our Law Fairs, Phone-a-Lawyer, Law Forum, and also increased the number of submissions to our three contests for students. Law Fairs: The goal of the Law Fairs was to provide free legal advice to the general community. This year we added a Law Fair at a popular shopping mall. By having two Law Fairs, we were able to serve two heavily populated areas in Maricopa County. This year, over 70 people received free legal advice at our Law Fairs. This number is twice the number we served last year. Also, we put on a performance of the Gold E. Locks trial at one of the fairs, where valley attorneys played the roles of Goldilocks and the three bears. Approximately 50 children watched the trial with anticipation and 7 children sat as jurors in the trial. In addition, MADRA, a mediation group, was invited to participate in the Law Fairs and staffed an information table to promote mediation. Phone-a-Lawyer: The goal of Phone-a-Lawyer was to deliver free legal advice by phone to those who would not be able to visit one of our Law Fairs. Volunteer attorneys spanning several practice areas assisted 222 callers (more than twice we received last year) with free legal advice on two nights during Law Week. Paralegals screened the callers and matched them to attorneys who practiced in the area of interest indicated by the caller. Approximately 15 paralegals volunteered for Phone-a-Lawyer. The phone bank was donated by Arizona State University in conjunction with their public television affiliate, KAET Channel 8. Channel 8 also made sure the Phone-a-Lawyer phone number rolled at the bottom of the screen during its programming. Senior Law Fairs: The goal of the Senior Law Fairs was to provide free legal advice to seniors at local senior centers. Volunteers provided legal assistance to 46 seniors at five different senior centers in Maricopa County. Essay, Photo, and Poster Contests: The goal of these contests was to allow grade school and high school students to participate in Law Week and to express their visions of democracy and diversity. For the Essay Contest, 137 essays were received from 7th-9th graders. Students from grades 7-12 submitted 12 photographs for the Photo Contest, and 4th-6th graders turned in over 140 posters for the Poster Contest. The most significant increase this year was in the Poster Contest. Attorneys volunteered to serve as essay graders and photo and poster judges. The students' accomplishments were celebrated at an Awards Ceremony at the Arizona Court of Appeals, where The Honorable Rebecca W. Berch spoke on democracy and diversity and awarded plaques, savings bonds, and gift certificates to winners. Law Forum: The goal of the Law Forum was to provide a free CLE to attorneys. This year we were able to tie in the theme by having a panel discussion on democracy and diversity with law professors, managing partners of law firms, and high-ranking government attorneys, asking them to address the shortcomings and strides in promoting diversity in their fields. This year, 82 attorneys attended the free CLE. This was twice the number of attendees compared with last year. After the panel discussion, we celebrated Law Week with a Law Week Reception. A total of 100 guests attended the reception, including several judges and other distinguished guests. This year we increased the attendance at the reception by approximately 80 guests. Courthouse Experience: This provided grade school students the opportunity to tour the Maricopa County Superior Court building and watch a mock trial acted out by volunteer attorneys and a judge from the Phoenix Municipal Court. Students served as jurors and discussed their verdict with the volunteers after the mock trial. Sample Programs Home | By Audience | By Location | By Sponsoring Organization