Tulsa County Bar Association Contact: Cynthia Hess, Year 2000 Vice Chair Cynthia D. Hess, P.C. 5801 East 41st Street, Suite 801 Tulsa, OK 74135 E-mail: cdhess@webzone.net Website: www.tulsabar.com Activity Summary: Our goal was to celebrate our democratic legal system using diverse programs to reach the legal profession, many students and the general public. We offered free legal services to the general public through ask a lawyer, lawyers in the library and a law fair. For students we offered juvenile justice day, mock naturalization ceremonies, mock trials, classroom speakers and student contests. For lawyers, we offered two free seminars, one where the lawyers agreed to provide pro bono services, and blood and book drives. Our sport activities include a race to benefit Big Brothers & Sisters and a golf classic. Activity Narrative: The 2000 TCBA Law Week program was designed to: 1) reach a diverse segment of the Tulsa community and surrounding areas; 2) focus attention on each American's legal rights; and 3) emphasize our responsibilities to maintain our unique democratic system of government and equality. Legal Services/Education: Law Fair, Lawyer in the Library, Ask a Lawyer. These programs provided free access to legal advice and social services. A Law Fair at Promenade Mall on Sunday, May 7, provided Tulsans with information on available services. Local civic organizations worked together to present the Fair, and each provided free materials explaining their unique services and how to obtain them. More than 20 attorneys gave free legal advice to citizens at the Tulsa County Law Library on Monday, May 1 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Coordinating with the OBA, over 40 local attorneys volunteered to answer legal questions posed by area citizens from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p. m on Thursday, April 27. Nearly 400 telephone advice requests were taken in conjunction with Oklahoma Educational Television Association broadcast of a special legal program. Student Programs/Education: Juvenile Justice Day, Naturalization Ceremony, Courthouse Trials, Lawyers in the Classroom, Student "Celebrate your Freedom" Contest, Career Day. In cooperation with public and private schools and teachers, the judiciary, and volunteer attorneys, Law Week reached students from kindergarten age through high school. Juvenile Justice Day was expanded to two days, May 3rd & 4th, and several classrooms gathered at the Juvenile Detention Center Courthouse. The Presiding Juvenile Judge led a frank panel discussion with teens who had been adjudicated in the juvenile system for various crimes on the their experiences and the consequences of their crimes. Federal judges held a mock Naturalization ceremony at the Federal Courthouse on Monday, May 1, for 400 area students, who had studied citizenship and the naturalization process with an emphasis on equal rights. An immigration attorney and a naturalized citizen (a local attorney) led discussions with the students and answered numerous questions. Other Law Week student programs included various mock trials conducted by Tulsa County Judges; attorneys speaking on freedom and other diverse programs in numerous individual classrooms, and assignments of high schools students to local judges and attorneys for Law Day and the Law Day Luncheon. Essay and poster contests using the "Celebrate Your Freedom" theme were conducted for first graders through seniors. Winners were announced and prized awarded by Law Day Committee members at the Law Fair and individual school assemblies. Community Public Service/Education: Field of Dreams Run, America Red Cross Blood Drive, "Fundamentals of a Divorce" CL Seminar, 10th Annual Member Free CL. Golf Classic, Donation Drives, Law Day Luncheon. Attorneys' responsibilities to society extend beyond providing legal advice. TCBA attorneys celebrated American freedom with the entire community. A) In coordination with the Tulsa Driller Baseball Team and local businesses, the TCBA conducted the Field of Dreams Run on Saturday, May 6. Over 450 runners received a free T-shirt and entry to a Driller’s game, and raised a substantial amount for the Big Brother & Sisters. Several brothers and sisters also volunteered to help with the run. B) Over 30 attorneys volunteered to donate blood to the American Red Cross. C) On Thursday, May 11, the TCBA and LSEO, which provides free legal services to low income residents of Eastern Oklahoma, conducted a divorce seminar for 6 hours of CIL credit, free to all pro-bono attorneys. Over 130 attorneys attended. D) The TCBA hosted a golf tournament on Saturday, May 13, 2000. A substantial amount was raised for another local non profit agency. E) Attorneys responded to Law Week Book Drive for the Tulsa Area Book Bank. F) More than 200 citizens attended TCBA's Law Day Luncheon on Friday, May 5, with the Honorable Dale H. Bumpers, former United States Senator, as keynote speaker. Local television stations, radio stations and newspapers also covered the event. Also, at the luncheon, Sally Howe Smith, the Tulsa County Court Clerk, received the Liberty Bell Award for outstanding service to the legal profession. She has introduced efforts to bring the courthouse into the age of technology, efforts that will be used through out the State of Oklahoma. Mayor Susan Savage proclaimed the week as Tulsa Law Week. The TCBA believes that it succeeded in focusing on the democratic way of life and the diverse legal programs that are available throughout the local community, therefore promoting the Law Day theme of Celebrating Your Freedom through Democracy and Diversity. Sample Programs Home | By Audience | By Location | By Sponsoring Organization