May 1st is Law Day – Happy Law Day!

Law Day – what is that about. . . .? I haven’t seen the greeting cards to mark the occasion! The theme for Law Day 2013 is Realizing the Dream: Equality for All. This year’s commemoration is all about civil and human rights, the American Bar Association has some great resources available here.

This year’s Law Day is a fairly patriotic event in that it marks our nation’s long history in the struggle to honor and promote people’s civil and human rights. This year is the 150th anniversary (or sesquicentennial if you prefer that) of the Emancipation Proclamation. In Denver, our local and state bar associations are co-sponsoring a screening of the 2012 film Lincoln.  The event even has a CLE (continuing legal education for lawyers) component.
On the civil rights theme, I would like to have linked to a youtube showing the historic “I Have a Dream” speech by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, but there is a bit of an intellectual property right issue there.
Sometimes lawyers forget why they went to law school and what the struggle for justice, still ongoing, is about. Law day seems to be an observance primarily for lawyers and bar associations, but it also has an important component of education about our legal system as well. Our system of justice cannot effectively function when people are not educated about their rights. In most of Europe and many parts of the world, May Day is not law day but is a commemoration of workers’ rights.
I looked up the history of Law Day in the US and discovered it was the idea of Charles S. Rhyne, President Eisenhower’s legal counsel and also president (the youngest person to serve in that capacity) of the American Bar Association. My connection with Charlie Rhyne? He started the World Peace Through Law effort. I attended the 1987 Seoul Conference on the Law of the World and served as rapporteur for one if its committee meetings. The organization is now known as the World Jurist Association.  International law is grounded upon the recognition of the rule of law among nations.
So, Law day and civil rights – where’s the elder law connection? I have previously blogged about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the context of elders’ rights.  For their part NAELA, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (of which I am a proud member) has a press release here about their efforts and elder and special needs law attorneys’ efforts to educate their community about legal options. They observe the entire month of May as Elder Law Month.
So, you may not be thinking about the civil rights and the elderly and incapacitated when you consider civil right. But make no mistake – elder law is a hotbed for civil rights – why? Guardianship proceedings (as they are known in Colorado, in most state jurisdictions protective proceedings are known as guardianship of the person and guardianship of the property – for what is known as conservatorship in Colorado). As the number of elders continues to increase, we will need to develop more appropriate legal mechanisms to manage the gray area of defining incapacity. This is where the law evolves to meet the needs (that’s the goal at any rate) of a changing demographic and society.
How will I spend law day? I will be grateful for being a citizen of this great country where the rule of law is well respected. What is “the rule of law?” Okay, I skipped the definition in my trusty Black’s law dictionary – too stuffy sounding and like the Wikipedia one better: it refers to the authority and influence of law in a society, especially as a constraint upon behavior, including behavior of government officials.  When I was studying international law back in my law school days, this was a revolutionary concept in many legal institutions. In fact, it still is in many parts of the world. One of the best parts about being a lawyer is staying on top of developments and figuring out how to tailor these to meet a particular client’s needs. Estate and elder law provide me a wonderful opportunity to advise people about their legal options and counsel them in the context of what works best from their own legal, financial, medical and emotional point of view. I am grateful for my clients and I love being a lawyer. . I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I think it’s a fitting way to observe Law Day – even if it is spent with lots of boxes and the movers who will be moving my office from southeast Denver to Centennial, two miles south of my current office.
              My new address is 7955 East Arapahoe Court, Suite 3000, Centennial, CO 80112. My new direct line is (720) 242-8133.

©Barbara Cashman www.DenverElderLaw.org