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Rebecca Kagin Presents at Sonoma County Bar Association Law Week – Featured in SoCo Law
A little about Law Week . . .
Law Week is a collaborative program presented annually by the SCBA and the Sonoma County Office of Education, with the help of many local attorneys, judges, paralegals, and other legal professionals. The goal of Law Week is to educate and talk about the law, and the legal profession, with local high school students. Inspired by the American Bar Association’s annual Law Day – which is codified in 35 U.S.C. § 113 as “a special day of celebration by the people of the United States” to recognize America’s dedication to the rule of law, the SCBA has been participating in Law Week since 1997.
Recent Law Week themes include Cornerstones of Democracy, Individual Liberties in Current Events, and The Rule of Law. This year’s theme was Legal Issues in a Student’s Life, which covered topics such as Freedom of Speech and Expression, Expectation of Privacy, Search and Seizure, Immigrant Rights, and School Safety.
The annual program grants our legal community access to junior and senior high school classrooms to engage with students about legal and constitutional issues, as well as the legal profession in general. Each presenter is equipped with a set of written materials that include overviews of legal concepts, case summaries, and a series of fact patterns and suggested class activities. The presentations are often interactive and encourage a lively dialogue with the students.
This year was the first where we’ve had so many requests for bi-lingual presenters. Nine assignments out of forty-nine total. Among the volunteer presenters to accommodate the Spanish speaking classes were: Judge Pardo, Carla Hernandez Castillo (current SCBA President), Patrick McDonnell, Roberto Pallais, Adriana Abrica, Veronica Posada-De Leon, Xiomara Rojas and Kasandra Beas.
We had assignments at 17 schools. Among those that were new to the roster: Windsor Oaks, Orchard View, Geyserville New Tech Academy, Big Picture Learning Windsor, and Credo High.
A shout out to Juliana Flynn of SCOE for reaching out to the schools of Sonoma County and creating the schedule of assignments!
The SCBA encourages all legal professionals to consider participating in future Law Weeks…