Franklin County Bar Association marks Law Day at GCC

April 27, 2011

The Franklin County Bar Association will observe Law Day on April 29th at Greenfield Community College, 3:00-5:00pm in GCC's Stinchfield Lecture Hall.  Law Day is a national effort to inform citizens about the importance of law and the role it plays in our everyday lives.  This year’s Law Day theme, The Legacy of John Adams, From Boston to Guantanamo: Representing the Unpopular Client highlights the historical and contemporary role of lawyers in defending the principle of due process and the rights of the accused.  This event is free and open to the public.

The Franklin County Bar Association is fortunate to have United States District Court Judge Nancy Gertner as our keynote speaker. Appointed to the bench in 1994, Judge Gertner has written extensively and spoken nationally and internationally in areas such as individual rights, criminal sentencing, and jury trials. While serving on the bench, Judge Gertner taught for more than ten years as a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School, and upon her retirement from the bench in September of this year, will join the faculty of Harvard Law School. Prior to Judge Gertner’s appointment to the federal bench in 1994, she was celebrated for her work as a criminal defense attorney and civil rights activist.  Her book focusing on this period, “In Defense of Women: Memoirs of an Unrepentant Advocate," will be released on April 26th by Beacon Press.

Following Judge Gertner’s remarks, a panel of local attorneys –  David Hoose, Wendy Sibbison, and Buz Eisenberg – will discuss the rule of law and defense of the rights of the accused, especially in cases when advocates may represent unpopular clients or become involved in matters that generate public controversy.    Biographies of Attorneys Hoose, Sibbison and Eisenberg are available on the attached document.

As part of this year’s Law Day, the Franklin County Bar Association will present scholarships to two Franklin County high school students, Jenna Gagnon and Emily Sanderson, who have written essays in response to this year’s theme.

For information contact:
Katie Schendel, Executive Director, Franklin County Bar Assocation
Phone 413-773-9839