Published: April 25, 2007 09:38 am      

Oklahoma lawyers to offer free legal advice May 1

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma lawyers will offer free legal advice through a toll-free hotline on Tuesday, May 1 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. The statewide hotline will be staffed by Oklahoma City and Tulsa attorneys. The toll-free number to call is (800) 456-8525.

The accompanying “Ask A Lawyer” television program will air May 1 at 7 p.m. on OETA stations across the state.

This is the 29th year the Oklahoma Bar Association has offered the service as part of the state and national celebration of Law Day.

“We hope all Oklahomans will take advantage of this free community service,” said OBA President Stephen Beam of Weatherford.  “We’ve recruited hundreds of volunteer attorneys to answer callers’ legal questions at no cost. It’s all part of our annual Law Day effort to teach the public more about their rights and the role the legal system plays in our lives.”

Pontotoc County Bar President David N. Smith has appointed Kaycie  Sheppard as county Law Day chairperson. The Law Day chairperson works in conjunction with the state bar’s Law Day Committee to coordinate the Ask A Lawyer call-in event. The state committee is chaired by Oklahoma City lawyer Giovanni Perry.

During the hour-long “Ask A Lawyer” television show, a series of segments will be shown to provide a glimpse into the lives of three Oklahomans who found their rights in jeopardy and how lawyers and our legal system helped them.

Dennis Fritz, a subject of the recent John Grisham book “The Innocent Man,” spent nearly 12 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. During “Ask A Lawyer,” he shares the story of his exoneration. Viewers will also meet Chloe Smith, a young girl who faced expulsion from school after a drug dog sniffed out legal, prescribed medication in her purse, as well as Don Johnson, a firefighter hurt on the job, who needed an attorney after his workers’ compensation claim was denied.

The show also will feature a segment on the Oklahoma High School Mock Trial program, sponsored by Oklahoma’s lawyers.

OETA will also broadcast “Ask A Lawyer” in Spanish via SAP. Spanish speakers may call the free legal advice hotline where Spanish-speaking attorneys and translators will be available to take calls. OETA will also rebroadcast the program throughout the month of May on OKLA.

Though Law Day is celebrated across the country, it was Wewoka attorney and 1953 OBA President Hicks Epton who originally had the idea of celebrating the law and how it affects our lives. President Dwight D. Eisenhower established Law Day nationally by proclamation in 1958; in 1961 Congress set aside the first of May as a day for the American people to celebrate their liberties and their ideals of equality and justice under the law. In 2005, the American Bar Association honored the OBA with the Outstanding Law Day Activity Award.

The Ask A Lawyer free legal advice project is one of several events in which Oklahoma lawyers participate in observance of Law Day.

This year, more than 1,900 students statewide entered Law Day art and writing contests. Other students are taking part in various Law Day activities, such as classroom visits from lawyers and judges, an online citizenship test, and learning how legal rights and obligations change after one’s 18th birthday. More information about Law Day is available on the OBA Web site at www.okbar.org.

The 15,000-member Oklahoma Bar Association, headquartered in Oklahoma City, was created by the Oklahoma Supreme Court to advance the administration of justice and to foster and maintain learning, integrity, competence, public service and high standards of conduct among Oklahoma's legal community.