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Akron Bar Association plan Law Week events
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: April 27, 2018
Each year members of the Akron Bar Association Law Week Committee plan a week’s worth of activities to mark the May 1st event. But this year, Law Week Committee Chair Angelina Gingo said they’ve decided to extend the celebration through May 8.
“The overall purpose of Law Week is to create a bridge to the community and to celebrate our profession,” said Gingo. “Just as the police department has community policing, Law Week is our chance to reach out to the public and also inspire our youth and encourage them to consider a career in the legal profession.
“We thought it would be nice to offer a movie that tied into Law Week, which has the theme Separation of Powers: Framework for Freedom.”
The committee chose “Marshall,” which will be shown on May 8 at 5 p.m. in the main auditorium of the Akron-Summit County Public Library at 60 S. High St.
“We thought ‘Marshall,’ which is about the early career of Thurgood Marshall would serve to highlight the Supreme Court, one branch of our government that serves to balance the presidency,” said Gingo, who opened the Gingo Law Office in 2015 and focuses her practice on immigration law.
“We also thought it was an appropriate choice in light of racial tensions that still exist and affect our community. Before he became a Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall was a lawyer for the NAACP and traveled the country defending those accused of crimes.”
The movie is open to the public. To reserve a space, call the library at 330-643-9000.
While some new events have been added, Law Week will kick off on April 30, with the annual Ray Horner radio show’s “Ask a Lawyer” program, which airs on 1590 WAKR.
Listeners will be able to call in from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and ask questions on a wide variety of topics ranging from criminal law, wills, trusts and estates and employment issues like sexual harassment to domestic relations, constitutional law and immigration.
“The lawyers will be offering brief advice and it will be a safe forum for immigrants who have questions,” said Gingo.
J. Dean Carro will open the show with a discussion of this year’s Law Day theme, Separation of Powers: Framework for Freedom.
“I will talk about the separation of powers doctrine, the concept behind the division of power and the functions of each branch of government,” said Carro, of counsel at Baker, Dublikar, Beck, Wiley & Mathews and professor emeritus at The University of Akron School of Law.
Deborah Ruby, an attorney at Ruby & Associates is among those attorneys who will be taking calls from listeners.
“I had the pleasure of answering questions during Law Week on the radio once in the past and enjoyed the opportunity to assist the public,” said Ruby. “I primarily handle family law cases and will be happy to answer questions related to divorce, custody and support issues.
“My goal is to provide callers with direction as to the process, the law in general and whether an attorney can assist them with their particular issue,” said Ruby. “This is one way I can give back to the community and hopefully lessen the stress people facing marital or custody issues are experiencing.”
Sole practitioner Linda Ulinski will also be in the studio.
“I focus on trust and estate planning, trust and estate administration and business counseling and coaching,” said Ulinski. “Many times people have questions relating to trust and probate administration that they believe are very complicated, but are actually quite simple.
“For example a typical question might be my husband passed away, do I have to go through probate in order to get the car retitled? The answer is no.
“I hope that I can help some of the callers to find solutions to their problems so they do not have to contact a lawyer and pay a fee for basic information,” said Ulinski.
Carro will be giving the keynote address and serving as the moderator at this year’s Street Law Student Summit, which is being hosted by Oriana House on May 1 at St. Hedwig Catholic Church in Akron.
The Akron Bar Foundation is providing the meals for those in attendance.
“I will be explaining the various roles of the different branches of government to the students and how they work to check the possibility of tyranny,” said Carro.
“Separation of powers is an especially important topic to discuss now because two of the three branches of government are controlled by one party so that puts pressure on those branches to ensure that they fulfill their constitutional function.”
Summit County Juvenile Court Magistrate Rita Rochford, who serves as chair of the Street Law Student Summit, will open up the event at 9 a.m. with a brief welcome address.
Cuyahoga Falls criminal justice vocational students along with those from Ellet, Buchtel, St. Vincent-St. Mary, Tallmadge and Stow-Munroe Falls high schools will be attending.
“We have 118 students registered this year,” said Rochford. “I think the Street Law program is important because it gets high school students thinking about how the law really works versus how it is portrayed on TV.
“Students who attend the Street Law Summit will be exposed to many aspects of the profession, which are not part of their everyday lives.”
For example, Rochford said after the keynote speech, Akron Police Detective Chris Carney will lead a drug and bite dog demonstration.
“The students will get to witness the role that K-9 officers play in apprehending drug and other suspects,” said Rochford.
Later in the morning, students will be assigned to various tables, where an attorney will facilitate a dialogue on separation of powers, encouraging students to discuss constitutional law questions.
After lunch members of the League of Women Voters will be on hand to provide voter registration information and register those students who are eligible to vote.
The final component of the program is a panel discussion on human trafficking, which will feature Summit County Juvenile Court Judge Linda Tucci Teodosio.
“Human trafficking is a major problem across the world,” said Rochford. “The judge started the Restore Court to assist victims and those at risk of becoming victims.
“It is an important topic for the students to learn more about.”
In addition to the Street Law Student Summit, two “Ask An Attorney” events are also taking place on May 1, in which attorneys will provide free legal consultations to the public.
Residents who need assistance with family law matters ranging from divorce, custody and child support to grandparents’ rights and civil protection orders can go to the Akron-Summit County Public Library at 60 S. High St. from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. to seek advice from lawyers. To make an appointment, just call the business and government division of the library at 330-643-9020. Walk-ins are also welcome.
The other event will take place at the OhioMeansJobs Center at 1040 E. Tallmadge Ave. in Akron from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., with attorneys providing free consultations on real estate and landlord/tenant issues. Walk-ins are welcome or residents can make an appointment by contacting Akron Bar Association Lawyer Referral & Information Services Director Matthew Albright at 330-436-0117 or sending an email to LRIS@akronbar.org.
On Wednesday May 2, the annual Law Day luncheon will take place at Greystone Hall at 103 S. High St. in Akron from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
During the event, the Akron Bar Association will be honoring its new 50-year members, 60-year members and all of those in attendance who have been members for 50 years or more.
In addition, organizers will pay tribute to the winners of the Liberty Bell (Alfred Schrader), Public Service (Joseph Kodish), Diversity (not yet announced), Community Legal Aid Volunteer of the Year (Rebecca Sremack) and the United Way-Wendell Willkie (Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease) awards.
On Thursday, May 3 the Akron Bar Association will hold a one-hour continuing legal education seminar, which will explore this year’s Law Day Theme, Separation of Powers: Framework for Freedom.
J. Dean Carro, of counsel at Baker, Dublikar, Beck, Wiley & Mathews is the featured speaker for the CLE.
The event takes place from noon to 1 p.m. at the bar association at 57 S. Broadway St.
For more information or to register, go to https://www.akronbar.org/events/ or call 330-253-5007.
Red Mass will be held on May 4 from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at St. Bernard Catholic Church in Akron.
Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Alice Batchelder will receive the St. Thomas More award during the ceremony.
For more information on any of the events taking place, log on to akronbar.org or contact Law Week Committee Chair Angelina Gingo at angelina.gingo@gmail.com.