(Oklahoma City – April 17, 2009) Oklahoma lawyers will offer free legal advice through a toll-free hotline on Thursday, April 30 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.

Spanish-speaking attorneys and translators also will be available to take calls.

This is the 31st year the Oklahoma Bar Association has offered the service as part of the state and national celebration of Law Day.

“Hundreds of attorneys have volunteered their time to answer callers’ legal questions at no cost. It’s all part of our annual Law Day effort to reach out the public to make a positive impact on our communities,” said OBA President Jon Parsley of Guymon. 

An estimated 2,500 people are expected to take advantage of the free service. About 350 lawyers will be volunteering statewide, donating approximately $52,500 in legal services.

Oklahoma County Bar President James Kirk has appointed John Heatly and Celeste Johnson as county Law Day chairpersons. 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 Tina Izadi.

The accompanying “Ask A Lawyer” television program will air April 30 at 7 p.m. on OETA stations across the state.

During the hour-long TV show, a series of segments will be shown to provide a glimpse into Oklahoma's legal community.

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 2,200 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 16,000-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.