LAW WEEK CELEBRATING THE 100 TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 19 TH AMENDMENT
Law Week Committee
Chairs: Dane Heptner - USALaw.com and Natasha Khoyi - FordHarrison LLP
Law Week will take place
this year from March 9
through March 13.
O
n August 26, 1920,
the Nineteenth
Amendment to
the United States
Constitution became law and
granted women the right to vote.
In celebration of this victory,
perhaps Carrie Chapman Catt
most poignantly articulated the
significance of what it meant
to have the right to vote:
“The vote is a power, a weapon
of offense and defense, a prayer.
Understand what it means
and what it can do for your
country. Use it intelligently,
conscientiously, prayerfully . . . .
Progress is calling to you to
make no pause. Act!”
The Nineteenth Amendment
secured the right to vote for
women, but the principles of
equality and the significance
of voter participation that were
expressed during the fight for
women’s suffrage are just as
significant today. In honor of
100 years of women’s suffrage,
and in an effort to educate others
of its significance, the American
Bar Association’s 2020 Law Week
Theme is “Your Vote, Your Voice,
Our Democracy: The 19th
Amendment at 100.”
Women have come a long way
since obtaining the right to vote,
and have actively participated
in and contributed to the field of
law. Currently, women make up
about a quarter of the House of
Representatives and Senate, and
three women serve on the Supreme
Court. While these numbers do
not exactly demonstrate equal
representation, women have
certainly come a long way in 100
years. This year, the Hillsborough
County Bar Association joins the
American Bar Association in
encouraging its members to take
part in Law Week, so that we might
educate the local community and
students about this very important
Amendment, its contributions to
notions of equality, and the
significance of the right to vote.
Law Week will take place this year
from March 9 through March 13.
Law Week is an opportunity for
attorneys of all ages and experience
levels to give back to the community
and interact with local schools,
students, and teachers. The HCBA
YLD’s Law Week Committee,
headed by co-chairs Dane Heptner
and Natasha Khoyi, have organized
three activities for volunteer
attorneys to participate in: classroom
discussions, courthouse tours, and
mock trials.
Attorneys that provide courthouse
tours lead groups of students
through courtrooms and other areas
of the courthouse to give them a
sneak peek of the rule of law in
action. Meanwhile, classroom
speakers travel to a local school
to lead a class or group of students
in a discussion on the law and
answer student questions. Finally,
attorneys who participate in mock
trials will team up and present the
entertaining and renowned case
of everyone’s favorite lumberjack,
Paul Bunyan. These events offer
attorneys the opportunity to step
away from the monotonous blue
light of their computer screens,
and instead, help educate students,
while reminding participants of the
rights and freedoms we are afforded
in this country (as well as the fight
for them).
If you are interested in learning
more about Law Week 2020 or
volunteering, please contact
Young Lawyers Division Law
Week Committee Co-Chairs Dane
Heptner ([email protected])
or Natasha Khoyi (NKhoyi@
FordHarrison.com). n
Author: Natasha Khoyi –
FordHarrison LLP
Mark your Calendars for law Week 2020!
JAN - FEB 2020
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HCBA LAWYER
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