The Oklahoma Bar Journal May 2026

L aw D ay

Celebrate Law Day 2026 By Mary Clement and Ed Wunch

L AW DAY IS THE DAY SET aside each year to celebrate the law and reflect on its importance in our lives. This year’s celebration, set for May 1, takes on special signifi cance as we celebrate a number of milestone anniversaries associated with Law Day in our nation and state. Along with all Americans, in 2026, Oklahoma lawyers will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence this summer, the document that enshrined the con cept of those “unalienable rights” upon which our nation of laws was founded. Here in Oklahoma, we

who launched the “Know Your Courts, Know Your Rights” ini tiative in 1951. It was this idea of enhancing public understanding of the law and the role it plays in maintaining a fair and just society that evolved into the national May 1 celebration of Law Day as we know it today. This year’s Law Day theme, “The Rule of Law and the American Dream,” guides us to think about how the freedoms we enjoy as citizens of our nation depend on the legal principles that were first established in that founding docu ment 250 years ago: that we are all

are also commemorating the 50th anniversary of our Ask A Lawyer event. During this event, held annu ally in conjunction with Law Day, the public is invited to speak with an attorney at no charge about their legal questions. It is remarkable that over the last five decades, tens of thousands of Oklahomans have received help and informal advice through this valuable public service. This year also marks 75 years since the beginning of Law Day right here in our state! Although Law Day has been celebrated nationally since 1958, it was Wewoka lawyer Hicks Epton

About 1,150 students from across the state in grades pre-K to 12th submitted entries into the annual Law Day art and writing contests. The winning students were recognized during a ceremony at the state Capitol on March 25.

46 | MAY 2026

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL