Keesal, Young & Logan (KYL) is proud to continue its long run of partnering with the Long Beach Branch NAACP in hosting and presenting the 17th annual Law Day Celebration. KYL has sponsored the event since 2001. Law Day was created in the late 1950s by the American Bar Association to draw attention to both the principles and practice of law and justice. The purpose of the Long Beach Branch NAACP Law Day Program is to introduce students of color and underserved students from local middle, high school, and colleges to law as a career.
The 2017 Law Day theme, The 14th Amendment: Transforming American Democracy, provided the opportunity to explore the many ways that the Fourteenth Amendment has reshaped American law and society. Through its Citizenship, Due Process and Equal Protection clauses, this transformative amendment advanced the rights of all Americans. It also played a pivotal role in extending the reach of the Bill of Rights to the states. Ratified during Reconstruction a century and a half ago, the Fourteenth Amendment serves as the cornerstone of landmark civil rights legislation, the foundation for numerous federal court decisions protecting fundamental rights, and a source of inspiration for all those who advocate for equal justice under law.
The keynote speaker was KYL’s Julie Taylor, a shareholder in the firm’s San Francisco office, who is admitted in California and Washington and has been recognized by Law & Politics Magazine as one of Northern California’s “Super Lawyers” every year since 2006. Julie is the former President of the California Bar Foundation and, under her leadership, the California Bar Foundation became California’s largest independent source of statewide law school diversity scholarships and pipeline program grants.
A video featuring highlights of the event has been posted here.