Bar Association Hosts Law Day Naturalization Ceremony One Day After Application Deadline

Fresh on the heels of the deadline for illegal immigrants to apply for U.S. citizenship, the Philadelphia Bar Association will host a naturalization ceremony on Tuesday, May 1, at 10:30 a.m. at which approximately 35 people from 12 different countries will become permanent, legal U.S. residents. The ceremony, which occurs on Law Day 2001 and is just one event in a week-long celebration of Law Week, will be held at the U.S. Courthouse at 6th and Market Streets.

"We are reminded once again of the value of U.S. citizenship and are honored to celebrate our freedoms with the newest members of our national family," said Carl S. Primavera, Esq., Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association. "It is their many skills and abundance of enthusiasm that will continue to make this great country thrive."

Rayman L. Solomon, Dean and Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law in Camden, will be the guest speaker for the ceremony. Prior to joining the Rutgers team, he worked at Northwestern University School of Law and the American Bar Foundation.

Additional remarks will be made by the Association's Chancellor-elect, Allan H. Gordon, Esq. Judge Eduardo C. Robreno of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania will preside over the ceremony.

Josie Hyman of Overbrook High School and Lauren Frazier of Abraham Lincoln High School will each receive the Edward F. Chacker Scholarship Award and will read their winning essays. Each student will receive a $1,000 check made out to the college or university that she will attend in the Fall.

In celebration of Law Week, the Philadelphia Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division (YLD) is hosting events throughout the week. Members of the YLD will go into classrooms to speak with students about being a lawyer and will also pair with doctors to speak with students about the legal and medical implications of drugs. In addition, the Bar Association will be hosting a Law Fair on Wednesday, at the Shops at Liberty Place, from noon to 2 p.m., at which free legal advice, Kid IDs and information about free health insurance for children will be available. For more information, call the Bar Association at (215) 238-6300, or visit the Web site at www.philadelphiabar.org.