Law Day 2010: Law in the 21st Century Published May 18, 2010 By the base legal office LITTLE ROCK AFB, Ark. -- Law Day is a national day set aside to celebrate the rule of law and to underscore how the legal process has contributed to the freedoms that all Americans share today. It began in 1957, when the American Bar Association President Charles S. Rhyne, a Washington, D.C. attorney, envisioned a special day for celebrating our legal system. In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower established Law Day to strengthen our great heritage of liberty, justice and equality under the law. May 1st was designated by joint resolution of Congress in 1961 as the official date for celebrating Law Day. Law Day is often celebrated throughout the month of May as legal professionals reach out to the community with various programs designed to inform people about how law keeps America free and how the legal system strives to achieve justice. Law Day is celebrated in schools across the country and in programs designed to reach the adult public. This year's law day theme is, "Law in the 21st Century: Enduring Traditions, Emerging Challenges." As we begin the second decade of the twenty-first century, the law is changing dramatically as it seeks to shape and adapt to new conditions. Economic markets are becoming global, transactions require cultural adaptation and understanding, populations are more mobile and communication technologies such as the Internet bridge distances and time zones to form new communities around the world. In such a world, all of us must renew our commitment to the enduring principles of law, become knowledgeable about other legal systems, recognize the need to adapt our practices, and acquire new cultural understandings. Law Day 2010 provides us with an opportunity to understand the emerging challenges and enduring traditions of law in the 21st century.