Constitution Day Lecture Series for S.C. High School Students
August 13, 2012
S.C. Chapter of American Board of Trial Advocates Hosts Fourth AnnualJames Otis Lecture Series on the Constitution for High School Students
COLUMBIA, SC – August 13, 2012 – The 2012 James Otis Lecture Series,hosted by South Carolina chapter of the American Board of TrialAdvocates (ABOTA), will focus on The First Amendment in Modern Times.
The lecture series begins 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 14, 2012 atthe South Carolina State House in the House of Representatives Chamber.Since 2010, SC-ABOTA has offered South Carolina high school students theopportunity to participate in the James Otis Lecture Series, an annualprogram about the U.S. Constitution in observance of NationalConstitution Day.
Federal law requires all schools that receive federal assistance to havea program about the Constitution on or around the anniversary date ofthe signing of the Constitution, which was September 17, 1787. SC-ABOTAoffers this program as a free service to all South Carolina high schoolsand invites two outstanding history students from each school toparticipate.
The program also can be viewed live by students on September 14 throughSouth Carolina Educational Television (SCETV). The lecture series isnamed after James Otis, a prominent Boston lawyer in the colonial era.
The lecture is designed to acknowledge the wisdom, courage, mistakesand successes of our predecessors who made critical contributions todevelop our country’s right of self government and preservation ofindividual liberties, said Joel Collins, past president of SC-ABOTA andfounding partner of Collins & Lacy, P.C.
This year’s program will discuss privacy and first amendment rights inthe age of social media, examining doctrines from the past applied inthe context of today’s ever-changing technology and its implications forindividual rights as well as freedom of speech. SC-ABOTA welcomesFurman University President Rodney Smolla as the keynote speaker. PastJames Otis Lecture Series speakers include Dr. Walter Edgar, the lateHonorable Matthew J. Perry Jr., winners of the American Legion HighSchool Oratorical Scholarship and other constitutional experts.
To register a high school student for this program or for moreinformation about the SCETV live broadcast, please contact StefanieCaraviello, Director of Marketing, Collins & Lacy, P.C. at (803)255-0417 or [email protected]
About SC-ABOTA
The American Board of Trial Advocates is a national organization,comprised of the country’s pre-eminent trial attorneys, whose main goalsare the preservation of the Seventh Amendment right to a trial by juryin civil
cases and the promotion of professionalism and civility among trialattorneys. The ABOTA South Carolina Chapter also provides educationalprograms to other attorneys in South Carolina, students at theUniversity of
South Carolina Law School and now to high school students in thePalmetto State. The ABOTA South Carolina Chapter has twice been electedChapter of the Year by ABOTA, nationally.
About Collins & Lacy, P.C.
Collins & Lacy is a defense litigation firm in South Carolina thatdelivers valuable legal representation for our clients through solidpreparation, thorough execution, and client-oriented service aimed atsuccess. With offices in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville and MyrtleBeach, the firm represents local, regional and national clients in theareas of construction, employment law, hospitality/retail andentertainment law, insurance/bad faith, products liability, professionalliability, public policy/government relations, commercialtransportation and workers’ compensation. For more information, visit www.collinsandlacy.com
