Justice Scalia set to address annual Law Day event in St. Louis

St. Louis Daily Record & St. Louis Countian, Mar 22, 2006 by Emily Umbright

The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis is singing a different tune this year as it plans for its annual Law Day celebration set for Wednesday, May 3.

In addition to steering clear from the usual formalized dinner banquet, the organization will bring in U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in the hopes of drawing a larger - and more eclectic - crowd.

It's a lunch, truly a Law Day lunch, said BAMSL President Marie Kenyon, hoping the switch from a BAMSL-centric event to one that simply celebrates lawyers and the law will attract different people.

Kenyon said the Scalia's appearance is the result of her linking up with attorney Ed Martin, who, as president of the St. Louis Chapter of the Federalist Society, wanted to bring the justice to a Federalist Society event as well.

I think it's just a matter of asking at the right time with the right kind of thing, but I think I did have a good sense of what would be attractive to him, said Martin, who went to the same college as Scalia's son.

The justice will attend the Law Day Red Mass led by Archbishop Raymond Burke at the Old Cathedral at 11 a.m. before moving on to BAMSL's event. He will also appear at a brief reception for members of the Federalist Society at the Missouri Athletic Club, and then on to Cape Girardeau, where he will give a public speech at the Southeast Missouri State University.

It was kind of a combination of inviting him to come to the Mass - and he's going to be able to meet the archbishop - and also the Law Day banquet and the Federalist Society events we have planned, explained Martin. So it should be pretty exciting.

If a national speaker doesn't attract many people, Kenyon hopes the price will. This year, the price dropped from $75 to $40 per person to make it more affordable for everyone.

In organizing the event, Kenyon said she drew inspiration from the celebration put on by the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, which celebrates the entire legal community, not just its members, with an annual lunch in December and a national speaker.

It's designed more to be just everybody comes, whether or not you're an active BAMSL member, Kenyon explained. The banquet is usually for the bar-junkie kind of people, and this is more . . . going to celebrate Law Day.

Thus far, she said she had about 50 people on the honorary committee, ranging from attorneys at major firms to federal judges. It's nice because it's not the usual BAMSL crowd, she said.

BAMSL's Law Day Luncheon will kick off at noon on May 3 at the Adams Mark Hotel. Cost is $40 per person or $400 for a table of 10. For more information and to reserve a spot before April 21, call the bar association at (314) 421-4134, or e-mail them at bamsl@bamsl.org. The Law Day Mass, open to individuals of all faiths, will begin at 11 a.m. at the Old Cathedral in downtown St. Louis. For more information on this event, call Sharon Burke at (314)727-7100.