The Bar Association of Erie County and the 8th Judicial District will be celebrating Law Day this week.

The Rev. N. DeLiza Spangler, a lawyer who has been dean and rector at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in Buffalo since 2006, is the keynote speaker for the BAEC luncheon, which begins at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo. The theme of the event is "Creating Communities of Opportunity and Equality."

As an attorney and one of the first women to become an ordained priest, Spangler "is a powerful role model for all women in traditionally male careers," said bar President Cheryl Smith Fisher.

After graduating from Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Ore., Spangler served as a minister in Wrangell, Alaska, where she also practiced civil and criminal law and became the city attorney.

The following awards will be presented at the BAEC luncheon:

• Liberty Bell Award - Scott Gehl, executive director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal

• Justice Award - Barbara Seals Nevergold and Peggy Brooks-Bertram from the Uncrowned Queens and Kings Project at the University at Buffalo

• Special Service Award - Rodney Early, court clerk of U.S. District Court, Western District of New York

• Police Officer Award - Multi-Agency Bike Path Rape Task Force

• Media Award - Eileen Buckley, assistant news director and reporter at WBFO-FM

Student awards will be given to elementary and high school students who submitted the top designs in the association's annual poster contest based on the Law Day theme. The winning team from the 2008 high school mock trial tournament will be recognized as well.

For reservations, call Sharlene Hall at 852-8687.

The courts will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Law Day Thursday with a program entitled "The Rule of Law In a Post-9/11 Society."

The town-hall-style gathering, sponsored by the district's Committee to Promote Public Trust and Confidence in the Courts, will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Erie County Ceremonial Courtroom, 92 Franklin St., Buffalo.

A panel will discuss how the rule of law has evolved in this country and how it has been impacted by the events of Sept. 11. The talk will also cover how the lack of the concept of the rule of law has resulted in human casualties in places like Norway, Germany and Somalia.

Panelists include Yusuf Abdi, a Somalian immigrant student; Hon. Sharon Townsend, administrative judge for the district; Hon. Jeremiah McCarthy, federal magistrate; Paul Moskal, FBI chief division counsel; and Anne Adams, criminal defense attorney.

Hon. Shirley Troutman of Erie County Court, committee chair, will moderate.