The legal profession goes far beyond trials in the courtroom, and this year’s local Law Day events aim to show that.

A rare citizen naturalization ceremony at Gainesville’s federal courthouse is the highlight of a slate of activities planned for May 2 and May 8 to mark Law Day. U.S. District Court Judge William C. O’Kelley will preside and U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson will speak in what is just the second citizenship ceremony in the Northern District of Georgia held outside Atlanta in the past decade. About 50 new citizens will take the oath of citizenship at the federal courthouse on the morning of May 8, local Law Day planner Ari Mathe said. The public is invited.

"Law Day is an effort to help lawyers join with their communities and give people an opportunity to get a closer look at what we do in the court system," Mathe said. "This year we’re going to get to see sort of the ultimate in the court system, which is welcoming new citizens to our country. It should be a neat experience."

The Northern Judicial Circuit Bar Association will also sponsor the second annual Run for Recovery, a 5K event starting 8:30 a.m. Saturday on the Gainesville square and ending at the Hall County Courthouse. Entry fees benefit Friends of Recovery, a nonprofit organization that provides loans to participants in Hall County’s drug and accountability courts.

The loans go toward living expenses like rent, transportation and utilities while court participants work toward a sober and self-sustaining lifestyle.

"Whereas the court provides legal supervision and plugs folks into direct services treatment for whatever their issue is, Friends of Recovery supports that process by filling in the gaps that the courts are not equipped to assist with," Mathe said.

Mathe expects several local attorneys to participate in the run. The 5K event is also part of the "Run and See Georgia Grand Prix" and should attract some highly competitive runners as well, she said.

The Law Day luncheon will be held at noon May 8 at the Gainesville Civic Center. The Judge A.R. Kenyon award will be presented to a member of the bar for exemplary service in the field of law, and a non-lawyer will receive the Liberty Bell award for outstanding contributions to the judicial system.

State Rep. Doug Collins, a new member of the bar recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, will deliver the keynote address touching on this year’s Law Day theme: "Lincoln’s Legacy of Liberty." This year marks the bicentennial of the birth of the country’s 16th president, who also was a Springfield, Ill., attorney.

In addition to those three scheduled events, the local bar has been hosting a number of courthouse tours for school groups leading up to Law Day.

From seeing the courtrooms to the clerk’s office and sheriff’s security rooms, students get an insider’s look at the operations of the local judicial system, Mathe said.

"Some folks don’t realize there’s a lot more that goes on in a courthouse and the legal system than just lawyers having a trial in court, so Law Day’s really an opportunity to show that it goes beyond just what happens in a courtroom, and there’s a lot more to it. I think everything we do for Law Day honors that."