One day in the United States that doesn’t receive the attention it deserves is Law Day, celebrated every year on May 1. Law Day passed Friday without much notice, but it was recognized by local attorneys, courthouse staff and law enforcement during a brief program at the Rowan County Courthouse.

Senior Resident Superior Court Judge W. David Lee of Union County served as guest speaker, and he left his audience with this thought: While the practices and process behind their jobs have changed and will keep changing, the principles stay the same.

And those principles go back eight centuries to the Magna Carta. June 15 will mark the 800th anniversary of King John of England’s signing of the great charter which first guaranteed individuals certain civil and political liberties.

Lee reminded the Law Day participants that the Magna Carta established an independent and impartial judiciary. It led to the birth of the legal profession and the sanctity of a client’s private conversations with his attorney.

It brought into the legal conscience the presumption of innocence until proven guilty and the right to a fair and impartial trial. The Magna Carta also led to the rational and proportional approach to punishment — that is, the attempt to have the punishment fit the crime.

Within the Magna Carta is the principle that no one, including a king or lawmaker, is above the law, and that tenet has really served us well.

Lee’s message was appropriate. He marveled himself at how the way he first practiced law in 1975 has no semblance to the way attorneys have to practice it today. Technology alone has changed things. The explosion of population has put incredible pressures on the judicial system.

The courts and law enforcement are dealing with crimes, criminals and legal questions never dreamed of just a few years ago. Lee said the attorneys’ interactions with clients are much more complicated, while they also deal with demanding, impatient judges.

Law Day was established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958. Salisbury attorney Kathryn Setzer said above all it gives those involved in the legal profession a chance to reflect “on why we do what we do.” The day celebrates the role of law in the foundation of the United States, its overall importance to society and tips a hat to those who practice the craft.

Every now and then, a list will come out saying what the least trusted professions are, and lawyers usually find their way into the Top 10. But Rowan County is fortunate overall to have a hard-working, conscientious legal community that strives to foster and revere indispensable principles — principles with 800 years under their belt.