I had no idea (and evidently neither did Perkins Coie) that today was supposed to be a special day for lawyers. But apparently April 14 is the one day out of the year that people are supposed to be nice to lawyers.

There’s even an entire website dedicated to the day. The site even has some “starter ideas” on what you can do to participate in this glorious event:

*Take your favorite lawyer out to breakfast or lunch (make sure it’s not billable!).
*Send your lawyer a “just because” greeting card or a bouquet of flowers.
*Switch your ring tone to the “dah-dah” sound from NBC’s “Law & Order.”
*Do some simple repairs around the house with a gavel instead of your trusty hammer.

Or how about paying your legal bills, so lawyers can stop being laid off?

After the jump, we reach to Steve Hughes, creator of the site (and the day), for details about how National Be Kind to Lawyers Day came to be.

Mr. Hughes’s website explains the backstory of how this day came into existence:

Steve Hughes, a mild-mannered non-lawyer from St. Louis had been working with attorneys for several years in the presentation skills arena. He liked his job and the clients who hired him.

However, whenever Steve mentioned to friends and neighbors that he worked with lawyers he was met with crinkled up faces, snide remarks and sarcastic sighs. They would say things like, “Lawyers? I bet that’s a treat.” Or, “Lawyers? You poor thing.” (Can’t you just feel the animosity?) Suddenly he found himself playing defense counsel for an entire profession.

Then one day as Steve was putting away the decorations from National Bubble Wrap Day (late January) his thoughts drifted to National Ice Cream Day (late July) and then it struck him. Why not a special day for lawyers? Lawyers are just as good as bubble wrap and ice cream, in fact, they’re better. Thus, the idea for NATIONAL BE KIND TO LAWYERS DAY was hatched.

When we spoke to Steve, he said he was pretty shocked that lawyers didn’t already have their own special day:

I thought, “Gosh, lawyers really aren’t that bad.”

Spoken like a man who has never been through a messy divorce.

Despite not being a lawyer, Mr. Hughes put in a lot of work to give lawyers an official day. Obviously, Be Kind to Lawyers Day isn’t a federal holiday. But it is in Chase’s Calendar of Events, which is like the Guinness Book of World Records for special days.

Hughes said that at first the Chase people were reluctant to recognize the day. Then he threatened to sue their pants off and now he owns part of the company. Just kidding. Instead, he dutifully submitted the application a couple of times, and once the website received a little media attention, the Chase people included the day.

He also thought hard about what he should call the day:

I was thinking of going with Lawyer’s Appreciation Day, but Be Kind to Lawyers just seemed to have more flash.

And it’s probably more appropriate. Lawyers don’t generally need to feel loved and appreciated, but it’s nice if there is one day a year when they won’t be openly denigrated.

Thank you Steve Hughes. This is the first legitimately nice thing to happen to the legal profession in 2009. I’m not even joking.

National Be Kind To Lawyers Day!