Law firms across the region are observing Juneteenth this year, as state and city governments in New Jersey and beyond are officially recognizing it as an official holiday, closing offices and facilities on June 19.

Many law firms see observing Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, as an essential step toward meeting the intensified calls for change and racial justice that have been echoed across the country since the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.