FREE BCG-SPONSORED WEBINAR

“From Statutes to Stories: Finding the Law for Family History”

by Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL, FUGA

Tuesday, August 19, 2025, 8:00 p.m. (EDT)

The laws our ancestors lived by can tell us a great deal about life in earlier times. Finding those laws, and the stories they tell, can be a daunting task, but—from colonial statutes to today, from the halls of Congress to the statehouses of 50 states—the choices legislators made about what laws were needed give a rich and deep context to family history.

Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL, FUGA. A genealogist with a law degree, Judy G. Russell is a lecturer, educator, and writer who enjoys helping others understand a wide variety of genealogical issues, including the interplay between genealogy and the law. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science and journalism from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and a law degree from Rutgers School of Law-Newark. She holds the Certified Genealogist and Certified Genealogical Lecturer credentials from the Board for Certification of Genealogists. She has worked as a newspaper reporter, trade association writer, legal investigator, defense attorney, federal prosecutor, law editor, and, until her retirement, was an adjunct member of the faculty at Rutgers Law School. Judy is a Colorado native with roots deep in the American South on her mother’s side and entirely in Germany on her father’s side.

BCG’s next free monthly webinar in conjunction with Legacy Family Tree Webinars is “From Statutes to Stories: Finding the Law for Family History” by Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL, FUGA. This webinar airs Tuesday, August 19, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. EDT. 

When you register before August 19 with our partner Legacy Family Tree Webinars(http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=9370), you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Anyone with schedule conflicts may access the webinar at no charge for one week after the broadcast on the Legacy Family Tree Webinars website.

“BCG promotes continuing education as essential for competent family history research,” said President David Ouimette, CG, CGL. “We appreciate this opportunity to provide webinars focused on standards that help genealogists and family historians build their knowledge and skills and hone their craft.”

Following the free period for this webinar, BCG receives a small commission if you view this or any BCG webinar by clicking our affiliate link (http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=6803).

To see the full list of BCG-sponsored webinars for 2025, visit the BCG blog SpringBoard(https://bcgcertification.org/free-bcg-sponsored-2025-webinars). For additional resources for genealogical education, please visit the BCG Learning Center (https://bcgcertification.org/learning).