[blindlaw] Introduction and questions

[Melissa Allman]

Hello. I've put answers to the questions right beneath then. Let me know if you have others or if that format doesn't work.

On Jul 26, 2016, at 5:20 PM, Kenia Flores via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello fellow Federationists,
> 
> I hope you are all doing well. My name is Kenia, and I am a member of the North Carolina NFB affiliate. I will be a freshman at Furman University this fall. After graduating from Furman, I plan on attending law school. I ultimately want to practice Disability Law. I realize I am fairly young and still have time before I apply and attend law school, but I have a few questions for you all. 
> 
> 1. Did you encounter any barriers when taking the LSAT? If so, what were they?
I took the LSAT in 2002 so things probably have changed a bit since then, but I had a lot of trouble with the logic games. I personally found that they were very visual and that it would have helped me to be able to have a technique that would be equivalent to drawing diagrams, which is what my sighted friends did, but I never figured out a strategy that worked very well. Because I knew I would tank that section, I worked extra hard to do well on the other sections. I got an average score but ended up going to Temple Law School in Philly and was pleased with that.

> 2. How did you prepare for the LSAT? Were study materials accessible either in Braille or in an electronic version?

I believe I used a combination of Braille and readers but I don't recall the materials for the prep course I took being accessible so I had a. Reader for that. I might handle that differently now.
> 3. What challenges did you face in law school (they don't necessarily need to be specific to blindness)?
Law school was a rude awakening for me. I had always excelled academically and a grade less than an A was a rarity for me. So, when I was confronted with the curve and one exam a semester rather than academic papers I could craft myself, like I did in my graduate studies in Russian literature I found I didn't do as well. At the time it was traumatic but at this point in my life I think it was good for my ego to be bruised just a bit.


> 4. I am comfortable with my blindness and am always upfront about it whether it be with an employer or professor. How do you address your blindness while still proving you are just as capable as other lawyers?
This is a tough question that has different answers for different people. Being up front in a positive way is I think the best way to go. As far as proving yourself, try to let your work speak for itself.

> 5. I hope to gain internship experience next summer at a law firm. Do you have any advice that may be helpful in the process of obtaining one?
> 

You said you want to practice disability law. First figure out whether you want to do public interest work or whether you want to work for a private civil rights law firm that does disability law. When I went to law school, I was very clear that I wanted to do public interest work so that's where I focused my efforts when applying for summer internships.

> I apologize for such a lengthy email. I look forward to hearing from you all and hope you don't mind sharing your insight.
> 
> --
> Sincerely,
> Kenia Flores
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