[blindLaw] Prospective law student

[Chelsea Dye]

Hi James and Julie,

Thanks for the advice.

I graduated from the University of Akron in 2011 with a communications
degree. They don't have anything specific to disability law in their
selection--but they do have constitutional, advocacy, wealth law, etc.
Like you said, it might be a round-about way, but it could get me what
I need.

Was the LSAT book you read through Bookshare? That's where I've
obtained my materials.

How did you find taking the Bar exam?

Chelsea

On 12/3/20, James T. Fetter via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>  Chelsea,As someone who has done disability rights work, I have a few
> thoughts. First, one does not typically specialize in law school, nor do I
> think it does much good to try. The goal of a J.D. is to learn how to think
> and, to some extent write, like a lawyer. Although I also had strong
> interests in disability rights and attended Ohio State, which has one of the
> preeminent legal scholars in disability rights on the faculty, I only took
> one class specifically in disability rights. When I started practicing, what
> I learned in my Federal Courts class probably benefited me more than the
> specialized disability rights knowledge I obtained in Disability
> Discrimination. I would thus advise picking your law school based more on
> rank, quality of the faculty, and whether accommodations are likely to be a
> constant battle or a non-issue. I was very fortunate that I never once had
> to fight about accommodations while at Ohio State. Unfortunately, that is
> not the universal experience of blind law students, even in 2020. Having
> said that, I cannot emphasize strongly enough the importance of having a
> mentor/champion on the faculty. Given that you want to pursue disability
> rights work, I would seriously consider looking at law schools, e.g. Ohio
> State, Michigan, American, with faculty members who are passionate about
> disability rights. They will be able to give you guidance, connect you with
> disability rights practitioners, and will help you fight through the
> discrimination that you will inevitably face while seeking employment.Re:
> LSAT training, I just worked through a book with multiple practice tests. I
> think LSAC's accommodations process has improved, but when I dealt with
> them, it was a Kafkaesque nightmare. I would thus advise being as proactive
> as possible and not backing down, until you get the accommodations you need.
> I hope this helps, and best of luck as you embark on your legal career!James
>    On Thursday, December 3, 2020, 01:06:49 PM EST, Julie McGinnity via
> BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
>  Hi Chelsea,
>
> I thought about this as well before going to law school. I am
> currently just finishing up my first semester, so my advice may not be
> as good as others, but it should be pretty current.
>
> At first, I considered going to a school that had no disability rights
> or education programs, which was what I originally wanted to do with
> my law degree. When I talked to the university about this, they
> encouraged me to go through their mediation program because it would
> be helpful to learn dispute mediation skills as a disability rights
> attorney. Now, in all honesty, I don't know how that would have worked
> out because I moved across the country and chose a different school
> with a strong civil rights, disability rights, and advocacy focus. But
> my point is that there are different ways of getting where you're
> going. If your school is willing to help you get internships in
> disability law and will give you skills you will need in your future
> law career, like strong legal writing and dispute mediation perhaps,
> then the school may be worth considering.
>
> Ask them the hard questions, and make sure the school has a strong
> career office that is willing to support your goals.
>
> Feel free to connect with me off list. We blind law students need to
> stick together!
>
> Julie
>
> On 12/3/20, Chelsea Dye via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> I'm interested in obtaining a J.D. from my local university. I'd like
>> to specialize in disability rights, but it doesn't look like that's
>> something they have. The closest they come is special education law.
>> My questions are what do you recommend for LSAT training and where to
>> go for specializing in disability rights law?
>>
>> Thank you,
>> Chelsea
>>
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>
>
> --
> Julie A. McGinnity
> MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of
> Law, JD Candidate 2023
>
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