[blindLaw] Calling the Federal Government

[Singh, Nandini]

Hi Jen,

It may depend on the agency and the course of the interaction. This conclusion is based on a slightly different situation from yours, but I hope it is helpful. A few years ago, I was working on an SEC matter, and the Commission permitted us to come to headquarters to review papers that are usually printed out. SEC counsel knew that I was blind because I had come to take notes for a partner during in-person settlement discussions. When I asked SEC counsel if I could bring a paralegal with me to assist in reviewing the papers or else to have the paralegal read them to me over the phone, he was fine with it. It turned out that I did not have to review anything afterall, but I was prepared with a solution that worked for me, the client, and the Commission.

The following is not legal advice, and you should look into privilege and privacy law more and/or consult with your own internal GC: An attorney's support staff, including paralegals are deputies of the attorney. Their participation in a matter does not destroy privilege. Privilege is also usually more protected than privacy. That means that if conditions are such to preserve privilege, they are usually just as adequate to preserve privacy.

Of course, it gets more nuanced, but if you are not speaking with an attorney, you may get a reflexive no to an accommodation. The email from your paralegal was a good way to handle it. It is also not a bad idea to have as much of the material content immediately accessible to you. I know that is not always possible. However, when you have control over the schedule, you should be able to prepare both yourself and your materials.

Regards,
Nikki

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Jen Barrow via BlindLaw
Sent: Friday, December 9, 2022 2:38 PM
To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
Cc: jlynnbarrow at gmail.com
Subject: [blindLaw] Calling the Federal Government

[EXTERNAL]

Hi, All,



When parties call a federal agency to transact something on a pending matter, the agencies I've dealt with have a rule that only the applicant or the attorney of record can speak. Has anyone here successfully gotten an agency to allow a sighted assistant/paralegal to read some information from a paper file to a blind attorney as a reasonable accommodation? I called a federal agency today as the attorney of record on a matter and had an unsatisfactory experience. The representative told me my paralegal could not read me info from my own files because it would be giving me the answers.
All ended well because my paralegal just emailed me the info I needed, but the experience got my goat and caused me to wonder how these privacy rules may be causing barriers in other contexts.



Thanks,

Jen



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