[blindLaw] BlindLaw Digest, Vol 226, Issue 13

Sarah Badillo sbadillo100 at gmail.com
Thu Mar 23 13:59:21 UTC 2023


Personally, I would create a special document for me that discusses the major talking points on each page of the pleading or other legal document. If there are too many pages to do this quickly, I would simply create a table of contents so that I could get the person close enough to the section they need. On the other hand, we have blind attorneys can be as prepared as we wish, and we will still not be as fast as those who are cited in finding what we need. In that case, I’m sorry to say it, but they’re just gonna have to wait a minute. we as blind attorneys are not inadequate or unfit for a specific job just because it takes a little bit longer to do something. As long as we can meet the deadlines, I think we’re fine. Although this world is run by sighted people, and we have to keep up, these days as sensitivity to other things is demanded, so should we demand sensitivity toward disability and visual impairment. 
If worse comes to worst, and I had the computer or braille display with me, I will give them the page number, and some specific keywords that they can search for to find what they need. Sent from my iPhone

> On Mar 23, 2023, at 8:09 AM, blindlaw-request at nfbnet.org wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
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>   1. Mapping anticipated questions beforehand: a good way to
>      counter feelings of inadequacy as a blind attorney (Rahul Bajaj)
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> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2023 16:51:51 +0530
> From: Rahul Bajaj <rahul.bajaj1038 at gmail.com>
> To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [blindLaw] Mapping anticipated questions beforehand: a good
>    way to counter feelings of inadequacy as a blind attorney
> Message-ID:
>    <CADFycPZ7MuWVLRazv+TcQCU1USoscdGKY652CNB9tS2_8yhP9Q at mail.gmail.com>
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> 
> Hi All,
> 
> As a blind attorney, one of my most dreaded moments is when I am in front
> of a judge or briefing a senior lawyer for an argument and she asks, "show
> me where in the pleadings/evidence what you are saying can be found." As my
> sighted colleagues race to find the requisite data point, I find myself
> conflicted between two thoughts. First, knowing that I may be slower in
> locating the information sought and hence why even bother trying to race
> against my sighted colleagues? second, this is the name of the game, and I
> cannot afford to lag behind.
> 
> I was discussing this with one of my mentors, who teaches IP law at Oxford
> recently. He told me that the trick in a lot of these situations is mapping
> in advance what points might come up and being prepared for them. Even if
> you cannot locate the requisite information as fast as others, your
> substantive knowledge and preparation will hold you in good stead.
> 
> I have been trying to do that more. Yesterday, we had a meeting for a
> particular client in my firm. The aim was to go over all matters of that
> client which we are handling, to figure out what next steps we need to take
> in each, e.g. filing some documents, writing to the client for some pending
> information  and the like. I asked 2 colleagues beforehand what would be
> expected of me in the meeting. And went through the files in the 5-6
> matters of that client that I am staffed on. I made good notes and sent
> them to my senior before the meeting. In the meeting, my sighted colleagues
> could on the fly locate what the next hearing date is, what the
> previous order in a given case stated and so on. I know I cannot do this as
> fast as them and would not be able to do it on the fly. but because I was
> prepared, I did not feel inadequate and found myself up to the task.
> 
> Rahul
> 
> -- 
> --
> Rahul Bajaj
> Attorney, Ira Law
> Senior Associate Fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy
> Rhodes Scholar (India and Linacre 2018), University of Oxford
> Co-Founder, Mission Accessibility
> Special Correspondent on the rights of persons with disabilities, Oxford
> Human Rights Hub
> Coordinator of the working group on accessibility, e-Committee, Supreme
> Court of India
> 
> 
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> End of BlindLaw Digest, Vol 226, Issue 13
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