From kaybaycar at gmail.com Wed Nov 1 17:11:51 2023 From: kaybaycar at gmail.com (Julie A. Orozco) Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2023 13:11:51 -0400 Subject: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers Message-ID: Hi everyone, I am really struggling and wonder if some of you can provide perspective. First, how much of your legal work, particularly for those of you with clients, is actually accessible to you as a blind person? I ask this because I would guess that the work in my legal clinic is 60 or 70 percent inaccessible, and there seems to be very little I can do about it by the end of the semester. I am currently taking a civil advocacy clinic through my law school. Each student works with a partner and interviews, files motions for, and represents clients in court hearings. Ever since I started law school, I've been blown away at the inaccessible nature of the legal profession, especially considering my last career literally required me to get Braille materials because music cannot be rendered in a Word document. But this clinic is another level of inaccessibility I never imagined. We had to do several mailings last week. The instructions were hand-written, and the entire process was inaccessible, so my partner had to do it while I stood there with nothing to do to help. We routinely have to work with scanned images that can't be converted into text easily (if at all) because they contain hand writing. I asked for a reader when I realized this would be a problem, but the reader they gave me works for our disability support office and is only available in the mornings when I am in class. He signed a confidentiality agreement, which was a requirement for my clinic, but he still shares what he's working on with his supervisor, who cannot be granted access to client information. I'm attempting to work out these issues, but while I try, the work continues. When my professor, partner, and I edit motions and other writings, it's a nightmare. First, I had to figure out Sharepoint, which lags and doesn't seem to work well with Jaws. Another blind attorney gave me some tips that really helped, but in the end, none of that mattered because when the three of us started editing together, I was completely lost. I was trying to listen to track changes, comments, footnotes, and the text of the motion with Jaws while my professor and partner were looking at printed pages and just marking off what they wanted to change. I couldn't keep up. My professor apologized, but she kept using the paper copies and changing things I couldn't see on my document. There are also lots of little things, like taking pictures, scanning documents and checking them when documenting information, and putting paper packets and visual aids together. Finally, when filing with the DC Superior court, their system was not completely keyboard accessible, so I couldn't even take the lead in filing our motion. I'm frankly very overwhelmed. Although I know I have a lot to learn and I accept that we live in a visual world, this level of inaccessibility is making me question getting into the legal field at all. I understand that sometimes I can do more to fight for accessibility, but what am I supposed to do when I have three other classes, am applying to take the Bar, and am also trying to apply for fellowships and jobs? I cannot take on all these battles, and for the first time, I don't even know which ones, if any, matter. My partner and professor are tolerant of all these issues, but it feels awful that I have to rely on my partner to do so much. My professor has also made it clear that I have to improve over the course of the semester and put more work into my clinic assignments. I've tried to brain storm solutions. I've tried talking with my partner about letting me figure out some of the inaccessible work. Sometimes she gets something done while I'm still trying to figure out how to make it accessible. Whenever I bring up these issues with my professor, she acts like I should just expect things to be inaccessible. "It's a visual world." And while that's true, she and the university still have a legal obligation to make things accessible when possible. I'm just not sure what to do, what to ask for, and how to proceed. I'm tired, so tired, and I'm graduating at the end of the semester, so part of me just wants to let all this go. But when I think about a future career being like this, I just lose all desire to practice law anymore. Does anyone have any thoughts? Please be kind if you think I should just suck it up and keep fighting. I know this but would also love some support. Thank you, Julie -- Julie A. Orozco MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of Law, JD Candidate 2023 From jtfetter at yahoo.com Wed Nov 1 21:20:45 2023 From: jtfetter at yahoo.com (James T. Fetter) Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2023 21:20:45 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1036357481.1097624.1698873645545@mail.yahoo.com> Julie, First of all, just wow! Be kind to yourself here; you're up against an extreme level of inaccessibility that I have never experienced in my legal career, including three years of law school and about five years of practice/clerking. I haven't had to deal with handwritten documents of any kind for the vast majority of my career, and if I did, I could work with a paralegal or other support staff to get them read or typed up.Filing in many courts is less than fully accessible, but in practice, you should be able to rely on a paralegal or administrative assistant to help with this.It sounds like your professor profoundly fails to get it. Apologizing for editing on paper, and then continuing to do so, is far from good enough; all edits need to be made in a format you can access, and you should (and in practice generally will) have enough time to work through track changes, comments, etc.I suppose a lot depends on what type of work you end up doing, but as a lawyer who deals primarily with sophisticated commercial entities, I can almost always find a way to access any documents I need to work with. I still run into snags--my e-discovery platform could be better, for instance--but my colleagues are more than willing to help in areas where I might run into barriers.In sum, this too shall pass and will become a bad memory that doesn't even merit a footnote in your legal career, assuming you decide to stick with it. I wouldn't make any career-altering decisions right now. You can always pivot later, if you get into practice and decide it isn't for you. Plenty of attorneys who have never encountered discrimination or accessibility barriers have done this. And there are plenty of JD-advantage careers out there, which do not involve practicing and may not be as high-pressure.Take one day at a time; fight one battle at a time; and don't hesitate to upset some apple carts, if that's what you need to do to have a fighting chance to do well in your courses.Hang in there,James On Wednesday, November 1, 2023 at 01:20:17 PM EDT, Julie A. Orozco via BlindLaw wrote: Hi everyone, I am really struggling and wonder if some of you can provide perspective. First, how much of your legal work, particularly for those of you with clients, is actually accessible to you as a blind person? I ask this because I would guess that the work in my legal clinic is 60 or 70 percent inaccessible, and there seems to be very little I can do about it by the end of the semester. I am currently taking a civil advocacy clinic through my law school. Each student works with a partner and interviews, files motions for, and represents clients in court hearings. Ever since I started law school, I've been blown away at the inaccessible nature of the legal profession, especially considering my last career literally required me to get Braille materials because music cannot be rendered in a Word document. But this clinic is another level of inaccessibility I never imagined. We had to do several mailings last week. The instructions were hand-written, and the entire process was inaccessible, so my partner had to do it while I stood there with nothing to do to help. We routinely have to work with scanned images that can't be converted into text easily (if at all) because they contain hand writing. I asked for a reader when I realized this would be a problem, but the reader they gave me works for our disability support office and is only available in the mornings when I am in class. He signed a confidentiality agreement, which was a requirement for my clinic, but he still shares what he's working on with his supervisor, who cannot be granted access to client information. I'm attempting to work out these issues, but while I try, the work continues. When my professor, partner, and I edit motions and other writings, it's a nightmare. First, I had to figure out Sharepoint, which lags and doesn't seem to work well with Jaws. Another blind attorney gave me some tips that really helped, but in the end, none of that mattered because when the three of us started editing together, I was completely lost. I was trying to listen to track changes, comments, footnotes, and the text of the motion with Jaws while my professor and partner were looking at printed pages and just marking off what they wanted to change. I couldn't keep up. My professor apologized, but she kept using the paper copies and changing things I couldn't see on my document. There are also lots of little things, like taking pictures, scanning documents and checking them when documenting information, and putting paper packets and visual aids together. Finally, when filing with the DC Superior court, their system was not completely keyboard accessible, so I couldn't even take the lead in filing our motion. I'm frankly very overwhelmed. Although I know I have a lot to learn and I accept that we live in a visual world, this level of inaccessibility is making me question getting into the legal field at all. I understand that sometimes I can do more to fight for accessibility, but what am I supposed to do when I have three other classes, am applying to take the Bar, and am also trying to apply for fellowships and jobs? I cannot take on all these battles, and for the first time, I don't even know which ones, if any, matter. My partner and professor are tolerant of all these issues, but it feels awful that I have to rely on my partner to do so much. My professor has also made it clear that I have to improve over the course of the semester and put more work into my clinic assignments. I've tried to brain storm solutions. I've tried talking with my partner about letting me figure out some of the inaccessible work. Sometimes she gets something done while I'm still trying to figure out how to make it accessible. Whenever I bring up these issues with my professor, she acts like I should just expect things to be inaccessible. "It's a visual world." And while that's true, she and the university still have a legal obligation to make things accessible when possible. I'm just not sure what to do, what to ask for, and how to proceed. I'm tired, so tired, and I'm graduating at the end of the semester, so part of me just wants to let all this go. But when I think about a future career being like this, I just lose all desire to practice law anymore. Does anyone have any thoughts? Please be kind if you think I should just suck it up and keep fighting. I know this but would also love some support. Thank you, Julie -- Julie A. Orozco MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of Law, JD Candidate 2023 _______________________________________________ BlindLaw mailing list BlindLaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/jtfetter%40yahoo.com From james.garret.mooney at gmail.com Thu Nov 2 02:14:10 2023 From: james.garret.mooney at gmail.com (James Garret Mooney) Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2023 22:14:10 -0400 Subject: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I would love to talk to you off-line, email me so we can set something up. > On Nov 1, 2023, at 1:20 PM, Julie A. Orozco via BlindLaw wrote: > > Hi everyone, > > I am really struggling and wonder if some of you can provide > perspective. First, how much of your legal work, particularly for > those of you with clients, is actually accessible to you as a blind > person? I ask this because I would guess that the work in my legal > clinic is 60 or 70 percent inaccessible, and there seems to be very > little I can do about it by the end of the semester. > > I am currently taking a civil advocacy clinic through my law school. > Each student works with a partner and interviews, files motions for, > and represents clients in court hearings. Ever since I started law > school, I've been blown away at the inaccessible nature of the legal > profession, especially considering my last career literally required > me to get Braille materials because music cannot be rendered in a Word > document. But this clinic is another level of inaccessibility I never > imagined. > > We had to do several mailings last week. The instructions were > hand-written, and the entire process was inaccessible, so my partner > had to do it while I stood there with nothing to do to help. We > routinely have to work with scanned images that can't be converted > into text easily (if at all) because they contain hand writing. I > asked for a reader when I realized this would be a problem, but the > reader they gave me works for our disability support office and is > only available in the mornings when I am in class. He signed a > confidentiality agreement, which was a requirement for my clinic, but > he still shares what he's working on with his supervisor, who cannot > be granted access to client information. I'm attempting to work out > these issues, but while I try, the work continues. > > When my professor, partner, and I edit motions and other writings, > it's a nightmare. First, I had to figure out Sharepoint, which lags > and doesn't seem to work well with Jaws. Another blind attorney gave > me some tips that really helped, but in the end, none of that mattered > because when the three of us started editing together, I was > completely lost. I was trying to listen to track changes, comments, > footnotes, and the text of the motion with Jaws while my professor and > partner were looking at printed pages and just marking off what they > wanted to change. I couldn't keep up. My professor apologized, but she > kept using the paper copies and changing things I couldn't see on my > document. > > There are also lots of little things, like taking pictures, scanning > documents and checking them when documenting information, and putting > paper packets and visual aids together. Finally, when filing with the > DC Superior court, their system was not completely keyboard > accessible, so I couldn't even take the lead in filing our motion. I'm > frankly very overwhelmed. Although I know I have a lot to learn and I > accept that we live in a visual world, this level of inaccessibility > is making me question getting into the legal field at all. I > understand that sometimes I can do more to fight for accessibility, > but what am I supposed to do when I have three other classes, am > applying to take the Bar, and am also trying to apply for fellowships > and jobs? I cannot take on all these battles, and for the first time, > I don't even know which ones, if any, matter. My partner and professor > are tolerant of all these issues, but it feels awful that I have to > rely on my partner to do so much. My professor has also made it clear > that I have to improve over the course of the semester and put more > work into my clinic assignments. > > I've tried to brain storm solutions. I've tried talking with my > partner about letting me figure out some of the inaccessible work. > Sometimes she gets something done while I'm still trying to figure out > how to make it accessible. Whenever I bring up these issues with my > professor, she acts like I should just expect things to be > inaccessible. "It's a visual world." And while that's true, she and > the university still have a legal obligation to make things accessible > when possible. > > I'm just not sure what to do, what to ask for, and how to proceed. I'm > tired, so tired, and I'm graduating at the end of the semester, so > part of me just wants to let all this go. But when I think about a > future career being like this, I just lose all desire to practice law > anymore. > > Does anyone have any thoughts? Please be kind if you think I should > just suck it up and keep fighting. I know this but would also love > some support. > > Thank you, > > Julie > > -- > Julie A. Orozco > MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of > Law, JD Candidate 2023 > > _______________________________________________ > BlindLaw mailing list > BlindLaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/james.garret.mooney%40gmail.com From rodalcidonis at gmail.com Thu Nov 2 05:18:27 2023 From: rodalcidonis at gmail.com (rodalcidonis at gmail.com) Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2023 01:18:27 -0400 Subject: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <001201da0d4c$03479770$09d6c650$@gmail.com> Hi Julie: First thing, you are in the right place. Second thing -- there is a lot to unpack here. Feel free to reach me offline as well to chat further. I know you can do it because many of us on this listserv has done it successfully. This was one of my favorite activities in law school -- trial team and the legal clinic. Rod, Rod Alcidonis, Esq. -----Original Message----- From: BlindLaw On Behalf Of James Garret Mooney via BlindLaw Sent: Wednesday, November 1, 2023 10:14 PM To: Blind Law Mailing List Cc: James Garret Mooney Subject: Re: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers I would love to talk to you off-line, email me so we can set something up. > On Nov 1, 2023, at 1:20 PM, Julie A. Orozco via BlindLaw wrote: > > Hi everyone, > > I am really struggling and wonder if some of you can provide > perspective. First, how much of your legal work, particularly for > those of you with clients, is actually accessible to you as a blind > person? I ask this because I would guess that the work in my legal > clinic is 60 or 70 percent inaccessible, and there seems to be very > little I can do about it by the end of the semester. > > I am currently taking a civil advocacy clinic through my law school. > Each student works with a partner and interviews, files motions for, > and represents clients in court hearings. Ever since I started law > school, I've been blown away at the inaccessible nature of the legal > profession, especially considering my last career literally required > me to get Braille materials because music cannot be rendered in a Word > document. But this clinic is another level of inaccessibility I never > imagined. > > We had to do several mailings last week. The instructions were > hand-written, and the entire process was inaccessible, so my partner > had to do it while I stood there with nothing to do to help. We > routinely have to work with scanned images that can't be converted > into text easily (if at all) because they contain hand writing. I > asked for a reader when I realized this would be a problem, but the > reader they gave me works for our disability support office and is > only available in the mornings when I am in class. He signed a > confidentiality agreement, which was a requirement for my clinic, but > he still shares what he's working on with his supervisor, who cannot > be granted access to client information. I'm attempting to work out > these issues, but while I try, the work continues. > > When my professor, partner, and I edit motions and other writings, > it's a nightmare. First, I had to figure out Sharepoint, which lags > and doesn't seem to work well with Jaws. Another blind attorney gave > me some tips that really helped, but in the end, none of that mattered > because when the three of us started editing together, I was > completely lost. I was trying to listen to track changes, comments, > footnotes, and the text of the motion with Jaws while my professor and > partner were looking at printed pages and just marking off what they > wanted to change. I couldn't keep up. My professor apologized, but she > kept using the paper copies and changing things I couldn't see on my > document. > > There are also lots of little things, like taking pictures, scanning > documents and checking them when documenting information, and putting > paper packets and visual aids together. Finally, when filing with the > DC Superior court, their system was not completely keyboard > accessible, so I couldn't even take the lead in filing our motion. I'm > frankly very overwhelmed. Although I know I have a lot to learn and I > accept that we live in a visual world, this level of inaccessibility > is making me question getting into the legal field at all. I > understand that sometimes I can do more to fight for accessibility, > but what am I supposed to do when I have three other classes, am > applying to take the Bar, and am also trying to apply for fellowships > and jobs? I cannot take on all these battles, and for the first time, > I don't even know which ones, if any, matter. My partner and professor > are tolerant of all these issues, but it feels awful that I have to > rely on my partner to do so much. My professor has also made it clear > that I have to improve over the course of the semester and put more > work into my clinic assignments. > > I've tried to brain storm solutions. I've tried talking with my > partner about letting me figure out some of the inaccessible work. > Sometimes she gets something done while I'm still trying to figure out > how to make it accessible. Whenever I bring up these issues with my > professor, she acts like I should just expect things to be > inaccessible. "It's a visual world." And while that's true, she and > the university still have a legal obligation to make things accessible > when possible. > > I'm just not sure what to do, what to ask for, and how to proceed. I'm > tired, so tired, and I'm graduating at the end of the semester, so > part of me just wants to let all this go. But when I think about a > future career being like this, I just lose all desire to practice law > anymore. > > Does anyone have any thoughts? Please be kind if you think I should > just suck it up and keep fighting. I know this but would also love > some support. > > Thank you, > > Julie > > -- > Julie A. Orozco > MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of > Law, JD Candidate 2023 > > _______________________________________________ > BlindLaw mailing list > BlindLaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/james.garret.moo > ney%40gmail.com _______________________________________________ BlindLaw mailing list BlindLaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/rodalcidonis%40gmail.com From dmanners at jd16.law.harvard.edu Thu Nov 2 05:51:42 2023 From: dmanners at jd16.law.harvard.edu (Derek Manners) Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2023 01:51:42 -0400 Subject: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers In-Reply-To: <001201da0d4c$03479770$09d6c650$@gmail.com> References: <001201da0d4c$03479770$09d6c650$@gmail.com> Message-ID: <78CCD4DB-A634-4082-BDB1-BE81D371EF51@jd16.law.harvard.edu> Hi Julie, Being a blind attorney is hard because being a blind professional is hard. Being a blind law student in some ways is harder though because there’s a regimented, one size fits all approach to teaching, and very little desire to figure it out for one student for one semester. I’ve found that the practice of law is more accommodating, at least by those standards, if you find a good place and your niche where you can add value. I’ll leave it to others for specific solutions in this case because I absolutely detest litigation, and have avoided it like the plague where possible, but it does generally get better after law school (and the Bar exam), at least for me. I’ve been practicing now for 8 years at two firms, and when I’ve raised issues around accommodations, I’ve generally been accommodated and it hasn’t materially impacted my ability to succeed with clients. Best regards Derek Sent from my iPhone > On Nov 2, 2023, at 1:19 AM, Rod Alcidonis via BlindLaw wrote: > > Hi Julie: > > First thing, you are in the right place. > > Second thing -- there is a lot to unpack here. Feel free to reach me offline as well to chat further. I know you can do it because many of us on this listserv has done it successfully. This was one of my favorite activities in law school -- trial team and the legal clinic. > > Rod, > > > Rod Alcidonis, Esq. > > -----Original Message----- > From: BlindLaw On Behalf Of James Garret Mooney via BlindLaw > Sent: Wednesday, November 1, 2023 10:14 PM > To: Blind Law Mailing List > Cc: James Garret Mooney > Subject: Re: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers > > I would love to talk to you off-line, email me so we can set something up. > >> On Nov 1, 2023, at 1:20 PM, Julie A. Orozco via BlindLaw wrote: >> >> Hi everyone, >> >> I am really struggling and wonder if some of you can provide >> perspective. First, how much of your legal work, particularly for >> those of you with clients, is actually accessible to you as a blind >> person? I ask this because I would guess that the work in my legal >> clinic is 60 or 70 percent inaccessible, and there seems to be very >> little I can do about it by the end of the semester. >> >> I am currently taking a civil advocacy clinic through my law school. >> Each student works with a partner and interviews, files motions for, >> and represents clients in court hearings. Ever since I started law >> school, I've been blown away at the inaccessible nature of the legal >> profession, especially considering my last career literally required >> me to get Braille materials because music cannot be rendered in a Word >> document. But this clinic is another level of inaccessibility I never >> imagined. >> >> We had to do several mailings last week. The instructions were >> hand-written, and the entire process was inaccessible, so my partner >> had to do it while I stood there with nothing to do to help. We >> routinely have to work with scanned images that can't be converted >> into text easily (if at all) because they contain hand writing. I >> asked for a reader when I realized this would be a problem, but the >> reader they gave me works for our disability support office and is >> only available in the mornings when I am in class. He signed a >> confidentiality agreement, which was a requirement for my clinic, but >> he still shares what he's working on with his supervisor, who cannot >> be granted access to client information. I'm attempting to work out >> these issues, but while I try, the work continues. >> >> When my professor, partner, and I edit motions and other writings, >> it's a nightmare. First, I had to figure out Sharepoint, which lags >> and doesn't seem to work well with Jaws. Another blind attorney gave >> me some tips that really helped, but in the end, none of that mattered >> because when the three of us started editing together, I was >> completely lost. I was trying to listen to track changes, comments, >> footnotes, and the text of the motion with Jaws while my professor and >> partner were looking at printed pages and just marking off what they >> wanted to change. I couldn't keep up. My professor apologized, but she >> kept using the paper copies and changing things I couldn't see on my >> document. >> >> There are also lots of little things, like taking pictures, scanning >> documents and checking them when documenting information, and putting >> paper packets and visual aids together. Finally, when filing with the >> DC Superior court, their system was not completely keyboard >> accessible, so I couldn't even take the lead in filing our motion. I'm >> frankly very overwhelmed. Although I know I have a lot to learn and I >> accept that we live in a visual world, this level of inaccessibility >> is making me question getting into the legal field at all. I >> understand that sometimes I can do more to fight for accessibility, >> but what am I supposed to do when I have three other classes, am >> applying to take the Bar, and am also trying to apply for fellowships >> and jobs? I cannot take on all these battles, and for the first time, >> I don't even know which ones, if any, matter. My partner and professor >> are tolerant of all these issues, but it feels awful that I have to >> rely on my partner to do so much. My professor has also made it clear >> that I have to improve over the course of the semester and put more >> work into my clinic assignments. >> >> I've tried to brain storm solutions. I've tried talking with my >> partner about letting me figure out some of the inaccessible work. >> Sometimes she gets something done while I'm still trying to figure out >> how to make it accessible. Whenever I bring up these issues with my >> professor, she acts like I should just expect things to be >> inaccessible. "It's a visual world." And while that's true, she and >> the university still have a legal obligation to make things accessible >> when possible. >> >> I'm just not sure what to do, what to ask for, and how to proceed. I'm >> tired, so tired, and I'm graduating at the end of the semester, so >> part of me just wants to let all this go. But when I think about a >> future career being like this, I just lose all desire to practice law >> anymore. >> >> Does anyone have any thoughts? Please be kind if you think I should >> just suck it up and keep fighting. I know this but would also love >> some support. >> >> Thank you, >> >> Julie >> >> -- >> Julie A. Orozco >> MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of >> Law, JD Candidate 2023 >> >> _______________________________________________ >> BlindLaw mailing list >> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org >> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw: >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/james.garret.moo >> ney%40gmail.com > > _______________________________________________ > BlindLaw mailing list > BlindLaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/rodalcidonis%40gmail.com > > > _______________________________________________ > BlindLaw mailing list > BlindLaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/dmanners%40jd16.law.harvard.edu From TrulyGenuine67 at hotmail.com Thu Nov 2 20:20:09 2023 From: TrulyGenuine67 at hotmail.com (Tisha Lyles) Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2023 20:20:09 +0000 Subject: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers In-Reply-To: <78CCD4DB-A634-4082-BDB1-BE81D371EF51@jd16.law.harvard.edu> References: <001201da0d4c$03479770$09d6c650$@gmail.com> <78CCD4DB-A634-4082-BDB1-BE81D371EF51@jd16.law.harvard.edu> Message-ID: Hello, Julie What tools are you using to study with when you are at home? I am currently preparing to begin my journey towards becoming a lawyer. I am deaf-blind. In other words, I am totally blind/hearing impaired. I am intending to use the following tools to assist me: 1 My VRStream 3 2 My braille writer, along with my laptop which is setup with JAWS and NVDA 3 A full page slate for keeping notes and key points of reference 4 And any helpful assistance that is available, but I won’t allow myself to be held back or kept in the dark Though, I am sure that you appreciate your partner’s help. However, that is clearly taking away from your knowledge base. Also, your growth in the class. I don’t agree with your professor’s attitude on the subject. He, or she should be a bit more accommodating. I further, feel that it was unfair to disclude you from the assignment. Conversely, the non-communication between them and you was not handled in the proper manor at all. Consequently, constant should have been flowing between the 3 of you this way it wouldn’t have difficult for you to follow along. Sincerely yours, Tisha Get Outlook for iOS ________________________________ From: BlindLaw on behalf of Derek Manners via BlindLaw Sent: Wednesday, November 1, 2023 10:51:42 PM To: Blind Law Mailing List Cc: Derek Manners Subject: Re: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers Hi Julie, Being a blind attorney is hard because being a blind professional is hard. Being a blind law student in some ways is harder though because there’s a regimented, one size fits all approach to teaching, and very little desire to figure it out for one student for one semester. I’ve found that the practice of law is more accommodating, at least by those standards, if you find a good place and your niche where you can add value. I’ll leave it to others for specific solutions in this case because I absolutely detest litigation, and have avoided it like the plague where possible, but it does generally get better after law school (and the Bar exam), at least for me. I’ve been practicing now for 8 years at two firms, and when I’ve raised issues around accommodations, I’ve generally been accommodated and it hasn’t materially impacted my ability to succeed with clients. Best regards Derek Sent from my iPhone > On Nov 2, 2023, at 1:19 AM, Rod Alcidonis via BlindLaw wrote: > > Hi Julie: > > First thing, you are in the right place. > > Second thing -- there is a lot to unpack here. Feel free to reach me offline as well to chat further. I know you can do it because many of us on this listserv has done it successfully. This was one of my favorite activities in law school -- trial team and the legal clinic. > > Rod, > > > Rod Alcidonis, Esq. > > -----Original Message----- > From: BlindLaw On Behalf Of James Garret Mooney via BlindLaw > Sent: Wednesday, November 1, 2023 10:14 PM > To: Blind Law Mailing List > Cc: James Garret Mooney > Subject: Re: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers > > I would love to talk to you off-line, email me so we can set something up. > >> On Nov 1, 2023, at 1:20 PM, Julie A. Orozco via BlindLaw wrote: >> >> Hi everyone, >> >> I am really struggling and wonder if some of you can provide >> perspective. First, how much of your legal work, particularly for >> those of you with clients, is actually accessible to you as a blind >> person? I ask this because I would guess that the work in my legal >> clinic is 60 or 70 percent inaccessible, and there seems to be very >> little I can do about it by the end of the semester. >> >> I am currently taking a civil advocacy clinic through my law school. >> Each student works with a partner and interviews, files motions for, >> and represents clients in court hearings. Ever since I started law >> school, I've been blown away at the inaccessible nature of the legal >> profession, especially considering my last career literally required >> me to get Braille materials because music cannot be rendered in a Word >> document. But this clinic is another level of inaccessibility I never >> imagined. >> >> We had to do several mailings last week. The instructions were >> hand-written, and the entire process was inaccessible, so my partner >> had to do it while I stood there with nothing to do to help. We >> routinely have to work with scanned images that can't be converted >> into text easily (if at all) because they contain hand writing. I >> asked for a reader when I realized this would be a problem, but the >> reader they gave me works for our disability support office and is >> only available in the mornings when I am in class. He signed a >> confidentiality agreement, which was a requirement for my clinic, but >> he still shares what he's working on with his supervisor, who cannot >> be granted access to client information. I'm attempting to work out >> these issues, but while I try, the work continues. >> >> When my professor, partner, and I edit motions and other writings, >> it's a nightmare. First, I had to figure out Sharepoint, which lags >> and doesn't seem to work well with Jaws. Another blind attorney gave >> me some tips that really helped, but in the end, none of that mattered >> because when the three of us started editing together, I was >> completely lost. I was trying to listen to track changes, comments, >> footnotes, and the text of the motion with Jaws while my professor and >> partner were looking at printed pages and just marking off what they >> wanted to change. I couldn't keep up. My professor apologized, but she >> kept using the paper copies and changing things I couldn't see on my >> document. >> >> There are also lots of little things, like taking pictures, scanning >> documents and checking them when documenting information, and putting >> paper packets and visual aids together. Finally, when filing with the >> DC Superior court, their system was not completely keyboard >> accessible, so I couldn't even take the lead in filing our motion. I'm >> frankly very overwhelmed. Although I know I have a lot to learn and I >> accept that we live in a visual world, this level of inaccessibility >> is making me question getting into the legal field at all. I >> understand that sometimes I can do more to fight for accessibility, >> but what am I supposed to do when I have three other classes, am >> applying to take the Bar, and am also trying to apply for fellowships >> and jobs? I cannot take on all these battles, and for the first time, >> I don't even know which ones, if any, matter. My partner and professor >> are tolerant of all these issues, but it feels awful that I have to >> rely on my partner to do so much. My professor has also made it clear >> that I have to improve over the course of the semester and put more >> work into my clinic assignments. >> >> I've tried to brain storm solutions. I've tried talking with my >> partner about letting me figure out some of the inaccessible work. >> Sometimes she gets something done while I'm still trying to figure out >> how to make it accessible. Whenever I bring up these issues with my >> professor, she acts like I should just expect things to be >> inaccessible. "It's a visual world." And while that's true, she and >> the university still have a legal obligation to make things accessible >> when possible. >> >> I'm just not sure what to do, what to ask for, and how to proceed. I'm >> tired, so tired, and I'm graduating at the end of the semester, so >> part of me just wants to let all this go. But when I think about a >> future career being like this, I just lose all desire to practice law >> anymore. >> >> Does anyone have any thoughts? Please be kind if you think I should >> just suck it up and keep fighting. I know this but would also love >> some support. >> >> Thank you, >> >> Julie >> >> -- >> Julie A. Orozco >> MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of >> Law, JD Candidate 2023 >> >> _______________________________________________ >> BlindLaw mailing list >> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org >> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw: >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/james.garret.moo >> ney%40gmail.com > > _______________________________________________ > BlindLaw mailing list > BlindLaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/rodalcidonis%40gmail.com > > > _______________________________________________ > BlindLaw mailing list > BlindLaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/dmanners%40jd16.law.harvard.edu _______________________________________________ BlindLaw mailing list BlindLaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/trulygenuine67%40hotmail.com From teresitarios22 at gmail.com Sun Nov 5 20:00:43 2023 From: teresitarios22 at gmail.com (Teresita Rios) Date: Sun, 5 Nov 2023 15:00:43 -0500 Subject: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <337D87BC-386F-4B72-9CBE-CDB37BB553FF@gmail.com> Dear Julie, I am so sorry to hear of your struggles. I graduated last semester and my clinic work was very accessible. Our clinics used an internal case filing system named Cleo. it is accessible. Everything was scanned by the other students and the office assistant. We did have forms for my clients but they were arranged in a pile some sidewise and others straight. I used the TV in a meeting room to share my screen while I was navigating my copy of the forms on my computer while my client had those forms in front of them. FOr litigation, I had to spend much more time getting acquainted with the case file before I met with my partner and professor. I have ABBYFineReader on my personal computer and when a scan was not accessible i ran it by ABBY. Several times other students in the clinic not just my partner, or the office assistant read documents to me. and I took notes before I had a meeting with my supervising attorney. I was lucky in that sense that our professor was receptive and heard and brainstormed small issues we faced in the office. Inaccessibility is mostly due to laziness to brainstorm. and you should let your professor know that at least in her semester’s report. Best wishes, Teresita > On Nov 1, 2023, at 1:11 PM, Julie A. Orozco via BlindLaw wrote: > > Hi everyone, > > I am really struggling and wonder if some of you can provide > perspective. First, how much of your legal work, particularly for > those of you with clients, is actually accessible to you as a blind > person? I ask this because I would guess that the work in my legal > clinic is 60 or 70 percent inaccessible, and there seems to be very > little I can do about it by the end of the semester. > > I am currently taking a civil advocacy clinic through my law school. > Each student works with a partner and interviews, files motions for, > and represents clients in court hearings. Ever since I started law > school, I've been blown away at the inaccessible nature of the legal > profession, especially considering my last career literally required > me to get Braille materials because music cannot be rendered in a Word > document. But this clinic is another level of inaccessibility I never > imagined. > > We had to do several mailings last week. The instructions were > hand-written, and the entire process was inaccessible, so my partner > had to do it while I stood there with nothing to do to help. We > routinely have to work with scanned images that can't be converted > into text easily (if at all) because they contain hand writing. I > asked for a reader when I realized this would be a problem, but the > reader they gave me works for our disability support office and is > only available in the mornings when I am in class. He signed a > confidentiality agreement, which was a requirement for my clinic, but > he still shares what he's working on with his supervisor, who cannot > be granted access to client information. I'm attempting to work out > these issues, but while I try, the work continues. > > When my professor, partner, and I edit motions and other writings, > it's a nightmare. First, I had to figure out Sharepoint, which lags > and doesn't seem to work well with Jaws. Another blind attorney gave > me some tips that really helped, but in the end, none of that mattered > because when the three of us started editing together, I was > completely lost. I was trying to listen to track changes, comments, > footnotes, and the text of the motion with Jaws while my professor and > partner were looking at printed pages and just marking off what they > wanted to change. I couldn't keep up. My professor apologized, but she > kept using the paper copies and changing things I couldn't see on my > document. > > There are also lots of little things, like taking pictures, scanning > documents and checking them when documenting information, and putting > paper packets and visual aids together. Finally, when filing with the > DC Superior court, their system was not completely keyboard > accessible, so I couldn't even take the lead in filing our motion. I'm > frankly very overwhelmed. Although I know I have a lot to learn and I > accept that we live in a visual world, this level of inaccessibility > is making me question getting into the legal field at all. I > understand that sometimes I can do more to fight for accessibility, > but what am I supposed to do when I have three other classes, am > applying to take the Bar, and am also trying to apply for fellowships > and jobs? I cannot take on all these battles, and for the first time, > I don't even know which ones, if any, matter. My partner and professor > are tolerant of all these issues, but it feels awful that I have to > rely on my partner to do so much. My professor has also made it clear > that I have to improve over the course of the semester and put more > work into my clinic assignments. > > I've tried to brain storm solutions. I've tried talking with my > partner about letting me figure out some of the inaccessible work. > Sometimes she gets something done while I'm still trying to figure out > how to make it accessible. Whenever I bring up these issues with my > professor, she acts like I should just expect things to be > inaccessible. "It's a visual world." And while that's true, she and > the university still have a legal obligation to make things accessible > when possible. > > I'm just not sure what to do, what to ask for, and how to proceed. I'm > tired, so tired, and I'm graduating at the end of the semester, so > part of me just wants to let all this go. But when I think about a > future career being like this, I just lose all desire to practice law > anymore. > > Does anyone have any thoughts? Please be kind if you think I should > just suck it up and keep fighting. I know this but would also love > some support. > > Thank you, > > Julie > > -- > Julie A. Orozco > MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of > Law, JD Candidate 2023 > > _______________________________________________ > BlindLaw mailing list > BlindLaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/teresitarios22%40gmail.com From kaybaycar at gmail.com Mon Nov 6 03:39:23 2023 From: kaybaycar at gmail.com (Julie A. Orozco) Date: Sun, 5 Nov 2023 22:39:23 -0500 Subject: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers In-Reply-To: <337D87BC-386F-4B72-9CBE-CDB37BB553FF@gmail.com> References: <337D87BC-386F-4B72-9CBE-CDB37BB553FF@gmail.com> Message-ID: Hi everyone, Thank you for your kind comments. I am going to reach out to those of you who offered this week. I was at the NFB of Virginia state convention this weekend. I really appreciate all of your support. It's good to know that my clinic isn't a sign of things to come in my legal career. I think everyone questions if they really want to do law in law school, but this semester has made me question more than ever. So, thank you again for allowing me to share. We have some hearings coming up, and my professor seems to think I will do well in them, especially since one is over the phone. I'm not sure how I feel about this, but at least we won't have to make visual aids. :) Julie On 11/5/23, Teresita Rios via BlindLaw wrote: > Dear Julie, > > I am so sorry to hear of your struggles. I graduated last semester and my > clinic work was very accessible. Our clinics used an internal case filing > system named Cleo. it is accessible. Everything was scanned by the other > students and the office assistant. We did have forms for my clients but they > were arranged in a pile some sidewise and others straight. I used the TV in > a meeting room to share my screen while I was navigating my copy of the > forms on my computer while my client had those forms in front of them. FOr > litigation, I had to spend much more time getting acquainted with the case > file before I met with my partner and professor. > I have ABBYFineReader on my personal computer and when a scan was not > accessible i ran it by ABBY. Several times other students in the clinic not > just my partner, or the office assistant read documents to me. and I took > notes before I had a meeting with my supervising attorney. I was lucky in > that sense that our professor was receptive and heard and brainstormed small > issues we faced in the office. Inaccessibility is mostly due to laziness to > brainstorm. and you should let your professor know that at least in her > semester’s report. > > Best wishes, > Teresita > > > >> On Nov 1, 2023, at 1:11 PM, Julie A. Orozco via BlindLaw >> wrote: >> >> Hi everyone, >> >> I am really struggling and wonder if some of you can provide >> perspective. First, how much of your legal work, particularly for >> those of you with clients, is actually accessible to you as a blind >> person? I ask this because I would guess that the work in my legal >> clinic is 60 or 70 percent inaccessible, and there seems to be very >> little I can do about it by the end of the semester. >> >> I am currently taking a civil advocacy clinic through my law school. >> Each student works with a partner and interviews, files motions for, >> and represents clients in court hearings. Ever since I started law >> school, I've been blown away at the inaccessible nature of the legal >> profession, especially considering my last career literally required >> me to get Braille materials because music cannot be rendered in a Word >> document. But this clinic is another level of inaccessibility I never >> imagined. >> >> We had to do several mailings last week. The instructions were >> hand-written, and the entire process was inaccessible, so my partner >> had to do it while I stood there with nothing to do to help. We >> routinely have to work with scanned images that can't be converted >> into text easily (if at all) because they contain hand writing. I >> asked for a reader when I realized this would be a problem, but the >> reader they gave me works for our disability support office and is >> only available in the mornings when I am in class. He signed a >> confidentiality agreement, which was a requirement for my clinic, but >> he still shares what he's working on with his supervisor, who cannot >> be granted access to client information. I'm attempting to work out >> these issues, but while I try, the work continues. >> >> When my professor, partner, and I edit motions and other writings, >> it's a nightmare. First, I had to figure out Sharepoint, which lags >> and doesn't seem to work well with Jaws. Another blind attorney gave >> me some tips that really helped, but in the end, none of that mattered >> because when the three of us started editing together, I was >> completely lost. I was trying to listen to track changes, comments, >> footnotes, and the text of the motion with Jaws while my professor and >> partner were looking at printed pages and just marking off what they >> wanted to change. I couldn't keep up. My professor apologized, but she >> kept using the paper copies and changing things I couldn't see on my >> document. >> >> There are also lots of little things, like taking pictures, scanning >> documents and checking them when documenting information, and putting >> paper packets and visual aids together. Finally, when filing with the >> DC Superior court, their system was not completely keyboard >> accessible, so I couldn't even take the lead in filing our motion. I'm >> frankly very overwhelmed. Although I know I have a lot to learn and I >> accept that we live in a visual world, this level of inaccessibility >> is making me question getting into the legal field at all. I >> understand that sometimes I can do more to fight for accessibility, >> but what am I supposed to do when I have three other classes, am >> applying to take the Bar, and am also trying to apply for fellowships >> and jobs? I cannot take on all these battles, and for the first time, >> I don't even know which ones, if any, matter. My partner and professor >> are tolerant of all these issues, but it feels awful that I have to >> rely on my partner to do so much. My professor has also made it clear >> that I have to improve over the course of the semester and put more >> work into my clinic assignments. >> >> I've tried to brain storm solutions. I've tried talking with my >> partner about letting me figure out some of the inaccessible work. >> Sometimes she gets something done while I'm still trying to figure out >> how to make it accessible. Whenever I bring up these issues with my >> professor, she acts like I should just expect things to be >> inaccessible. "It's a visual world." And while that's true, she and >> the university still have a legal obligation to make things accessible >> when possible. >> >> I'm just not sure what to do, what to ask for, and how to proceed. I'm >> tired, so tired, and I'm graduating at the end of the semester, so >> part of me just wants to let all this go. But when I think about a >> future career being like this, I just lose all desire to practice law >> anymore. >> >> Does anyone have any thoughts? Please be kind if you think I should >> just suck it up and keep fighting. I know this but would also love >> some support. >> >> Thank you, >> >> Julie >> >> -- >> Julie A. Orozco >> MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of >> Law, JD Candidate 2023 >> >> _______________________________________________ >> BlindLaw mailing list >> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org >> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for >> BlindLaw: >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/teresitarios22%40gmail.com > > > _______________________________________________ > BlindLaw mailing list > BlindLaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for > BlindLaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/kaybaycar%40gmail.com > -- Julie A. Orozco MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of Law, JD Candidate 2023 From tim at timeldermusic.com Mon Nov 6 16:21:40 2023 From: tim at timeldermusic.com (tim at timeldermusic.com) Date: Mon, 6 Nov 2023 08:21:40 -0800 Subject: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers In-Reply-To: References: <337D87BC-386F-4B72-9CBE-CDB37BB553FF@gmail.com> Message-ID: <018501da10cd$53c96aa0$fb5c3fe0$@timeldermusic.com> Hi Julie, Keep going. It isn't always this bad. As you spend more time integrating in with a work flow you develop strategies and workarounds that aren't as easy to develop in the short timeline of a clinic. Starting any new job has an extended onboarding time to get efficient as a blind person learning new technology systems. Your university reader should be 24/7 available. That's a big drop by the school. Aira is a reasonable solution. There are some areas of practice that are much more likely to involve handwriting. If you go into worker's Comp., criminal defense, or anything involving medical records, you're much more likely to encounter handwriting. Although less common with new medical record systems, older records from doctors are mostly hand written. There's no getting around reliance on a human reader for some parts of legal practice. I'd estimate it comes up about 5% of the time in the volume of documents that I need to review. I spoke to a struggling workers comp attorney who is blind and they had to do it about 65% of the time with a need to do it live in depositions. That's hard to manage without a lot of prep time. For what its worth, I recently did a round of reviewing about 8,000 documents. The e-discovery protocols are your friend. By complying with requirements to make the documents searchable and machine readable for import/export into e-discovery software, they become very accessible for efficient review with a screen reader in either RTF or Excel formats. I'm happy to share more thoughts. -----Original Message----- From: Julie A. Orozco Sent: Sunday, November 5, 2023 7:39 PM To: Blind Law Mailing List Subject: Re: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers Hi everyone, Thank you for your kind comments. I am going to reach out to those of you who offered this week. I was at the NFB of Virginia state convention this weekend. I really appreciate all of your support. It's good to know that my clinic isn't a sign of things to come in my legal career. I think everyone questions if they really want to do law in law school, but this semester has made me question more than ever. So, thank you again for allowing me to share. We have some hearings coming up, and my professor seems to think I will do well in them, especially since one is over the phone. I'm not sure how I feel about this, but at least we won't have to make visual aids. :) Julie On 11/5/23, Teresita Rios via BlindLaw wrote: > Dear Julie, > > I am so sorry to hear of your struggles. I graduated last semester and > my clinic work was very accessible. Our clinics used an internal case > filing system named Cleo. it is accessible. Everything was scanned by > the other students and the office assistant. We did have forms for my > clients but they were arranged in a pile some sidewise and others > straight. I used the TV in a meeting room to share my screen while I > was navigating my copy of the forms on my computer while my client had > those forms in front of them. FOr litigation, I had to spend much more > time getting acquainted with the case file before I met with my partner and professor. > I have ABBYFineReader on my personal computer and when a scan was not > accessible i ran it by ABBY. Several times other students in the > clinic not just my partner, or the office assistant read documents to > me. and I took notes before I had a meeting with my supervising > attorney. I was lucky in that sense that our professor was receptive > and heard and brainstormed small issues we faced in the office. > Inaccessibility is mostly due to laziness to brainstorm. and you > should let your professor know that at least in her semester’s report. > > Best wishes, > Teresita > > > >> On Nov 1, 2023, at 1:11 PM, Julie A. Orozco via BlindLaw >> wrote: >> >> Hi everyone, >> >> I am really struggling and wonder if some of you can provide >> perspective. First, how much of your legal work, particularly for >> those of you with clients, is actually accessible to you as a blind >> person? I ask this because I would guess that the work in my legal >> clinic is 60 or 70 percent inaccessible, and there seems to be very >> little I can do about it by the end of the semester. >> >> I am currently taking a civil advocacy clinic through my law school. >> Each student works with a partner and interviews, files motions for, >> and represents clients in court hearings. Ever since I started law >> school, I've been blown away at the inaccessible nature of the legal >> profession, especially considering my last career literally required >> me to get Braille materials because music cannot be rendered in a >> Word document. But this clinic is another level of inaccessibility I >> never imagined. >> >> We had to do several mailings last week. The instructions were >> hand-written, and the entire process was inaccessible, so my partner >> had to do it while I stood there with nothing to do to help. We >> routinely have to work with scanned images that can't be converted >> into text easily (if at all) because they contain hand writing. I >> asked for a reader when I realized this would be a problem, but the >> reader they gave me works for our disability support office and is >> only available in the mornings when I am in class. He signed a >> confidentiality agreement, which was a requirement for my clinic, but >> he still shares what he's working on with his supervisor, who cannot >> be granted access to client information. I'm attempting to work out >> these issues, but while I try, the work continues. >> >> When my professor, partner, and I edit motions and other writings, >> it's a nightmare. First, I had to figure out Sharepoint, which lags >> and doesn't seem to work well with Jaws. Another blind attorney gave >> me some tips that really helped, but in the end, none of that >> mattered because when the three of us started editing together, I was >> completely lost. I was trying to listen to track changes, comments, >> footnotes, and the text of the motion with Jaws while my professor >> and partner were looking at printed pages and just marking off what >> they wanted to change. I couldn't keep up. My professor apologized, >> but she kept using the paper copies and changing things I couldn't >> see on my document. >> >> There are also lots of little things, like taking pictures, scanning >> documents and checking them when documenting information, and putting >> paper packets and visual aids together. Finally, when filing with the >> DC Superior court, their system was not completely keyboard >> accessible, so I couldn't even take the lead in filing our motion. >> I'm frankly very overwhelmed. Although I know I have a lot to learn >> and I accept that we live in a visual world, this level of >> inaccessibility is making me question getting into the legal field at >> all. I understand that sometimes I can do more to fight for >> accessibility, but what am I supposed to do when I have three other >> classes, am applying to take the Bar, and am also trying to apply for >> fellowships and jobs? I cannot take on all these battles, and for the >> first time, I don't even know which ones, if any, matter. My partner >> and professor are tolerant of all these issues, but it feels awful >> that I have to rely on my partner to do so much. My professor has >> also made it clear that I have to improve over the course of the >> semester and put more work into my clinic assignments. >> >> I've tried to brain storm solutions. I've tried talking with my >> partner about letting me figure out some of the inaccessible work. >> Sometimes she gets something done while I'm still trying to figure >> out how to make it accessible. Whenever I bring up these issues with >> my professor, she acts like I should just expect things to be >> inaccessible. "It's a visual world." And while that's true, she and >> the university still have a legal obligation to make things >> accessible when possible. >> >> I'm just not sure what to do, what to ask for, and how to proceed. >> I'm tired, so tired, and I'm graduating at the end of the semester, >> so part of me just wants to let all this go. But when I think about a >> future career being like this, I just lose all desire to practice law >> anymore. >> >> Does anyone have any thoughts? Please be kind if you think I should >> just suck it up and keep fighting. I know this but would also love >> some support. >> >> Thank you, >> >> Julie >> >> -- >> Julie A. Orozco >> MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of >> Law, JD Candidate 2023 >> >> _______________________________________________ >> BlindLaw mailing list >> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org >> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for >> BlindLaw: >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/teresitarios22% >> 40gmail.com > > > _______________________________________________ > BlindLaw mailing list > BlindLaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for > BlindLaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/kaybaycar%40gmai > l.com > -- Julie A. Orozco MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of Law, JD Candidate 2023 From dmanners at jd16.law.harvard.edu Mon Nov 6 23:19:37 2023 From: dmanners at jd16.law.harvard.edu (Derek Manners) Date: Mon, 6 Nov 2023 18:19:37 -0500 Subject: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers In-Reply-To: <018501da10cd$53c96aa0$fb5c3fe0$@timeldermusic.com> References: <018501da10cd$53c96aa0$fb5c3fe0$@timeldermusic.com> Message-ID: 100% agree with all of this. Sent from my iPhone > On Nov 6, 2023, at 11:22 AM, Tim Elder via BlindLaw wrote: > > Hi Julie, > > Keep going. It isn't always this bad. As you spend more time integrating in with a work flow you develop strategies and workarounds that aren't as easy to develop in the short timeline of a clinic. Starting any new job has an extended onboarding time to get efficient as a blind person learning new technology systems. Your university reader should be 24/7 available. That's a big drop by the school. Aira is a reasonable solution. > > There are some areas of practice that are much more likely to involve handwriting. If you go into worker's Comp., criminal defense, or anything involving medical records, you're much more likely to encounter handwriting. Although less common with new medical record systems, older records from doctors are mostly hand written. There's no getting around reliance on a human reader for some parts of legal practice. I'd estimate it comes up about 5% of the time in the volume of documents that I need to review. I spoke to a struggling workers comp attorney who is blind and they had to do it about 65% of the time with a need to do it live in depositions. That's hard to manage without a lot of prep time. > > For what its worth, I recently did a round of reviewing about 8,000 documents. The e-discovery protocols are your friend. By complying with requirements to make the documents searchable and machine readable for import/export into e-discovery software, they become very accessible for efficient review with a screen reader in either RTF or Excel formats. > I'm happy to share more thoughts. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Julie A. Orozco > Sent: Sunday, November 5, 2023 7:39 PM > To: Blind Law Mailing List > Subject: Re: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers > > Hi everyone, > > Thank you for your kind comments. I am going to reach out to those of you who offered this week. I was at the NFB of Virginia state convention this weekend. > > I really appreciate all of your support. It's good to know that my clinic isn't a sign of things to come in my legal career. I think everyone questions if they really want to do law in law school, but this semester has made me question more than ever. So, thank you again for allowing me to share. We have some hearings coming up, and my professor seems to think I will do well in them, especially since one is over the phone. I'm not sure how I feel about this, but at least we won't have to make visual aids. :) > > Julie > > >> On 11/5/23, Teresita Rios via BlindLaw wrote: >> Dear Julie, >> >> I am so sorry to hear of your struggles. I graduated last semester and >> my clinic work was very accessible. Our clinics used an internal case >> filing system named Cleo. it is accessible. Everything was scanned by >> the other students and the office assistant. We did have forms for my >> clients but they were arranged in a pile some sidewise and others >> straight. I used the TV in a meeting room to share my screen while I >> was navigating my copy of the forms on my computer while my client had >> those forms in front of them. FOr litigation, I had to spend much more >> time getting acquainted with the case file before I met with my partner and professor. >> I have ABBYFineReader on my personal computer and when a scan was not >> accessible i ran it by ABBY. Several times other students in the >> clinic not just my partner, or the office assistant read documents to >> me. and I took notes before I had a meeting with my supervising >> attorney. I was lucky in that sense that our professor was receptive >> and heard and brainstormed small issues we faced in the office. >> Inaccessibility is mostly due to laziness to brainstorm. and you >> should let your professor know that at least in her semester’s report. >> >> Best wishes, >> Teresita >> >> >> >>> On Nov 1, 2023, at 1:11 PM, Julie A. Orozco via BlindLaw >>> wrote: >>> >>> Hi everyone, >>> >>> I am really struggling and wonder if some of you can provide >>> perspective. First, how much of your legal work, particularly for >>> those of you with clients, is actually accessible to you as a blind >>> person? I ask this because I would guess that the work in my legal >>> clinic is 60 or 70 percent inaccessible, and there seems to be very >>> little I can do about it by the end of the semester. >>> >>> I am currently taking a civil advocacy clinic through my law school. >>> Each student works with a partner and interviews, files motions for, >>> and represents clients in court hearings. Ever since I started law >>> school, I've been blown away at the inaccessible nature of the legal >>> profession, especially considering my last career literally required >>> me to get Braille materials because music cannot be rendered in a >>> Word document. But this clinic is another level of inaccessibility I >>> never imagined. >>> >>> We had to do several mailings last week. The instructions were >>> hand-written, and the entire process was inaccessible, so my partner >>> had to do it while I stood there with nothing to do to help. We >>> routinely have to work with scanned images that can't be converted >>> into text easily (if at all) because they contain hand writing. I >>> asked for a reader when I realized this would be a problem, but the >>> reader they gave me works for our disability support office and is >>> only available in the mornings when I am in class. He signed a >>> confidentiality agreement, which was a requirement for my clinic, but >>> he still shares what he's working on with his supervisor, who cannot >>> be granted access to client information. I'm attempting to work out >>> these issues, but while I try, the work continues. >>> >>> When my professor, partner, and I edit motions and other writings, >>> it's a nightmare. First, I had to figure out Sharepoint, which lags >>> and doesn't seem to work well with Jaws. Another blind attorney gave >>> me some tips that really helped, but in the end, none of that >>> mattered because when the three of us started editing together, I was >>> completely lost. I was trying to listen to track changes, comments, >>> footnotes, and the text of the motion with Jaws while my professor >>> and partner were looking at printed pages and just marking off what >>> they wanted to change. I couldn't keep up. My professor apologized, >>> but she kept using the paper copies and changing things I couldn't >>> see on my document. >>> >>> There are also lots of little things, like taking pictures, scanning >>> documents and checking them when documenting information, and putting >>> paper packets and visual aids together. Finally, when filing with the >>> DC Superior court, their system was not completely keyboard >>> accessible, so I couldn't even take the lead in filing our motion. >>> I'm frankly very overwhelmed. Although I know I have a lot to learn >>> and I accept that we live in a visual world, this level of >>> inaccessibility is making me question getting into the legal field at >>> all. I understand that sometimes I can do more to fight for >>> accessibility, but what am I supposed to do when I have three other >>> classes, am applying to take the Bar, and am also trying to apply for >>> fellowships and jobs? I cannot take on all these battles, and for the >>> first time, I don't even know which ones, if any, matter. My partner >>> and professor are tolerant of all these issues, but it feels awful >>> that I have to rely on my partner to do so much. My professor has >>> also made it clear that I have to improve over the course of the >>> semester and put more work into my clinic assignments. >>> >>> I've tried to brain storm solutions. I've tried talking with my >>> partner about letting me figure out some of the inaccessible work. >>> Sometimes she gets something done while I'm still trying to figure >>> out how to make it accessible. Whenever I bring up these issues with >>> my professor, she acts like I should just expect things to be >>> inaccessible. "It's a visual world." And while that's true, she and >>> the university still have a legal obligation to make things >>> accessible when possible. >>> >>> I'm just not sure what to do, what to ask for, and how to proceed. >>> I'm tired, so tired, and I'm graduating at the end of the semester, >>> so part of me just wants to let all this go. But when I think about a >>> future career being like this, I just lose all desire to practice law >>> anymore. >>> >>> Does anyone have any thoughts? Please be kind if you think I should >>> just suck it up and keep fighting. I know this but would also love >>> some support. >>> >>> Thank you, >>> >>> Julie >>> >>> -- >>> Julie A. Orozco >>> MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of >>> Law, JD Candidate 2023 >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> BlindLaw mailing list >>> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org >>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org >>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for >>> BlindLaw: >>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/teresitarios22% >>> 40gmail.com >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> BlindLaw mailing list >> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org >> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for >> BlindLaw: >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/kaybaycar%40gmai >> l.com >> > > > -- > Julie A. Orozco > MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of Law, JD Candidate 2023 > > > > > _______________________________________________ > BlindLaw mailing list > BlindLaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/dmanners%40jd16.law.harvard.edu From rahul.bajaj1038 at gmail.com Tue Nov 7 03:36:56 2023 From: rahul.bajaj1038 at gmail.com (Rahul Bajaj) Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2023 09:06:56 +0530 Subject: [blindLaw] legal practice Message-ID: Hi All, +91 98902 81068 ~Rahul Bajaj: The way law is practiced in India, I think it is almost impossible for a blind litigating lawyer to truly excel in a traditional set up, such as a law firm or a senior’s office. The only way that she can do so, to my mind, is by having her own model of working in place - an extremely effective junior to assist her on a realtime basis and a pathway that allows her to express herself [in terms of areas of law, forums and the pace of the proceedings]. The traditional way, in which juniors are basically shuffling papers and showing specific paras on specific page numbers to a senior in a fast-paced manner in a conference is next to impossible for a blind lawyer. And I don’t think being better prepared is realistically an answer to this predicament, given the sheer volume of documents that one is faced with. It is the judge or the senior who dictates the terms of the conference/hearing, and it is impossible to have anticipated and read before and be able to recall at will most things at will. The context here was that we had a conference yesterday to brief senior advocate Dayan Krishnan for a big personality rights matter where he is leading us. it is an appeal in the Delhi High Court. The paperbook, owing to the voluminous filings made to date is 2500 pages plus. the file is simply not opening with my PDF software, and I had asked around extensively for help last time when this matter had come up, to no avail. I asked a colleague yesterday to extract what I perceived as being the most crucial part of the file, so I could review it before the conference. However, during the conference, he focused on something totally different. And was just quickly jumping from one document to the other. While my sighted colleagues had access to the file and could keep pace with him, as I could not open the file itself, I could not keep up. And showcasing static knowledge [this is what x judgment or provision says] is much easier for a blind legal professional than dynamic knowledge [show me what page so-and-so says]. 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 From rothmanjd at gmail.com Tue Nov 7 21:55:15 2023 From: rothmanjd at gmail.com (rothmanjd at gmail.com) Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2023 16:55:15 -0500 Subject: [blindLaw] 2024 Brown Goldstein & Levy Disability Rights Fellowship Message-ID: <026e01da11c5$17f54370$47dfca50$@gmail.com> Please see a fantastic opportunity below for a law student or recent graduate with a disability. I worked at BGL and it was one of the best places I've ever worked. I encourage everyone interested in applying and that you share widely with your network. 2024 Disability Rights Fellowship Posting (ACE) (002).pdf Goldstein & Levy THE 2024 BROWN, GOLDSTEIN & LEVY DISABILITY RIGHTS FELLOWSHIP In September 2009, Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP welcomed its first Disability Rights Fellow. We are now accepting applications for our tenth Disability Rights Fellow to begin in September 2024. The Fellowship offers a recent law school graduate or judicial clerk with a disability the opportunity to participate for a year in all phases of disability rights and other litigation at our firm in Baltimore, Maryland. Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a 20-lawyer law firm devoted principally to litigation. The firm has developed a national reputation for its high-profile, high-impact disability rights cases. Information about Brown, Goldstein & Levy, including our past and present work and fellows, is available at browngold.com Terms of the Fellowship The term of the Fellowship is one year (with the possibility of a second year). Salary and benefits will be commensurate with the salaries paid and benefits provided to non-Fellowship attorneys of equivalent experience and qualifications. The Fellow should be a member of a state bar or be planning to obtain admittance to a state bar with the ability to apply for Maryland admission. Application and Selection Applicants must have strong academic credentials, excellent writing skills, and an interest in the work of the firm. A completed application will consist of the following: 1. a cover letter, no longer than two pages, explaining the ways in which you meet the selection criteria; 2. a copy of your law school transcript; 3. a legal writing sample of no more than 15 pages; 4. a current resume; and 5. a list of three references, including name, relationship, and contact information. Applications will be received on a rolling basis; the position will remain open until filled. Please submit your application by e-mail to fellowship at browngold.com Ronza Othman, President National Federation of the Blind of Maryland 443-426-4110 Pronouns: she, her, hers The National Federation of the Blind of Maryland knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back From Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov Sat Nov 11 23:13:12 2023 From: Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov (Nightingale, Noel) Date: Sat, 11 Nov 2023 23:13:12 +0000 Subject: [blindLaw] FW: [Rehab] 2024 Brown Goldstein & Levy Disability Rights Fellowship In-Reply-To: <09fd01da11ff$f4045bf0$dc0d13d0$@comcast.net> References: <026e01da11c5$17f54370$47dfca50$@gmail.com> <09fd01da11ff$f4045bf0$dc0d13d0$@comcast.net> Message-ID: -----Original Message----- From: Rehab On Behalf Of dandrews920--- via Rehab Sent: Tuesday, November 7, 2023 8:56 PM To: job-discussions at nfbnet.org; rehab at nfbnet.org; nabs-l at nfbnet.org Cc: dandrews920 at comcast.net Subject: [Rehab] 2024 Brown Goldstein & Levy Disability Rights Fellowship CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Please see a fantastic opportunity below for a law student or recent graduate with a disability. I worked at BGL and it was one of the best places I've ever worked. I encourage everyone interested in applying and that you share widely with your network. 2024 Disability Rights Fellowship Posting (ACE) (002).pdf Goldstein & Levy THE 2024 BROWN, GOLDSTEIN & LEVY DISABILITY RIGHTS FELLOWSHIP In September 2009, Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP welcomed its first Disability Rights Fellow. We are now accepting applications for our tenth Disability Rights Fellow to begin in September 2024. The Fellowship offers a recent law school graduate or judicial clerk with a disability the opportunity to participate for a year in all phases of disability rights and other litigation at our firm in Baltimore, Maryland. Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a 20-lawyer law firm devoted principally to litigation. The firm has developed a national reputation for its high-profile, high-impact disability rights cases. Information about Brown, Goldstein & Levy, including our past and present work and fellows, is available at browngold.com Terms of the Fellowship The term of the Fellowship is one year (with the possibility of a second year). Salary and benefits will be commensurate with the salaries paid and benefits provided to non-Fellowship attorneys of equivalent experience and qualifications. The Fellow should be a member of a state bar or be planning to obtain admittance to a state bar with the ability to apply for Maryland admission. Application and Selection Applicants must have strong academic credentials, excellent writing skills, and an interest in the work of the firm. A completed application will consist of the following: 1. a cover letter, no longer than two pages, explaining the ways in which you meet the selection criteria; 2. a copy of your law school transcript; 3. a legal writing sample of no more than 15 pages; 4. a current resume; and 5. a list of three references, including name, relationship, and contact information. Applications will be received on a rolling basis; the position will remain open until filled. Please submit your application by e-mail to fellowship at browngold.com Ronza Othman, President National Federation of the Blind of Maryland 443-426-4110 Pronouns: she, her, hers The National Federation of the Blind of Maryland knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back _______________________________________________ Rehab mailing list Rehab at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/rehab_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Rehab: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/rehab_nfbnet.org/noel.nightingale%40ed.gov From teresitarios22 at gmail.com Thu Nov 16 18:21:46 2023 From: teresitarios22 at gmail.com (Teresita Rios) Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2023 13:21:46 -0500 Subject: [blindLaw] Request for Doc Filing Software Suggestions Message-ID: <35A98006-4A65-4B4F-9D23-B84498B33F5A@gmail.com> Dear friends, I am planning to start a new job at a small but growing transactional law firm. They have requested for suggestions accessible software that you may know for large amounts of document filing and internal management. I am asking for suggestions of any firm software that you have experience and that are accessible, and those which we should stay away from. If anyone has a favorite one. please let me know. Please do give us your experiences and suggestions. I just graduated from Law school and do not have any experiances with firm file management softwares. With much Gratitude, Teresita From Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov Thu Nov 16 18:41:34 2023 From: Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov (Nightingale, Noel) Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2023 18:41:34 +0000 Subject: [blindLaw] Justice Department Finds Oklahoma Mobile App Inaccessible to People with Vision Disabilities In-Reply-To: <16864321.88841@public.govdelivery.com> References: <16864321.88841@public.govdelivery.com> Message-ID: From: U.S. Department of Justice Sent: Thursday, November 16, 2023 10:30 AM Subject: Justice Department Finds Oklahoma Mobile App Inaccessible to People with Vision Disabilities The Justice Department announced today that Service Oklahoma violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act by maintaining a mobile application called the Oklahoma Mobile ID Application (OK Mobile ID App) that is inaccessible to individuals with vision disabilities. To use the OK Mobile ID App, people must scan or take photos of their identification cards and take pictures of themselves by connecting the dots that appear on the screen using only head and eye movements. Both tasks are difficult or impossible for individuals who are blind to do without receiving any verbal feedback. The department found that Service Oklahoma denies people with vision disabilities equal access to the OK Mobile ID App and fails to ensure that communications with them are as effective as communications with others. To learn more, please read our press release and letter of findings. This letter is part of the Civil Rights Division’s Tech Equity Initiative to combat disability discrimination that occurs through technology, such as in websites and mobile apps. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301 (TTY 833-610-1264) or visit ada.gov. ________________________________ [Instagram icon] | [FaceBook icon] | [YouTube icon] | [Twitter icon] ________________________________ From Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov Fri Nov 17 14:53:04 2023 From: Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov (Nightingale, Noel) Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:53:04 +0000 Subject: [blindLaw] Justice Department Secures Agreement with the Arizona Prison System to Resolve Discrimination Against Incarcerated People with Vision Disabilities In-Reply-To: <16864614.35363@public.govdelivery.com> References: <16864614.35363@public.govdelivery.com> Message-ID: From: U.S. Department of Justice Sent: Friday, November 17, 2023 5:44 AM Subject: Justice Department Secures Agreement with the Arizona Prison System to Resolve Discrimination Against Incarcerated People with Vision Disabilities The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry (ADCRR) has agreed to adopt systemwide reforms to correct and prevent discrimination against incarcerated people with vision disabilities. The agreement resolves the Justice Department’s findings, issued in July 2023, that ADCRR violated Title II of the ADA. Under the three-year agreement, ADCRR will retain an expert consultant to help revise its policies and practices, train its personnel, and provide necessary modifications, aids and services, and assistive technology to people with vision disabilities in ADCRR custody. ADCRR will regularly report to the department and adopt robust screening and documentation procedures to ensure people with vision disabilities receive any aids and services they need throughout their incarceration. ADCRR will also designate a systemwide ADA Administrator and facility ADA Coordinators to ensure consistent implementation of the agreement across all state facilities. To learn more, please read our press release. For more information on the ADA, please visit ADA.gov or call the toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TTY 833-610-1264). ________________________________ [Instagram icon] | [FaceBook icon] | [YouTube icon] | [Twitter icon] ________________________________ You have received this e-mail because you have asked to be notified of changes to the U.S. Department of Justice website. GovDelivery is providing this service on behalf of the Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW · Washington, DC 20530 · 202-514-2000 and may not use your subscription information for any other purposes. Manage your Subscriptions | Department of Justice Privacy Policy | GovDelivery Privacy Policy From Susan.Kelly at pima.gov Mon Nov 20 16:24:05 2023 From: Susan.Kelly at pima.gov (Susan Kelly) Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2023 16:24:05 +0000 Subject: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Sorry to be late on adding in to this discussion - As someone who went from sorta correctible low vision to blindness after starting my career, I have to say that a huge part of the problem is incorrect assumptions about 1) our abilities, 2) the abilities and availability of technologies to easily assist, and 3)the TRUE language of the ADA. When I first started losing what usable vision I had, the Human Resources ADA liaison for our countywas also a disabled person (CP), and wonderfully feisty and outspoken. Sadly, she retired a couple of years later, and since that time, my agency (public defense) glories in proclaiming they only have to do what their budget can handle - which is NOT true, since the overriding County budget is legally obligated t0 cover what is necessary. All that aside - speak up for yourself. It is very frustrating, and at times, I would rather crawl under my desk and hide - but the world needs more of us! Susan C L Kelly Assistant Public Defender Pima County Public Defender's Office - Juvenile Division Ofc: 520-724-2994 Fax: 520-770-4168 Text: 520-262-6137 ADA Assistant: Norma Garcia 520-724-4778 Norma.Garcia at pima.gov Secretary: Elizabeth Bustamante-Lopez 520-724-6914 Elizabeth.bustamante-lopez at pima.gov ________________________________ From: BlindLaw on behalf of blindlaw-request at nfbnet.org Sent: Monday, November 6, 2023 5:00:02 AM To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org Subject: BlindLaw Digest, Vol 234, Issue 3 CAUTION: This message and sender come from outside Pima County. If you did not expect this message, proceed with caution. Verify the sender's identity before performing any action, such as clicking on a link or opening an attachment. Send BlindLaw mailing list submissions to blindlaw at nfbnet.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to blindlaw-request at nfbnet.org You can reach the person managing the list at blindlaw-owner at nfbnet.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of BlindLaw digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: Inaccessibility of Legal Careers (Teresita Rios) 2. Re: Inaccessibility of Legal Careers (Julie A. Orozco) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sun, 5 Nov 2023 15:00:43 -0500 From: Teresita Rios To: Blind Law Mailing List Subject: Re: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers Message-ID: <337D87BC-386F-4B72-9CBE-CDB37BB553FF at gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Dear Julie, I am so sorry to hear of your struggles. I graduated last semester and my clinic work was very accessible. Our clinics used an internal case filing system named Cleo. it is accessible. Everything was scanned by the other students and the office assistant. We did have forms for my clients but they were arranged in a pile some sidewise and others straight. I used the TV in a meeting room to share my screen while I was navigating my copy of the forms on my computer while my client had those forms in front of them. FOr litigation, I had to spend much more time getting acquainted with the case file before I met with my partner and professor. I have ABBYFineReader on my personal computer and when a scan was not accessible i ran it by ABBY. Several times other students in the clinic not just my partner, or the office assistant read documents to me. and I took notes before I had a meeting with my supervising attorney. I was lucky in that sense that our professor was receptive and heard and brainstormed small issues we faced in the office. Inaccessibility is mostly due to laziness to brainstorm. and you should let your professor know that at least in her semester?s report. Best wishes, Teresita > On Nov 1, 2023, at 1:11 PM, Julie A. Orozco via BlindLaw wrote: > > Hi everyone, > > I am really struggling and wonder if some of you can provide > perspective. First, how much of your legal work, particularly for > those of you with clients, is actually accessible to you as a blind > person? I ask this because I would guess that the work in my legal > clinic is 60 or 70 percent inaccessible, and there seems to be very > little I can do about it by the end of the semester. > > I am currently taking a civil advocacy clinic through my law school. > Each student works with a partner and interviews, files motions for, > and represents clients in court hearings. Ever since I started law > school, I've been blown away at the inaccessible nature of the legal > profession, especially considering my last career literally required > me to get Braille materials because music cannot be rendered in a Word > document. But this clinic is another level of inaccessibility I never > imagined. > > We had to do several mailings last week. The instructions were > hand-written, and the entire process was inaccessible, so my partner > had to do it while I stood there with nothing to do to help. We > routinely have to work with scanned images that can't be converted > into text easily (if at all) because they contain hand writing. I > asked for a reader when I realized this would be a problem, but the > reader they gave me works for our disability support office and is > only available in the mornings when I am in class. He signed a > confidentiality agreement, which was a requirement for my clinic, but > he still shares what he's working on with his supervisor, who cannot > be granted access to client information. I'm attempting to work out > these issues, but while I try, the work continues. > > When my professor, partner, and I edit motions and other writings, > it's a nightmare. First, I had to figure out Sharepoint, which lags > and doesn't seem to work well with Jaws. Another blind attorney gave > me some tips that really helped, but in the end, none of that mattered > because when the three of us started editing together, I was > completely lost. I was trying to listen to track changes, comments, > footnotes, and the text of the motion with Jaws while my professor and > partner were looking at printed pages and just marking off what they > wanted to change. I couldn't keep up. My professor apologized, but she > kept using the paper copies and changing things I couldn't see on my > document. > > There are also lots of little things, like taking pictures, scanning > documents and checking them when documenting information, and putting > paper packets and visual aids together. Finally, when filing with the > DC Superior court, their system was not completely keyboard > accessible, so I couldn't even take the lead in filing our motion. I'm > frankly very overwhelmed. Although I know I have a lot to learn and I > accept that we live in a visual world, this level of inaccessibility > is making me question getting into the legal field at all. I > understand that sometimes I can do more to fight for accessibility, > but what am I supposed to do when I have three other classes, am > applying to take the Bar, and am also trying to apply for fellowships > and jobs? I cannot take on all these battles, and for the first time, > I don't even know which ones, if any, matter. My partner and professor > are tolerant of all these issues, but it feels awful that I have to > rely on my partner to do so much. My professor has also made it clear > that I have to improve over the course of the semester and put more > work into my clinic assignments. > > I've tried to brain storm solutions. I've tried talking with my > partner about letting me figure out some of the inaccessible work. > Sometimes she gets something done while I'm still trying to figure out > how to make it accessible. Whenever I bring up these issues with my > professor, she acts like I should just expect things to be > inaccessible. "It's a visual world." And while that's true, she and > the university still have a legal obligation to make things accessible > when possible. > > I'm just not sure what to do, what to ask for, and how to proceed. I'm > tired, so tired, and I'm graduating at the end of the semester, so > part of me just wants to let all this go. But when I think about a > future career being like this, I just lose all desire to practice law > anymore. > > Does anyone have any thoughts? Please be kind if you think I should > just suck it up and keep fighting. I know this but would also love > some support. > > Thank you, > > Julie > > -- > Julie A. Orozco > MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of > Law, JD Candidate 2023 > > _______________________________________________ > BlindLaw mailing list > BlindLaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/teresitarios22%40gmail.com ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Sun, 5 Nov 2023 22:39:23 -0500 From: "Julie A. Orozco" To: Blind Law Mailing List Subject: Re: [blindLaw] Inaccessibility of Legal Careers Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Hi everyone, Thank you for your kind comments. I am going to reach out to those of you who offered this week. I was at the NFB of Virginia state convention this weekend. I really appreciate all of your support. It's good to know that my clinic isn't a sign of things to come in my legal career. I think everyone questions if they really want to do law in law school, but this semester has made me question more than ever. So, thank you again for allowing me to share. We have some hearings coming up, and my professor seems to think I will do well in them, especially since one is over the phone. I'm not sure how I feel about this, but at least we won't have to make visual aids. :) Julie On 11/5/23, Teresita Rios via BlindLaw wrote: > Dear Julie, > > I am so sorry to hear of your struggles. I graduated last semester and my > clinic work was very accessible. Our clinics used an internal case filing > system named Cleo. it is accessible. Everything was scanned by the other > students and the office assistant. We did have forms for my clients but they > were arranged in a pile some sidewise and others straight. I used the TV in > a meeting room to share my screen while I was navigating my copy of the > forms on my computer while my client had those forms in front of them. FOr > litigation, I had to spend much more time getting acquainted with the case > file before I met with my partner and professor. > I have ABBYFineReader on my personal computer and when a scan was not > accessible i ran it by ABBY. Several times other students in the clinic not > just my partner, or the office assistant read documents to me. and I took > notes before I had a meeting with my supervising attorney. I was lucky in > that sense that our professor was receptive and heard and brainstormed small > issues we faced in the office. Inaccessibility is mostly due to laziness to > brainstorm. and you should let your professor know that at least in her > semester?s report. > > Best wishes, > Teresita > > > >> On Nov 1, 2023, at 1:11 PM, Julie A. Orozco via BlindLaw >> wrote: >> >> Hi everyone, >> >> I am really struggling and wonder if some of you can provide >> perspective. First, how much of your legal work, particularly for >> those of you with clients, is actually accessible to you as a blind >> person? I ask this because I would guess that the work in my legal >> clinic is 60 or 70 percent inaccessible, and there seems to be very >> little I can do about it by the end of the semester. >> >> I am currently taking a civil advocacy clinic through my law school. >> Each student works with a partner and interviews, files motions for, >> and represents clients in court hearings. Ever since I started law >> school, I've been blown away at the inaccessible nature of the legal >> profession, especially considering my last career literally required >> me to get Braille materials because music cannot be rendered in a Word >> document. But this clinic is another level of inaccessibility I never >> imagined. >> >> We had to do several mailings last week. The instructions were >> hand-written, and the entire process was inaccessible, so my partner >> had to do it while I stood there with nothing to do to help. We >> routinely have to work with scanned images that can't be converted >> into text easily (if at all) because they contain hand writing. I >> asked for a reader when I realized this would be a problem, but the >> reader they gave me works for our disability support office and is >> only available in the mornings when I am in class. He signed a >> confidentiality agreement, which was a requirement for my clinic, but >> he still shares what he's working on with his supervisor, who cannot >> be granted access to client information. I'm attempting to work out >> these issues, but while I try, the work continues. >> >> When my professor, partner, and I edit motions and other writings, >> it's a nightmare. First, I had to figure out Sharepoint, which lags >> and doesn't seem to work well with Jaws. Another blind attorney gave >> me some tips that really helped, but in the end, none of that mattered >> because when the three of us started editing together, I was >> completely lost. I was trying to listen to track changes, comments, >> footnotes, and the text of the motion with Jaws while my professor and >> partner were looking at printed pages and just marking off what they >> wanted to change. I couldn't keep up. My professor apologized, but she >> kept using the paper copies and changing things I couldn't see on my >> document. >> >> There are also lots of little things, like taking pictures, scanning >> documents and checking them when documenting information, and putting >> paper packets and visual aids together. Finally, when filing with the >> DC Superior court, their system was not completely keyboard >> accessible, so I couldn't even take the lead in filing our motion. I'm >> frankly very overwhelmed. Although I know I have a lot to learn and I >> accept that we live in a visual world, this level of inaccessibility >> is making me question getting into the legal field at all. I >> understand that sometimes I can do more to fight for accessibility, >> but what am I supposed to do when I have three other classes, am >> applying to take the Bar, and am also trying to apply for fellowships >> and jobs? I cannot take on all these battles, and for the first time, >> I don't even know which ones, if any, matter. My partner and professor >> are tolerant of all these issues, but it feels awful that I have to >> rely on my partner to do so much. My professor has also made it clear >> that I have to improve over the course of the semester and put more >> work into my clinic assignments. >> >> I've tried to brain storm solutions. I've tried talking with my >> partner about letting me figure out some of the inaccessible work. >> Sometimes she gets something done while I'm still trying to figure out >> how to make it accessible. Whenever I bring up these issues with my >> professor, she acts like I should just expect things to be >> inaccessible. "It's a visual world." And while that's true, she and >> the university still have a legal obligation to make things accessible >> when possible. >> >> I'm just not sure what to do, what to ask for, and how to proceed. I'm >> tired, so tired, and I'm graduating at the end of the semester, so >> part of me just wants to let all this go. But when I think about a >> future career being like this, I just lose all desire to practice law >> anymore. >> >> Does anyone have any thoughts? Please be kind if you think I should >> just suck it up and keep fighting. I know this but would also love >> some support. >> >> Thank you, >> >> Julie >> >> -- >> Julie A. Orozco >> MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of >> Law, JD Candidate 2023 >> >> _______________________________________________ >> BlindLaw mailing list >> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org >> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for >> BlindLaw: >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/teresitarios22%40gmail.com > > > _______________________________________________ > BlindLaw mailing list > BlindLaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for > BlindLaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/kaybaycar%40gmail.com > -- Julie A. Orozco MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of Law, JD Candidate 2023 ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ BlindLaw mailing list BlindLaw at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org ------------------------------ End of BlindLaw Digest, Vol 234, Issue 3 **************************************** From blindguy at gmail.com Tue Nov 21 12:06:13 2023 From: blindguy at gmail.com (Will) Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2023 07:06:13 -0500 Subject: [blindLaw] Attorney Position at the FCC Disability Rights Office Message-ID: Please be advised that we’re now advertising for an attorney-advisor vacancy. Link: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/760613100 Please circulate to your colleagues. The closing date for applications is Dec. 12. -will From davant1958 at gmail.com Wed Nov 22 10:58:00 2023 From: davant1958 at gmail.com (davant1958 at gmail.com) Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2023 04:58:00 -0600 Subject: [blindLaw] FW: Accenture Summer Internship for 1Ls with Disabilities In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <02f401da1d32$c28901a0$479b04e0$@gmail.com> FYI. From: The Disability Discussion Docket (3D) <3D at MAIL.AMERICANBAR.ORG> On Behalf Of Amy Allbright Sent: Tuesday, November 21, 2023 8:30 AM To: 3D at MAIL.AMERICANBAR.ORG Subject: Accenture Summer Internship for 1Ls with Disabilities The American Bar Association's (ABA) Commission on Disability Rights is pleased to partner with Accenture LLP to provide a meaningful summer internship opportunity for a limited number of highly motivated, first-year law students living with disabilities. The 2024 summer law intern program will be held at Accenture's offices virtually. The 1L summer internship will run from June 10 to August 2, 2024. Interns will be compensated at a rate of $32.00 USD/hour or approximately $10,240 for the 8 week internship held June 10 to August 2, 2024. INTERNSHIP DESCRIPTION The summer internship program will provide interns the opportunity to work with attorneys who support the broad reach of Accenture's businesses. Other features of the program include: * Participation in training programs presented by Accenture attorneys highlighting different areas of the business and the legal department; * Pairing with an attorney who will serve as a manager during the program and provide guidance on projects; * Pairing with a mentor who will serve as an additional advisor on resume review, interviewing, skill development, networking and other individual needs; * Practice interviews and presentations and shadow attorneys on various projects; * Opportunities to interview with selected local firms for potential 2L internships. APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS Applicants Must: * Be (or become)a member of the American Bar Association; * Be a law student with a disability; * Be enrolled at an ABA accredited law school and have successfully completed the first year with a minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent); and * Be scheduled for graduation in spring 2026 (full-time students) or spring 2027 (part-time students). The ideal applicant will have financial or business-related experience or interest. The internship is virtual. Candidates must be located within the United States or Puerto Rico, be able to work 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Central time, and have reliable internet access. HOW TO APPLY Apply directly via Accenture's online job posting here. All materials must be received by 5:00 p.m. EST on January 31, 2024. ______________________________________ Thank you for your continued interest in this list. To unsubscribe, email 3D-UNSUBSCRIBE-request at mail.americanbar.org . If you have any issues, contact the ABA staff list owner(s) via email: 3D-request at mail.americanbar.org . ______________________________________ The purpose of this discussion is to enable individuals to share and exchange their personal views on topics and issues of importance to the legal profession. All comments that appear are solely those of the individual, and do not reflect ABA positions or policy. The ABA endorses no comments made herein. From abhishekdhol at gmail.com Wed Nov 22 12:25:00 2023 From: abhishekdhol at gmail.com (Abhishek Dhol) Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2023 12:25:00 +0000 Subject: [blindLaw] Question regarding formatting conventions in documents Message-ID: Hi, I hope that this email finds you well. I have a question which is on a matter relating to formatting of documents. I am working on an application for an LL.M. programme at a law school in England. The Graduate Admissions Office there has two instructions for the Personal Statement (known as a 'Statement of Academic Purpose'). They say that applicants should (1) insert our "name and programme being applied for" into "the header or footer" of every page of the document; and (2) submit the final version as a PDF (note with the header/footer instruction, they don't advise which to use). From your experience and in your opinion, would it be more conventional/better to use a header or a footer in such a situation? Regards, Abhishek Dhol From sanho817 at gmail.com Wed Nov 22 13:02:09 2023 From: sanho817 at gmail.com (Sanho Steele-Louchart) Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2023 08:02:09 -0500 Subject: [blindLaw] Question regarding formatting conventions in documents In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Abhishek: I would use a header so that your name is obvious from the start. Sanho On 11/22/23, Abhishek Dhol via BlindLaw wrote: > Hi, > > > > I hope that this email finds you well. > > > > I have a question which is on a matter relating to formatting of documents. > > > > I am working on an application for an LL.M. programme at a law school in > England. The Graduate Admissions Office there has two instructions for the > Personal Statement (known as a 'Statement of Academic Purpose'). They say > that applicants should (1) insert our "name and programme being applied > for" into "the header or footer" of every page of the document; and (2) > submit the final version as a PDF (note with the header/footer instruction, > they don't advise which to use). From your experience and in your opinion, > would it be more conventional/better to use a header or a footer in such a > situation? > > > > Regards, > > > > Abhishek Dhol > _______________________________________________ > BlindLaw mailing list > BlindLaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for > BlindLaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/sanho817%40gmail.com > -- He/Him From teresitarios22 at gmail.com Wed Nov 22 13:07:13 2023 From: teresitarios22 at gmail.com (Teresita Rios) Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2023 08:07:13 -0500 Subject: [blindLaw] Question regarding formatting conventions in documents In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I would also go for the header option. Best, Teresita > On Nov 22, 2023, at 8:02 AM, Sanho Steele-Louchart via BlindLaw wrote: > > Abhishek: > > I would use a header so that your name is obvious from the start. > > Sanho > > On 11/22/23, Abhishek Dhol via BlindLaw wrote: >> Hi, >> >> >> >> I hope that this email finds you well. >> >> >> >> I have a question which is on a matter relating to formatting of documents. >> >> >> >> I am working on an application for an LL.M. programme at a law school in >> England. The Graduate Admissions Office there has two instructions for the >> Personal Statement (known as a 'Statement of Academic Purpose'). They say >> that applicants should (1) insert our "name and programme being applied >> for" into "the header or footer" of every page of the document; and (2) >> submit the final version as a PDF (note with the header/footer instruction, >> they don't advise which to use). From your experience and in your opinion, >> would it be more conventional/better to use a header or a footer in such a >> situation? >> >> >> >> Regards, >> >> >> >> Abhishek Dhol >> _______________________________________________ >> BlindLaw mailing list >> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org >> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for >> BlindLaw: >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/sanho817%40gmail.com >> > > > -- > He/Him > > _______________________________________________ > BlindLaw mailing list > BlindLaw at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/teresitarios22%40gmail.com From rothmanjd at gmail.com Wed Nov 22 23:05:54 2023 From: rothmanjd at gmail.com (rothmanjd at gmail.com) Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2023 18:05:54 -0500 Subject: [blindLaw] NFB of Maryland Convention Donation Drive - Win $500 or Get 2025 State Convention Costs Paid Message-ID: <04a001da1d98$725db7f0$571927d0$@gmail.com> Want to win either $500 or have your 2025 Maryland State Convention hotel and meals covered? Here's your chance! The National Federation of the Blind of Maryland is hosting the 2023 - 2024 NFBMD Convention donation drive. For each $20 donation, you will get one chance in the Convention drawing. For example, if you donate $100, you will get five chances. The winner will have their choice of either $500 or their 2025 state convention hotel (two nights) and meals covered by the affiliate. The drawing will take place at the NFBMD banquet on Saturday, February 17, 2024. The winner does not need to be present. The fundraiser is open through 3PM on Saturday, February 17, 2024. Please share this link and opportunity with your friends, neighbors, and strangers you randomly meet. You may donate to the fundraising drive in the following ways: Zelle: Use email: President at nfbmd.org OR PayPal: Visit: Https://nfbmd.org/conventiondrawing OR Check payable to: NFB of Maryland Send to: NFBMD Convention Donation Drive 1800 Johnson Street, Suite N1 Baltimore, MD 21230 Note: Due to administrative costs, Paypal chances cost $22 each. For questions, please contact Ronza Othman at President at nfbmd.org or 443-426-4110. Ronza Othman, President National Federation of the Blind of Maryland 443-426-4110 Pronouns: she, her, hers The National Federation of the Blind of Maryland knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back From Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov Mon Nov 27 20:29:30 2023 From: Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov (Nightingale, Noel) Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2023 20:29:30 +0000 Subject: [blindLaw] [Job-Listings] Attorney Position at the FCC Disability Rights Office In-Reply-To: <6bHOr7MeiMfjO6bHPreUOE.1700851915.ffcfa41f0d40cdaac7ed40fb8e0cb7b5.MISSINGID@comcast.net> References: <6bHOr7MeiMfjO6bHPreUOE.1700851915.ffcfa41f0d40cdaac7ed40fb8e0cb7b5.MISSINGID@comcast.net> Message-ID: -----Original Message----- From: Job-Listings On Behalf Of David Andrews via Job-Listings Sent: Friday, November 24, 2023 10:52 AM To: job-listings at nfbnet.org Subject: [Job-Listings] Attorney Position at the FCC Disability Rights Office > >Please be advised that we're now advertising for an attorney-advisor >vacancy. Link: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/760613100 Please circulate >to your colleagues. The closing date for applications is Dec. 12. >-will _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Job-Listings mailing list Job-Listings at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/job-listings_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Job-Listings: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/job-listings_nfbnet.org/noel.nightingale%40ed.gov From davant1958 at gmail.com Tue Nov 28 19:51:10 2023 From: davant1958 at gmail.com (davant1958 at gmail.com) Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2023 13:51:10 -0600 Subject: [blindLaw] Staff Attorney Position Available at Access Living Chicago Message-ID: <05b301da2234$3c781f40$b5685dc0$@gmail.com> JOB ANNOUNCEMENT STAFF ATTORNEY - FAIR HOUSING/DISABILITY RIGHTS Access Living is searching for a Staff Attorney to join its Civil Rights Team. The Civil Rights Team enforces federal, state, and local laws that prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities. The new attorney will focus on fair housing enforcement and fair housing policy matters. The Staff Attorney will: (a) work on systemic and individual fair housing cases; (b) collaborate with Access Living staff, fair housing advocates, and community partners on policy initiatives to increase affordable and accessible housing opportunities for people with disabilities; and (c) present trainings to various audiences regarding the fair housing rights of people with disabilities. The position supports Access Living's mission to be a change agent committed to igniting disability power and pride, and breaking down systemic barriers. The candidate will coalesce with Access Living colleagues and external partners to advance this mission. Candidates must have the ability to collaborate with diverse partners, including disability advocates, consumers, public interest/legal services partners, and pro bono attorneys. Candidates must also have: a demonstrated commitment to civil rights and disability rights; exceptional communication skills; superb writing and research ability; at least three years of experience litigating in state or federal court, preferably in the area of housing or civil rights; and strong people skills. Admission to the Illinois bar is preferred, but we will consider candidates who are licensed in another jurisdiction but willing to seek admission to the Illinois bar. Access Living is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants with diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply, including people with disabilities, people who have personal experience with disability, and people of color. The salary range for this position is $70,000 - $75,000. Access Living offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes an excellent health plan and a generous vacation policy (offices are closed between Christmas and the New Year, in addition to paid time off). This position will work in a hybrid capacity with a high level of flexibility to adjust in-office and remote workdays on a weekly basis under the organization's hybrid work model. Access Living also offers a very competitive 403(b) retirement plan with matching contributions, as well as company paid short-term disability insurance, long-term disability insurance, and basic life insurance. If interested, please send a cover letter, resume, and writing sample to: Ken Walden, Managing Attorney kwalden at accessliving.org We ask that you submit applications by December 11, 2023. From kyra.sweeney94 at gmail.com Wed Nov 29 18:08:42 2023 From: kyra.sweeney94 at gmail.com (Kyra Sweeney) Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2023 13:08:42 -0500 Subject: [blindLaw] Accessibility of FileMaker Message-ID: Hello everyone, I have just accepted a position at an organization that uses Claris FileMaker for its database. I am wondering if anyone has experience using this software and can share anything about its accessibility with JAWS. I did find on the product website that there is a JAWS file for the software, but I would appreciate any insight on how well it works. Thanks! Best, Kyra Sweeney