[blindlaw] Introduction and questions

[Meredith Ballard]

Kenia,

I’m also in NC and I’m in my last year of law school right now. I have some residual vision, so my answers will be specific to that, but I hope they are helpful to you. I actually think this is a great time to be asking these questions.

1. I did encounter barriers to the LSAT. Specifically, as others have said, the logic games are very visual. I tried to diagram them with a CCTV, but that is very slow and it put a lot of strain on my eyes. If you don’t have residual vision at all I’d suggest using tactile markers and trying to develop a system that works for you. Getting accommodations for the LSAT used to be a huge process that required documentation from your very first IEP, which, for me, was from Kindergarten, but the LSAC was sued for this process and it has changed since then.

2. I did find some electronic study materials. Amazon kindle has some study books that you can get electronically. This was great for me, but if you prefer braille it may be easier to access the electronic info with a braille display.

3. Some of the challenges I faced in law school included problems with accommodations. I go to Campbell Law School, and they do have a great law program, but I was the first blind person to attend their law school, and while they meant well their inexperience definitely showed. If you go to a larger institution it’s more likely that other blind people will have come before you and the school will be more experienced. 

4. I think that as long as you are confident in who you are you won’t have problems with employers or professors in the legal profession. I have not had any problems with professors providing accommodations in law school. Most of my issues involved getting access to textbooks, not accommodations in the classroom. One area that could be difficult as a blind person is trial work. It is absolutely doable, but when I was in my trial class I met with the professor before classes started so he could orient me to the courtroom and so I could try to anticipate any problems before they came up. I would look at all my materials ahead of time to make sure I understood the exhibits we would be using. Some of the exhibits were pictures, and I’d always make sure I knew that exhibit A was a picture of a person outside, or exhibit B was a picture of a car crash, etc. 

5. I think an internship at a firm is a great idea. That is the best way to learn if the day-to-day life of a lawyer is something you’re interested in. 

Kenia, if you are interested in asking any other questions I would love to meet with you sometime in NC. My classes don’t start until August 15th. Please feel free to email me with any other questions!

Best,

Meredith Ballard

> On Jul 26, 2016, at 6:20 PM, Kenia Flores via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello fellow Federationists,
> 
> I hope you are all doing well. My name is Kenia, and I am a member of the North Carolina NFB affiliate. I will be a freshman at Furman University this fall. After graduating from Furman, I plan on attending law school. I ultimately want to practice Disability Law. I realize I am fairly young and still have time before I apply and attend law school, but I have a few questions for you all. 
> 
> 1. Did you encounter any barriers when taking the LSAT? If so, what were they?
> 2. How did you prepare for the LSAT? Were study materials accessible either in Braille or in an electronic version?3. What challenges did you face in law school (they don't necessarily need to be specific to blindness)?
> 4. I am comfortable with my blindness and am always upfront about it whether it be with an employer or professor. How do you address your blindness while still proving you are just as capable as other lawyers?
> 5. I hope to gain internship experience next summer at a law firm. Do you have any advice that may be helpful in the process of obtaining one?
> 
> I apologize for such a lengthy email. I look forward to hearing from you all and hope you don't mind sharing your insight.
> 
> --
> Sincerely,
> Kenia Flores
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