[blindlaw] Reduced Billable Hour Requirement as an ADA accommodation

[Rahul Bajaj]

I agree with Mark, except insofar as he says that it would be wrong to single out the limitation of blindness as being especially debilitating. I think it is a singularly debilitating limitation, and it and other limitations of mood, temprament and the like are not mutually exclusive. Nothing inoculates a blind lawyer from having these limitations over and above the limitation of blindness.

That caveat notwithstanding, I think that demanding this accommodation of relaxation of the billable hours requirement may not be prudent. Like I said on the call, a blind transactional lawyer has to find ways of being better than their colleagues in other areas, such as learning to read faster. Blindness gives rise to several limitations which cannot be wished away. But if one is able to make a good case for the proposition that one's knowledge of the law, articulation ability and communication and interpersonal skills are superior to those of one's competitors, the impact of the disability can be mitigated.

Best,
Rahul    

Sent from my iPhone

> On Sep 20, 2018, at 5:59 PM, Maurer, Marc via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Colleagues:
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> 
> 
> I don't believe in the premise. There are times when a piece of technology is more cumbersome to use as a blind lawyer than it would be to use as a sighted lawyer. However, lawyers get paid for time and talent. Ultimately the talent of blind lawyers must be equivalent to that of sighted lawyers, and my observation is that this is true. All lawyers have limitations. Some of them are limitations of temperament, some of mood, some of background and training, some of interest, some of intelligence, and no doubt many others. To single out one limitation and make it more important than all the others is a mistake in assessment. I am not as good as certain of my colleagues in some areas of the law. However, I am much better than many of my colleagues in other areas. What do I have to sell? Intelligence, aggressiveness, a dogged persistence, a faith in my clients, and a measure of experience. I have no compunction whatever in charging people for these. If you want them, you get to pay for them. Some people get them for free, but they have to convince me that it's worth it to me. Sometimes I'm slow, but I'm good when I work. I am not selling accessibility. I am selling talent and commitment. I remember giving advice to a job applicant who put on a resume that the applicant had the best computer and was therefore worth hiring. I wondered out loud why the employer didn't just buy the computer and skip hiring the employee. People hire me because I have the brains and the talent to use them. This is what blind lawyers should sell.
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> Marc Maurer
> Director of Legal Policy
> 200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
> 410-659-9314, extension 2268 | mmaurer at nfb.org
> 
> 
> [National Federation of the Blind]<https://nfb.org/>
> 
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Michal Nowicki via BlindLaw
> Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2018 2:38 PM
> To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Michal Nowicki <mnowicki4 at icloud.com>
> Subject: [blindlaw] Reduced Billable Hour Requirement as an ADA accommodation
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Everyone,
> 
> 
> 
> During last week’s conference call on job interview tips for blind attorneys, I brought up the subject of meeting billable hour requirements as a blind attorney. I now have a follow-up question on that topic. Given the fact that we often need more time to complete some tasks than our sighted colleagues due to access barriers, assistive technology limitations, etc., and that it would be unethical to bill clients for this extra time, does requesting a reasonable reduction in the annual billable hour requirement (e.g., from 2,000 to 1,800 hours) qualify as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA and/or similar disability rights laws? Is there any on-point authority? Any guidance on this issue would be greatly appreciated, as I want to do transactional work, most of which is still done on a billable hour basis.
> 
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> 
> Best,
> 
> 
> 
> Michal
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from Mail for Windows 10
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