Increasing the Presence of Lawyers With Disabilities

Want to know how many women or minority lawyers work at law firms or are law students? Plenty of organizations can provide that information.

But when it comes to the number of attorneys and aspiring attorneys with disabilities, the picture is far less clear because few groups collect detailed information on disabled attorneys. Advocates say that is one reason why efforts to increase their presence throughout the profession have lagged behind the parallel pushes to boost the number of women and minorities.

Still, doors are opening more and more for disabled attorneys both through advances in technology and changing attitudes toward the rights and abilities of those with handicaps. The National Law Journal recently spoke with disabled attorneys forging successful careers in Big Law, on the bench, as solo practitioners and at one of the nation’s most prestigious law schools. “The more people there are in the profession with disabilities, the more people will see that they can do just as good a job,” said Richard Brown, chief judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, who is deaf. “Familiarity breeds acceptance.”

Read more here: Law.com – Increasing the Presence of Lawyers With Disabilities.