[blindlaw] article regarding upcoming conference on the employment of lawyers with disabilities

[Scott C. LaBarre]

Volume: 5   Number: 572_law

May 19, 2006
Disability as a law firm diversity issue

ABA, EEOC focus on legal employment in first national forum

By
ANN W. PARKS

Daily Record Assistant Legal Editor

'When someone is interviewing for a position as a professional, firms have every right to expect them to function at a very high level,' says Andrew D.
Levy. He will be speaking next week at the first ABA/EEOC National Conference on the Employment of Lawyers with Disabilities.

Photo by Max Franz

You see it, in some form, on every law firm's Web site: a statement on diversity.

"Hiring decisions, and employment, are made without regard to race, gender, religion, age, marital status, sexual orientation, veteran status and" - what's
that last one? - "disability."

This is not to imply that they don't think it's important. But when it comes to law firm diversity, disability has not gotten nearly the attention that
race and gender issues have.

The Americans with Disabilities Act, in fact, was not even passed until 1990. And next week, the American Bar Association and the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission will hold the first-ever National Conference on the Employment of Lawyers with Disabilities.

"We thought that since there have been a number of conferences over the years on other diversity issues, it was high time for a conference like this," said
Colorado employment lawyer Scott C. Labarre, who chairs the ABA's Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law.

"Folks have not traditionally thought of diversity issues to include lawyers with disabilities .," Labarre said. "Part of the American Bar Association's
charter is not only to advance minority and women lawyers but also lawyers with disabilities."

How many are there?

Neither the American Bar Association nor the Maryland State Bar Association could provide recent statistics on how many lawyers there are with disabilities,
although Scott Labarre says the ABA is working with the EEOC to get accurate numbers. (He estimates it's a few thousand, maybe more.)

A 2006 report on the status of persons with disabilities in ABA leadership positions attempted to answer the question, noting that ABA data from 2003 identified
1,126 lawyers with disabilities out of 344,757 ABA members (.33 percent). The report cautioned, however, that that figure may be too low because, among
other things, lawyers with disabilities do not wish to label themselves as such or may not consider themselves disabled.

According to the report, 3,464 J.D. candidates in 2005 requested some form of accommodation in law schools, out of a total of 140,298 law students (2.47
percent). Requests for J.D. accommodations have increased 31.9 percent since 2002, the report states.

Labarre, who is blind, says people are always shocked to find out that he practices law.

"I've shown up to many bar association conferences where other lawyers thought I must be lost," he said, adding that there are anywhere between 600 and
1,000 blind attorneys in the United States. "When I explain that I'm actually a lawyer, they're kind of taken aback."

Instilling confidence

Baltimore lawyer Andrew D. Levy, who will be speaking at next week's conference on best practices in hiring for law firms, says firms don't necessarily
have to change their standards when making hiring decisions.

"When someone is interviewing for a position as a professional, firms have every right to expect them to function at a very high level," said Levy, who
is among those responsible for making hiring decisions and supervising associates at Brown Goldstein & Levy LLP.

When a client hires a lawyer, he said, they are looking for someone they can rely on, who will instill a sense of confidence. "That's true whether they
have a disability or not," he said.

On the other hand, firms need to understand that the "certain level of awkwardness" they encounter when interviewing law students in general exists among
persons with disabilities as well.

"Students with disabilities are still learning to function in a professional environment and there can be superficial ways that they are different, that
they are awkward," he noted. "Firms need to understand and not assume . that this is the way this kid is going to be forever."

Law firms, he said, should cast their nets widely in recruiting, though there's not necessarily an affirmative obligation to recruit persons with disabilities.

William H. Grignon, a California lawyer who will be on the same panel as Levy, will offer advice for candidates. They should be proactive, he says - but
"not pushy or waving the ADA flag around."

'Disclose, discuss and dispel,' advises William H. Grignon of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Los Angeles. 'The employer won't bring it up.'

"Disclose, discuss and dispel," Grignon says, adding that having an obvious disability can be like having "an 800-pound yellow gorilla in the room" at a
job interview. "The employer won't bring it up; employers in general are very skittish in discussing disability."

Different

Of course, not all lawyers with disabilities started their legal careers that way. James E. Scarboro, a partner in Arnold & Porter LLP's Denver office,
practiced law for 25 years before he went blind as the result of an operation. Rather than take disability, he chose to come back to the firm.

Scarboro has a computer that talks, readers to help him read and the luxury of being in a large firm, so that when he tries cases they can be staffed with
more than one person to help him. (Incidentally, Labarre, who is also blind, is a sole practitioner, using screen-reading software and an assistant to
read things like mail and faxes.)

"I think people with disabilities have a lot of trouble [in terms of getting employment] because we're all naturally afraid of something that's different,"
said Scarboro.

However, he insists his situation is not nearly as difficult as someone who has a disability from the outset. A prospective employee "has to overcome that
sense of 'Oh, my gosh, this person is not going to be able to do the job,' " Scarboro said.

Michael A. Schwartz, a Syracuse University, College of Law professor who is deaf, was harsher.

Unfulfilled promises were 'call to duty'

At least one law student with a disability is creating his own opportunities. Paul Lang, who graduates today from the University of Maryland School of Law
with a J.D./M.B.A., is currently running for Pennsylvania state senate against Robert M. "Tommy" Tomlinson in Bucks County.

Lang, a Democrat, ran unopposed in this week's primary and is confident of victory in November.

While serving on a Coast Guard cutter in Alaska in November 2000, Lang and a team of colleagues were in the process of seizing a foreign fishing vessel
in U.S. waters. As the team was being lowered into the water in a smaller boat, the crane holding the boat snapped, sending them into the 32-degree waters
of the Bering Sea. Lang sustained spinal immobility that affected his ability to walk.

Forced with having to look for another career, Lang turned to law school, believing that "the legal profession was always open to people with disabilities
or people who had other limitations."

"I saw that it would actually be OK for my new life," he said.

As for his political ambitions, Lang sees them as a second chance to serve - in a different capacity.

"When I left for the service in 1995, they were promising property tax relief, they were promising tax cuts, they were promising jobs," he said. "When I
came back after my accident, I was completely disappointed to find out that all the promises from 1995 to 2004 were unfulfilled . . It was a call to duty
again."

"Many legal employers cannot see beyond the disability," he said, asserting that it is much easier to obtain employment and reasonable accommodations in
public service than in the private arena. "Then all they can see once they've recovered from the shock is, 'How much is this gonna cost me?' That kind
of traditional thinking I call 'stinking thinking.'"

Still, every experience is different. Levy, who uses a wheelchair, got offers from three out of five firms he interviewed with for summer positions during
law school (he graduated in 1982, with honors) and the firm he chose eventually hired him on a permanent basis.

"I was sort of an exotic quality," he said. "I was obviously different but that intrigued some of the firms, and others were more put off by it."

'We all see a therapist'

Since the term "lawyers with disabilities" is extremely broad, the particular disability may not be readily apparent. While one might think that would make
things easier in terms of bias - because people don't always have to know about it - people with "hidden" disabilities face their own particular challenges,
according to Andrew J. Imparato, the president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities in the District of Columbia.

"It's very common to be either put into a category where the disability is like a hangnail - 'it's not significant enough to matter, so don't go there with
me' - or the disability is so significant that you're not desirable for whatever it is you're trying to do," said Imparato, who was diagnosed with bipolar
disorder/manic depression after graduating from law school.

He recalled sharing that fact with a recruiter for an advocacy organization that works on behalf of people with mental disabilities.

"Her reaction was, 'Oh come on ., we all see a therapist, why is that relevant?'" said Imparato, who was forced to then describe "the more ugly aspects"
of his condition that he generally wouldn't discuss.

"The stuff that you have to say to show that it's real, to get over the hangnail test, often gets used against you when people are trying to figure out
whether they really want to hire you," he said.

"In my experience, you never really know who is going to react positively or negatively," he noted. "We have allies in lots of strange places [where people
have had] personal experiences with disabilities themselves or with their families, and we have enemies in lots of strange places, including places that
hold themselves out as advocates for people with disabilities."

Breaking down barriers

Levy notes that lawyering is a profession that relies on personal relationships to get clients, and people with disabilities generally have fewer social
networks.

"The more people with disabilities become involved in the professions, that will do a lot [toward] breaking down the barriers in terms of social relationships,"
he said.

Younger people, who have grown up with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the ADA, already seem to be more comfortable socially with persons
with disabilities, Levy said

"That's very much a function of the IDEA [and the ADA] and that's a trend that will continue," he said.

Scarboro, who believes that hiring persons with disabilities makes good business sense, said the benefits outweigh the concerns.

"They're highly motivated; chances are they are more skilled, because you have to have a greater degree of skill and dedication to get to the same spot
with a disability than you do without it," he said. "It's a small percentage of disabled people who are going to get to the door of that employer and those
that get there, chances are, are highly qualified."
-------------- next part --------------
 
Volume: 5   Number: 572_law
 
May 19, 2006
Disability as a law firm diversity issue
 
ABA, EEOC focus on legal employment in first national forum
 
By
ANN W. PARKS
 
Daily Record Assistant Legal Editor
 
‘When someone is interviewing for a position as a professional, firms have every right to expect them to function at a very high level,’ says Andrew D.
Levy. He will be speaking next week at the first ABA/EEOC National Conference on the Employment of Lawyers with Disabilities.
 
Photo by Max Franz
 
You see it, in some form, on every law firm’s Web site: a statement on diversity.
 
“Hiring decisions, and employment, are made without regard to race, gender, religion, age, marital status, sexual orientation, veteran status and” — what’s
that last one? — “disability.”
 
This is not to imply that they don’t think it’s important. But when it comes to law firm diversity, disability has not gotten nearly the attention that
race and gender issues have.
 
The Americans with Disabilities Act, in fact, was not even passed until 1990. And next week, the American Bar Association and the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission will hold the first-ever National Conference on the Employment of Lawyers with Disabilities.
 
“We thought that since there have been a number of conferences over the years on other diversity issues, it was high time for a conference like this,” said
Colorado employment lawyer Scott C. Labarre, who chairs the ABA’s Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law.
 
“Folks have not traditionally thought of diversity issues to include lawyers with disabilities 
,” Labarre said. “Part of the American Bar Association’s
charter is not only to advance minority and women lawyers but also lawyers with disabilities.”
 
How many are there?
 
Neither the American Bar Association nor the Maryland State Bar Association could provide recent statistics on how many lawyers there are with disabilities,
although Scott Labarre says the ABA is working with the EEOC to get accurate numbers. (He estimates it’s a few thousand, maybe more.)
 
A 2006 report on the status of persons with disabilities in ABA leadership positions attempted to answer the question, noting that ABA data from 2003 identified
1,126 lawyers with disabilities out of 344,757 ABA members (.33 percent). The report cautioned, however, that that figure may be too low because, among
other things, lawyers with disabilities do not wish to label themselves as such or may not consider themselves disabled.
 
According to the report, 3,464 J.D. candidates in 2005 requested some form of accommodation in law schools, out of a total of 140,298 law students (2.47
percent). Requests for J.D. accommodations have increased 31.9 percent since 2002, the report states.
 
Labarre, who is blind, says people are always shocked to find out that he practices law.
 
“I’ve shown up to many bar association conferences where other lawyers thought I must be lost,” he said, adding that there are anywhere between 600 and
1,000 blind attorneys in the United States. “When I explain that I’m actually a lawyer, they’re kind of taken aback.”
 
Instilling confidence
 
Baltimore lawyer Andrew D. Levy, who will be speaking at next week’s conference on best practices in hiring for law firms, says firms don’t necessarily
have to change their standards when making hiring decisions.
 
“When someone is interviewing for a position as a professional, firms have every right to expect them to function at a very high level,” said Levy, who
is among those responsible for making hiring decisions and supervising associates at Brown Goldstein & Levy LLP.
 
When a client hires a lawyer, he said, they are looking for someone they can rely on, who will instill a sense of confidence. “That’s true whether they
have a disability or not,” he said.
 
On the other hand, firms need to understand that the “certain level of awkwardness” they encounter when interviewing law students in general exists among
persons with disabilities as well.
 
“Students with disabilities are still learning to function in a professional environment and there can be superficial ways that they are different, that
they are awkward,” he noted. “Firms need to understand and not assume 
 that this is the way this kid is going to be forever.”
 
Law firms, he said, should cast their nets widely in recruiting, though there’s not necessarily an affirmative obligation to recruit persons with disabilities.
 
William H. Grignon, a California lawyer who will be on the same panel as Levy, will offer advice for candidates. They should be proactive, he says — but
“not pushy or waving the ADA flag around.”
 
‘Disclose, discuss and dispel,’ advises William H. Grignon of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Los Angeles. ‘The employer won’t bring it up.’
 
“Disclose, discuss and dispel,” Grignon says, adding that having an obvious disability can be like having “an 800-pound yellow gorilla in the room” at a
job interview. “The employer won’t bring it up; employers in general are very skittish in discussing disability.”
 
Different
 
Of course, not all lawyers with disabilities started their legal careers that way. James E. Scarboro, a partner in Arnold & Porter LLP’s Denver office,
practiced law for 25 years before he went blind as the result of an operation. Rather than take disability, he chose to come back to the firm.
 
Scarboro has a computer that talks, readers to help him read and the luxury of being in a large firm, so that when he tries cases they can be staffed with
more than one person to help him. (Incidentally, Labarre, who is also blind, is a sole practitioner, using screen-reading software and an assistant to
read things like mail and faxes.)
 
“I think people with disabilities have a lot of trouble [in terms of getting employment] because we’re all naturally afraid of something that’s different,”
said Scarboro.
 
However, he insists his situation is not nearly as difficult as someone who has a disability from the outset. A prospective employee “has to overcome that
sense of ‘Oh, my gosh, this person is not going to be able to do the job,’ ” Scarboro said.
 
Michael A. Schwartz, a Syracuse University, College of Law professor who is deaf, was harsher.
 
Unfulfilled promises were ‘call to duty’
 
At least one law student with a disability is creating his own opportunities. Paul Lang, who graduates today from the University of Maryland School of Law
with a J.D./M.B.A., is currently running for Pennsylvania state senate against Robert M. “Tommy” Tomlinson in Bucks County.
 
Lang, a Democrat, ran unopposed in this week’s primary and is confident of victory in November.
 
While serving on a Coast Guard cutter in Alaska in November 2000, Lang and a team of colleagues were in the process of seizing a foreign fishing vessel
in U.S. waters. As the team was being lowered into the water in a smaller boat, the crane holding the boat snapped, sending them into the 32-degree waters
of the Bering Sea. Lang sustained spinal immobility that affected his ability to walk.
 
Forced with having to look for another career, Lang turned to law school, believing that “the legal profession was always open to people with disabilities
or people who had other limitations.”
 
“I saw that it would actually be OK for my new life,” he said.
 
As for his political ambitions, Lang sees them as a second chance to serve — in a different capacity.
 
“When I left for the service in 1995, they were promising property tax relief, they were promising tax cuts, they were promising jobs,” he said. “When I
came back after my accident, I was completely disappointed to find out that all the promises from 1995 to 2004 were unfulfilled 
 . It was a call to duty
again.”
 
“Many legal employers cannot see beyond the disability,” he said, asserting that it is much easier to obtain employment and reasonable accommodations in
public service than in the private arena. “Then all they can see once they’ve recovered from the shock is, ‘How much is this gonna cost me?’ That kind
of traditional thinking I call ‘stinking thinking.’”
 
Still, every experience is different. Levy, who uses a wheelchair, got offers from three out of five firms he interviewed with for summer positions during
law school (he graduated in 1982, with honors) and the firm he chose eventually hired him on a permanent basis.
 
“I was sort of an exotic quality,” he said. “I was obviously different but that intrigued some of the firms, and others were more put off by it.”
 
‘We all see a therapist’
 
Since the term “lawyers with disabilities” is extremely broad, the particular disability may not be readily apparent. While one might think that would make
things easier in terms of bias — because people don’t always have to know about it — people with “hidden” disabilities face their own particular challenges,
according to Andrew J. Imparato, the president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities in the District of Columbia.
 
“It’s very common to be either put into a category where the disability is like a hangnail — ‘it’s not significant enough to matter, so don’t go there with
me’ — or the disability is so significant that you’re not desirable for whatever it is you’re trying to do,” said Imparato, who was diagnosed with bipolar
disorder/manic depression after graduating from law school.
 
He recalled sharing that fact with a recruiter for an advocacy organization that works on behalf of people with mental disabilities.
 
“Her reaction was, ‘Oh come on 
, we all see a therapist, why is that relevant?’” said Imparato, who was forced to then describe “the more ugly aspects”
of his condition that he generally wouldn’t discuss.
 
“The stuff that you have to say to show that it’s real, to get over the hangnail test, often gets used against you when people are trying to figure out
whether they really want to hire you,” he said.
 
“In my experience, you never really know who is going to react positively or negatively,” he noted. “We have allies in lots of strange places [where people
have had] personal experiences with disabilities themselves or with their families, and we have enemies in lots of strange places, including places that
hold themselves out as advocates for people with disabilities.”
 
Breaking down barriers
 
Levy notes that lawyering is a profession that relies on personal relationships to get clients, and people with disabilities generally have fewer social
networks.
 
“The more people with disabilities become involved in the professions, that will do a lot [toward] breaking down the barriers in terms of social relationships,”
he said.
 
Younger people, who have grown up with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the ADA, already seem to be more comfortable socially with persons
with disabilities, Levy said
 
“That’s very much a function of the IDEA [and the ADA] and that’s a trend that will continue,” he said.
 
Scarboro, who believes that hiring persons with disabilities makes good business sense, said the benefits outweigh the concerns.
 
“They’re highly motivated; chances are they are more skilled, because you have to have a greater degree of skill and dedication to get to the same spot
with a disability than you do without it,” he said. “It’s a small percentage of disabled people who are going to get to the door of that employer and those
that get there, chances are, are highly qualified.”