[blindlaw] Need Help

[Frye, Dan]

Michelle:

Please don't misunderstand my following comments. I am absolutely
empathetic with the frustration, desperation, and discrimination we as
blind people often experience when searching for employment. Many of us
who are blind, though, spend months, if not years, looking for work. It
remains the rare exception--justifiable or not--that a blind graduate
from any program walks right out of school and steps into a position. I
doubt that anybody on this list can offer you much more help than to
lend a supportive ear and encourage you to take responsibility for
accessing all of the avenues for employment that any graduate of law
school would ordinarily tap, job Websites, classified adds, career
counseling centers associated with your law school, internship
opportunities that may ultimately turn into fulltime employment chances,
personal and professional networking, etc. I've known two significant
spans of unemployment in my life. One lasted for three years immediately
after law school; the second consumed almost five months. My job
searching exercise became a more than eight-hour a day process. It's
tough, but yours is not an isolated experience. Anybody who tells you
otherwise is being either disingenuous or has known a truly exceptional
experience. Other than moral support, your inquiry will be best
acknowledged on the NFB employment listserv where job opportunities are
advertised. People here will only be able to offer these types of
general suggestions, presumably all of which you know and have tried
already. If you haven't tried these suggestions already, you're probably
not ready to find work. Finally, as chafing and unjust as it may seem,
my one suggestion for your consideration is that you may have to aim for
more modest professional goals than you originally expected to realize
Simply as a means of getting your foot in the paid employment door. Of
course, this advice also must be balanced as agreeing to take something
too diminished may harm your chances for upward mobility.
Congratulations on passing the Georgia Bar.


*******************
Daniel B. Frye, JD.
Manager of Affiliate Action--Advocacy and Training
National Federation of the Blind
Department of Affiliate Action
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
Telephone: (410) 659-9314 Ext. 2208
Cell: (410) 241-7006
Fax: (410) 659-6893
Email: dfrye at nfb.org
Website Address: www.nfb.org
"Voice of the Nation's Blind" 

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of M T
Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 3:11 PM
To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
Subject: [blindlaw] Need Help

Hi All,
I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving. I need some help.
I am still looking for a job. I have passed the Georgia Bar and I was
sworn in about 2 weeks ago. I thought that potential employers would
begin to take me seriously, but some still have there doubts as to
whether a blind person can make it practicing law. If anyone has any
contacts that I could talk to I would greatly appreciate it. I just want
a chance to show people that I can do it. I am interested in the areas
of Disability Law, Special Education and Civil Rights.
Please, if any one knows someone that might be willing to give me a
chance I will be so grateful. I just want to help others navigate
through some of the hurdles that I have overcome, if there is some one
out there that can assist me please contact me. Thanks. Have a wonderful
Holiday Season.

Best,
Michelle

--
Michelle Tarley, J.D., University of Georgia School of Law

 "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing"
                                               -- Helen Keller
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